Latest news with #TheCanadianPress
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Never a better time to check out Canadian wines
Opinion Not since Prohibition — from around the time of the First World War into the 1920s, for most provinces — has there been a more volatile time to be a producer of wine (or beer or spirits) in Canada. Here in Manitoba, as is the case in some other provinces, the consumer has it relatively good. We're able to purchase wine, beer and spirits directly from any producer in the country that's willing to ship to us. And Liquor Marts and private wine store shelves enjoy a solid cross-section of products from both of the country's two primary winemaking regions — British Columbia and Ontario. But the import and export rules vary from province to province, meaning we might be able to get our favourite Ontario wine delivered directly, while an Ontario consumer, living in a province with more restrictive direct shipping regulations, likely can't do the same with their favourite Manitoba booze. Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press Sprinklers water grapes vines in the Okanagan Valley's wine country. The region's tourism has taken a hit. Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press Sprinklers water grapes vines in the Okanagan Valley's wine country. The region's tourism has taken a hit. Getting a product onto LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) store shelves is notoriously difficult, particularly if you're a smaller producer unable to craft significant quantities of said product. The ability for, say, a Winnipeg craft brewer to ship directly to a consumer in the GTA, cottage country or anywhere else in Ontario would be a boon, as it would be with other more restrictive provinces. Since the whole 'elbows up' phenomenon caused by trade tariffs with the U.S., there's been a push to roll back interprovincial trade barriers. Such a move could help to create a clearer picture of Canadian wine for consumers. We're a young wine-producing country, relatively speaking, and wineries in our primary viticultural regions are separated by thousands of kilometres. Understandably, Canadian wine store shelves in B.C. are dominated by wines from that province, while Ontarians have access to a host of wines made in their own backyard. The focus by BCLDB (B.C. Liquor Distribution Board) and LCBO stores on product from their respective provinces leaves few shelf spots available for each other's wines. Removing existing trade barriers and allowing consumers to order direct from any province would help consumers develop a better understanding of the killer wines made in every region of our country. The Okanagan Valley, in particular, is in a tenuous situation at present. After a couple of years of wildfires in the area, which impacted some grapes with smoke taint and damaged other vineyards, the region suffered brutal winter cold snaps in late 2022 and early 2024 that decimated vineyards. These climate-change-related extreme weather events have many producers mulling whether to plant hardier varieties to withstand extreme weather. And many have looked to their counterparts in the Cascadia region of the U.S. West Coast — Oregon, Washington and California — for grapes to fill in temporarily while B.C. wineries replant vineyards. As a result, most B.C. wines that we see (or will see) in our market sporting the 2024 vintage that would typically be labelled with the VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) designation — meaning the grapes in the bottle come from the region shown on the label — are now made with American juice. Producers have taken steps to try and educate consumers via dedicated websites explaining why they had to take this step. Some have created new lines of wines complete with unique branding to differentiate them from the stuff they'd normally produce, which is helpful. Others, meanwhile, have simply kept producing the same lines of wines with the same look, albeit sans VQA designation and with a quick explanation on the back label about the fruit's providence. Scan your local Liquor Marts/wine store shelves and check out the differences between 2024 B.C. wines and those from the same province but another vintage — in some cases, without a close look you'd never know the grapes came from away, so to speak. Tourism in the Okanagan has also taken a hit for a variety of reasons, including inflation and the aforementioned wildfires. For those producers who chose not to purchase grapes from elsewhere to fill in for the 2024 vintage, there's little to no wine left to sell this year, and some have made the tough decision to keep tasting rooms closed for 2025. Some B.C. wineries will weather the storm. Others may not make it, with some already publicly announced as being for sale, and many more quietly but unofficially available for purchase for those brave or adventurous (or foolish) enough to plunk down some millions in these fiscally turbulent times. So this year, swirl, sniff and sip on Canada Day weekend with elbows up, and enjoy the range of Canadian wines available to us here in the middle of the country. Or if you're looking to travel this summer, consider Canadian wine country in Ontario, B.C., Nova Scotia or elsewhere. Because by next year, the viticultural landscape in Canada could look quite different. uncorked@ @bensigurdson Strewn 2023 Bin 1930 Sauvignon Blanc/Riesling (Niagara Peninsula, Ont. — $17.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) This Winnipeg Blue Bombers-labelled Ontario white blend is pale straw in appearance, bringing lovely chalky lemon candy, fresh red apple, floral and subtle grassy, herbal notes. It's light-bodied and mainly dry, with a lively chalky, almost-salty note that comes with the lemon zest, red apple and white peach notes, zippy acidity and, at 12 per cent alcohol, a modest finish. A solid selection for salads, mild cheeses or any football-watching fare. 3.5/5 Jackson-Triggs 2024 Winemaker's Series Reserve Chardonnay (Pacific Northwest/B.C. — $17.