Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
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The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in four years, lowering borrowing costs for businesses after its biggest rate-hiking cycle in decades.
Governor Tiff Macklem said the central bank decided to reduce its policy rate to 4.75 per cent from 5 per cent after seeing more evidence that inflation is easing. It’s the first central bank in the world to lower its policy rate, with others expected to follow suit this year.
The rate reduction was highly anticipated, given recent trends in economic data, and it likely won’t do much to reduce Canadians’ monthly payments on mortgages, car loans or lines of credit right away. Still, it’s considered a turning point for the Canadian economy, signalling the start of a monetary policy cycle that should see rates come down further. It may also breathe life back in to Canada’s housing market, according to real estate experts.
Read more:
- Opinion: How fast and how far for further rate cuts, Bank of Canada?
- A recent history of Bank of Canada’s interest rate decisions
- A guide to what lower rates will mean for mortgages, housing and returns on all those safe parking spots for cash
A chart following the Bank of Canada's policy rate moves since 2000.The Globe and Mail
At emotional D-Day ceremony at Canadian war cemetery in France, relatives, veterans remember war dead
Students from Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba were among the hundreds of people who gathered at a war cemetery in Bény-sur-Mer, France, on Wednesday to remember the soldiers who fought at D-Day 80 years ago.
Second World War veterans were also in attendance at the event in the cemetery where 2,100 Canadian soldiers are laid to rest. The students placed a Pimicikamak flag on the grave of Rose Beardy, a soldier who died at age 26 during the war.
Similar events are taking place across Normandy this week as communities prepare for Thursday’s anniversary of the historic battle in which Allied forces began to reclaim northern France from Germany’s Nazis. State leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden, are expected to attend events commemorating D-Day.
Read more:
- ‘It’s the invasion! It’s D-Day! At last!’ What Canadian soldiers saw on Juno Beach in 1944
- First person: Dad’s life changed forever in 1944. When he died, I took his ashes to France
D-Day veteran Major General Richard Rohmer (R) walks amongst the graves at the Canadian War Cemetery in a moment of reflection to mark the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings, in Beny-Sur-Mer, France.Kiran Ridley/The Globe and Mail
Calgary MP works to stop deportation of convicted truck driver in deadly Humboldt Broncos crash
Liberal member of Parliament George Chahal is working to halt the deportation of the truck driver who was convicted in the deadly 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, a constituent of Chahal’s, was issued a deportation order to India last month. Chahal sent an e-mail to his Liberal caucus colleagues on the matter last week, asking them to stand up for Sidhu with him. Chahal told The Globe he considers it a moral duty to help Sidhu and his family.
“What will the deportation accomplish? Will it make any Canadian safer? Will it make Canada a better place to live? And the answer is, it will not. He has served his time. He is remorseful. He has asked for forgiveness,” Chahal said. “I don’t think it serves Canada to punish him further and to separate a wife from her spouse and a child from their father.”
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Politicians on TikTok: The United States has pledged to ban TikTok if its Beijing-based owner doesn’t sell it, but American politicians can’t stay away. Nathan VanderKlippe reports on how the social media app has become a critical public square for Democrats and Republicans ahead of November’s election.
Blast off: Boeing launched NASA astronauts for the first time on its Starliner capsule, after years of delays.
Carbon pricing: The Liberal government has analyzed the economic impacts of carbon pricing, but won’t publicly release the data or explain why it’s being kept secret.
Sports betting: The NBA is asking for a strong U.S. regulatory framework for legalized gambling. A day earlier, a New York man was charged in a sports betting scandal in which former Toronto Raptors centre Jontay Porter was banned from the league for life.
Record temperatures: The past 12 months have all ranked as the warmest on record in year-on-year comparisons, according to the European Union’s climate monitoring service. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said urgent action is needed to avert “climate hell.”
Art fraud: Thunder Bay resident David Voss has pleaded guilty to his central role in an art forgery ring that produced more than 1,500 counterfeit works attributed to Ojibwe painter Norval Morrisseau. Police have labelled it the biggest art fraud in history.
Labour: Toronto transit workers could strike Friday unless talks change course, says the president of their union. A strike could bring transit service grinding to a halt in Canada’s biggest city.
MARKET WATCH
Canadian stocks and bonds rallied on Wednesday, while the loonie touched a near two-week low against its U.S. counterpart, after the Bank of Canada became the first central bank among G7 countries to cut interest rates.
Wall Street also advanced, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes closing at record highs, powered mainly by technology stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 166.84 points at 22,145.02.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.04 points to 38,807.33, the S&P 500 gained 62.69 points to 5,354.03 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 330.86 points to 17,187.91.
The Canadian dollar traded at 73.03 U.S. cents.
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TALKING POINTS
It shouldn’t take a crisis to fix the bench strength of Canada’s courts
“There are issues in recruitment – Chief Justice Wagner cited working conditions and pay – but keeping judicial benches as close to fully staffed as possible has to be a permanent priority rather than one motivated by recurring emergency scrambles.” – The Editorial Board
The Gildan affair and the veneer of shareholder democracy
“There are three characteristics of share ownership in Canada that demand closer attention: a highly concentrated, not widely held shareholder base; the persistence of dual-voting structures; and an elite network of overlapping directorships. Together, these factors undermine any claim that there is a reasonable degree of democracy at work in Canadian corporations.” – Allan C. Hutchinson
B.C. has entered a new era of political tumult and change
“The turmoil among the free-enterprise forces in the province is manna for NDP Leader and B.C. Premier David Eby. Given his own political problems – a decriminalization experiment that has gone off the rails, among them – a well-organized and focused Opposition could be problematic. Instead, the centre-right in B.C. is in tatters.” – Gary Mason
LIVING BETTER
Chef Devan Rajkumar with a burger.Christie Vuong/The Globe and Mail
Burgers, but better: These chefs are putting new spins on a classic
Chefs across Canada are reinterpreting the humble patty and bun with flavours from their own cultural traditions, including kimchi, paneer and jerk seasoning. Also, tips for the perfect summer burger from a Food Network Canada Top Chef All-Stars winner.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Kigali's central business district.Wysiati/Getty Images
Don’t skip Kigali before heading out on a Rwandan gorilla trek
After learning of her Rwandan heritage through a DNA test, writer Bianca Bujan visited the African country to connect with her roots. Rwanda attracts travellers for its natural wonders, including endangered mountain gorillas, but Bujan hit the nation’s capital of Kigali first, discovering culture, cuisine and history in the city’s lively markets and impactful museum exhibits.
Evening Update is written by Holly McKenzie-Sutter. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.