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) Here's one of Jackson-Triggs Okanagan's 2024 wines made using fruit from the U.S. Pacific Northwest, but whose label looks much like the other B.C. VQA wines, minus the VQA designation on the label. (Theres's some info on the back label about the shift as well as a QR code to a website explaining the situation.) It's pale gold in appearance and aromatically offers ripe peach, red apple, vanilla and baking spice notes. It's medium-bodied, dry and quite ripe, with fleshy peach and red apple coming with vanilla and spice (the latter two from time in French and American oak), a creamy texture, a hint of marmalade and a medium-length finish (it's 13 per cent alcohol). For those who prefer their Chardonnay on the riper but less woody side. 3.5/5 Magnotta 2023 Equus Pinot Noir (Niagara Peninsula, Ont. — around $20, private wine stores) Pale brick-ish cherry in colour, this Niagara Peninsula Pinot Noir shows earth, spice, black cherry, plum and mocha notes aromatically. It's light-bodied and dry, with slightly stewed cherry, blueberry jam, plum, mocha and spice flavours, with light tannins and a modest finish. Try it with mushroom risotto. Available at The Pourium. 3/5 Sumac Ridge Estate Winery 2022 Cabernet Merlot (Okanagan Valley, B.C. — $17.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) A Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend, this B.C. VQA red brings ripe plum and cassis notes on the nose, as well as hints of bell pepper, savoury herbs and spice. On the medium-plus bodied palate the ripe, almost-plush (but not overly jammy) dark fruit flavours are much more up front, with secondary vanilla, white pepper, black tea and a hint of smoke that comes with chewy, grippy tannins and, at 14 per cent alcohol, a slightly warm finish. Could use a steak, stew or some other form of meaty protein to soften things up. Of note, the 2024 wines from Sumac Ridge are made from Pacific Northwest fruit but not visibly differentiated from the VQA wines in any significant way. 3/5 Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Trump says he is terminating trade talks with Canada over tax on tech firms
'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,' Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post. Mr Trump's announcement was the latest move in the trade war he has launched since taking office for a second term in January. Progress with Canada has been a roller coaster, starting with the US president repeatedly suggesting it would be absorbed as a US state. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that his country would 'continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians. It's a negotiation'. Mr Trump later said he expects that Canada will remove the tax. 'Economically we have such power over Canada. We'd rather not use it,' Mr Trump said in the Oval Office. 'It's not going to work out well for Canada. They were foolish to do it.' When asked if Canada could do anything to restart talks, he suggested Canada could remove the tax, predicted it will but said: 'It doesn't matter to me.' Mr Carney visited Mr Trump in May at the White House. Mr Trump last week travelled to Canada for the G7 summit in Alberta, where Mr Carney said Canada and the US had set a 30-day deadline for trade talks. The digital services tax will hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb with a 3% levy on revenue from Canadian users. It will apply retroactively, leaving US companies with a two billion US dollar (£1.4 billion) bill due at the end of the month. 'We appreciate the Administration's decisive response to Canada's discriminatory tax on US digital exports,' Matt Schruers, chief executive of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said in a statement. Canada and the US have been discussing easing a series of steep tariffs Mr Trump imposed on goods from America's neighbour. The Republican president earlier told reporters that the US was soon preparing to send letters to different countries, informing them of the new tariff rate his administration would impose on them. Mr Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium as well as 25% tariffs on cars. He is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period he set would expire. Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Mr Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, though some products are still protected under the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Mr Trump's first term. Addressing reporters after a private meeting with Republican senators on Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to comment on news that Mr Trump had ended trade talks with Canada. 'I was in the meeting,' Mr Bessent said before moving on to the next question. About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminium and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager to obtain. About 80% of Canada's exports go to the US. Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it is a domestic tax issue, but it has been a source of tensions between Canada and the US for a while because it targets US tech giants. 'The Digital Services Tax Act was signed into law a year ago so the advent of this new tax has been known for a long time,' Mr Beland said. 'Yet, President Trump waited just before its implementation to create drama over it in the context of ongoing and highly uncertain trade negotiations between the two countries.'
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Getting business onside — Carney's next job
Opinion Canada Day marks just over 100 days of Mark, as in Carney. Since being sworn in as prime minister on St. Patrick's Day, our new prime minister has enjoyed no small 'luck of the Irish' after winning an election he wasn't supposed to. Napoleon once said he would rather have a general who was lucky than one who was good. So far, Carney has been both lucky and good: lucky to have Donald Trump in the White House, and pretty good at winning elections and being prime minister. He may have been green going into the job as PM and party leader, but Carney is proving no novice in the role. He single-handedly powered his party and government into an unprecedented fourth term in office. Since then, he has embarked upon a rapid-fire series of actions and changes to achieve his goal to 'build the strongest economy in the G7,' with internal trade barriers to come down; major energy and infrastructure projects to be built faster; defence spending to rise higher and sooner than anticipated. The Canadian Press files Prime Minister Mark Carney's next job is to convince Canadian businesses that they have to step up their game. Carney clearly does not lack for ambition. 'We will need to think big and act bigger. We will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven't seen in generations,' he said in his victory speech. But what if this big ambition isn't matched by business, big or small? What if the public doesn't share his vision that Canada is at a 'hinge moment of history,' as he put it? The prime minister is inheriting a country more risk-averse and complacent than it should be. A country more righteous than realistic about its place in the world — 'the world needs more Canada,' we intone. A country too comfortable in its entitlements and expectations, real or imagined. That risk aversion carries over to the business community. A 2023 survey by the Conference Board of Canada found that when it came to innovation, more than half of Canadian entrepreneurs stopped doing more because they feared failing. That was 10 points higher than for businesses in the U.S. and across 16 other developed countries. Part of this is a weaker industrial and research ecosystem that successfully carries innovation to market, but there's no denying a CEO mindset alongside. That mindset won't be easy to dislodge. It has been fed for more than a quarter-century by easy access to the largest market in the world, our next-door neighbour. It has been nourished of late by low-cost labour and high immigration. And it has been enticed into a rent-seeking, subsidy-demanding, high-consumption, low-value manufacturing economy by companies and governments hooked on handouts. The result: Canadian businesses have become less competitive and more risk-averse when it comes to investing in the innovation, technology and people needed to build more wealth. Consider the results: Canada's economy today is actually smaller than it was in 2019, adjusted for inflation and immigration. We've fallen from the sixth most productive advanced economy in the world in 1970 to the 18th most productive today. Average annual labour productivity growth was less than half of what it was in the U.S. in the 20-year period from 2001 to 2021. We've deindustrialized, with manufacturing contributing less than half of what it did to the economy in 2000. Capital investment spending levels are lower than they were a decade ago. The business innovation rate in 2022 was 36 per cent in Canada, far below the 50 per cent rate in America and the 45 per cent rate for other advanced industrial economies in the world. Unless these trends are changed, the OECD predicts Canada will enjoy the worst performance of advanced member countries over the next four decades, as measured by real GDP per capita. That means lower living standards for Canadians and less economic wealth generated to invest in health care and education. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. Blaming the government is easy and fashionable. But these are structural problems not easily fixed, owing to years of tepid investment and innovation decisions by business themselves. Government policies may have contributed, but it's the CEOs and the boards of directors, or the entrepreneurs and innovators, who made the calls. 'Sell the beach, not the flight' is the classic travel-industry business model. For too long, our politicians have practiced the political equivalent to voters. Big goals and grand pronouncements were set without telling people the journey might be long and hard. 'Inconvenient truths,' as in climate change, were traded for 'reassuring fibs' so everyone could have 'their nice things.' Applying this same mentality to this time of economic emergency would simply invite more failure. The PM may be moving at the speed of need now with his checklist of initiatives, but 'thinking and acting big' requires an overdue mind-shift by Canada's business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs. Carney needs to confront complacency with candour. He told voters what he planned to do; now he must tell businesses what they need to do. His 'hinge moment' hinges on it. David McLaughlin is a former clerk of the executive council and cabinet secretary in the Manitoba government.
Western Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Trump says he is terminating trade talks with Canada over tax on tech firms
Mr Trump, in a post on his social media network, said Canada had just informed the US that it was sticking to its plan to impose the digital services tax, which applies to Canadian and foreign businesses that engage with online users in Canada. The tax is set to go into effect on Monday. 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,' Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post. Mr Trump's announcement was the latest move in the trade war he has launched since taking office for a second term in January. Progress with Canada has been a roller coaster, starting with the US president repeatedly suggesting it would be absorbed as a US state. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that his country would 'continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians. It's a negotiation'. Mr Trump later said he expects that Canada will remove the tax. 'Economically we have such power over Canada. We'd rather not use it,' Mr Trump said in the Oval Office. 'It's not going to work out well for Canada. They were foolish to do it.' When asked if Canada could do anything to restart talks, he suggested Canada could remove the tax, predicted it will but said: 'It doesn't matter to me.' Mr Carney visited Mr Trump in May at the White House. Mr Trump last week travelled to Canada for the G7 summit in Alberta, where Mr Carney said Canada and the US had set a 30-day deadline for trade talks. The digital services tax will hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb with a 3% levy on revenue from Canadian users. It will apply retroactively, leaving US companies with a two billion US dollar (£1.4 billion) bill due at the end of the month. 'We appreciate the Administration's decisive response to Canada's discriminatory tax on US digital exports,' Matt Schruers, chief executive of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said in a statement. Canada and the US have been discussing easing a series of steep tariffs Mr Trump imposed on goods from America's neighbour. The Republican president earlier told reporters that the US was soon preparing to send letters to different countries, informing them of the new tariff rate his administration would impose on them. Mr Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium as well as 25% tariffs on cars. He is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period he set would expire. Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Mr Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, though some products are still protected under the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Mr Trump's first term. Addressing reporters after a private meeting with Republican senators on Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to comment on news that Mr Trump had ended trade talks with Canada. 'I was in the meeting,' Mr Bessent said before moving on to the next question. About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminium and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager to obtain. About 80% of Canada's exports go to the US. Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it is a domestic tax issue, but it has been a source of tensions between Canada and the US for a while because it targets US tech giants. 'The Digital Services Tax Act was signed into law a year ago so the advent of this new tax has been known for a long time,' Mr Beland said. 'Yet, President Trump waited just before its implementation to create drama over it in the context of ongoing and highly uncertain trade negotiations between the two countries.'
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Trump says he is terminating trade talks with Canada over tax on tech firms
US President Donald Trump said he is suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue with its tax on technology firms, which he called 'a direct and blatant attack on our country'. Mr Trump, in a post on his social media network, said Canada had just informed the US that it was sticking to its plan to impose the digital services tax, which applies to Canadian and foreign businesses that engage with online users in Canada. The tax is set to go into effect on Monday. 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,' Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post. Mr Trump's announcement was the latest move in the trade war he has launched since taking office for a second term in January. Progress with Canada has been a roller coaster, starting with the US president repeatedly suggesting it would be absorbed as a US state. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that his country would 'continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians. It's a negotiation'. Mr Trump later said he expects that Canada will remove the tax. 'Economically we have such power over Canada. We'd rather not use it,' Mr Trump said in the Oval Office. 'It's not going to work out well for Canada. They were foolish to do it.' When asked if Canada could do anything to restart talks, he suggested Canada could remove the tax, predicted it will but said: 'It doesn't matter to me.' Mr Carney visited Mr Trump in May at the White House. Mr Trump last week travelled to Canada for the G7 summit in Alberta, where Mr Carney said Canada and the US had set a 30-day deadline for trade talks. The digital services tax will hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb with a 3% levy on revenue from Canadian users. It will apply retroactively, leaving US companies with a two billion US dollar (£1.4 billion) bill due at the end of the month. 'We appreciate the Administration's decisive response to Canada's discriminatory tax on US digital exports,' Matt Schruers, chief executive of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said in a statement. Canada and the US have been discussing easing a series of steep tariffs Mr Trump imposed on goods from America's neighbour. The Republican president earlier told reporters that the US was soon preparing to send letters to different countries, informing them of the new tariff rate his administration would impose on them. Mr Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium as well as 25% tariffs on cars. He is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period he set would expire. Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Mr Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, though some products are still protected under the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Mr Trump's first term. Addressing reporters after a private meeting with Republican senators on Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to comment on news that Mr Trump had ended trade talks with Canada. 'I was in the meeting,' Mr Bessent said before moving on to the next question. 80% Proportion of Canada's exports that go to the US About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminium and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager to obtain. About 80% of Canada's exports go to the US. Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said it is a domestic tax issue, but it has been a source of tensions between Canada and the US for a while because it targets US tech giants. 'The Digital Services Tax Act was signed into law a year ago so the advent of this new tax has been known for a long time,' Mr Beland said. 'Yet, President Trump waited just before its implementation to create drama over it in the context of ongoing and highly uncertain trade negotiations between the two countries.'
