Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
After a lengthy standoff between Ontario and auto maker Stellantis, Premier Doug Ford’s government will now take on a major share of subsidies for battery factories being built in the province while putting Ottawa and Queen’s Park into much more of a partnership in their pursuit of a domestic electric-vehicle industry.
Ontario agreed to pay one-third of the costs of up to $15-billion in production subsidies for Stellantis NV and LG Energy Solution, in the deal reached this week that will resume construction on Canada’s first large-scale EV battery factory in Windsor.
The two levels of government revealed on Thursday that the same arrangement will also apply to the Volkswagen battery plant being built in St. Thomas, Ont., despite Ottawa initially committing to pay Volkswagen up to $13-billion in similar subsidies by itself. And Ford’s office indicated that it expects to share costs the same way on any future such projects.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the media during a tour of the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 17, 2023.REBECCA COOK/Reuters
Canada posts surprise $3.4-billion trade deficit for goods, largest since 2020
Canada posted an unexpected merchandise trade deficit of $3.4-billion in May.
Led by a decline in energy and agriculture exports, this month’s trade deficit is the largest since October, 2020, acting as an anchor on economic growth in the second quarter. The trade deficit was down from a revised $894-million surplus in April, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. Bay Street forecasters had expected a $1.15-billion surplus that month.
Meanwhile, goods exports declined 3.8 per cent due to both falling prices and lower shipments. In volume terms, exports decreased 2.5 per cent. Imports were up 3 per cent overall and 3.5 per cent in volume terms. (A trade deficit occurs when imports exceed exports).
A freighter sits at anchor on the harbour as cargo containers are seen stacked at port during a strike by International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers, in Vancouver, B.C., July 4, 2023.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Former U.S. trade official Lighthizer reveals relations with Canada during NAFTA talks were at their worst since 1812 War
A new book written by former U.S. president Donald Trump’s top trade official says the renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement pushed U.S.-Canada relations to their worst point since the War of 1812, including a period of months where the two countries’ negotiators weren’t even speaking with each other.
No Trade is Free, a memoir by former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, portrays Canada as an intransigent negotiating partner that often completely refused to engage in substantive talks during the overhaul of NAFTA, renamed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement by Trump.
At one point, he says, he even admonished Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top advisers over the “sneaky” tactics of Canadian officials.
Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador looks on as Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister for North America Jesus Seade, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sign documents during a meeting at the Presidential Palace, in Mexico City, Mexico, Dec. 10, 2019.Henry Romero/Reuters
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Justin Trudeau blames Conservatives as talks on launching public inquiry into foreign interference drag on: Talks on launching an official public inquiry into foreign interference by China are dragging into the dead of summer with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Conservatives trading barbs over who is to blame.
El Niño, the climate wild card, is back. Scientists are racing to predict its impact on Canada: Scientists and economists are trying to anticipate what El Niño means when climate change is steadily raising the average global temperatures to ever-higher extremes.
Commercial agencies sought to reduce Canadian actors’ compensation as much as 89%, document shows: A national group of ad agencies proposed reducing unionized actors’ compensation for commercial work by as much as 89 per cent for some productions, according to an April presentation to members of Canada’s largest actors’ union.
Sentiments collide over Tree of Life synagogue shooter’s sentencing: In the next several days a jury will decide whether Robert Bowers, convicted of slaying 11 Jews in the Tree of Life synagogue five years ago, is eligible for the death penalty.
That time when Canada’s population and prosperity both boomed, unlike now: Canada’s economy has outpaced that of every other G7 country over the past year, but there’s a big, million-people-sized catch.
MARKET WATCH
Canada’s main stock index was down almost 300 points in a broad-based decline, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 293.20 points at 19,810.69.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 366.38 points at 33,922.26. The S&P 500 index was down 35.23 points at 4,411.59, while the Nasdaq composite was down 112.61 points at 13,679.04.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.92 cents US compared with 75.34 cents US on Wednesday.
The August crude oil contract was up a cent at US$71.80 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.61 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was down US$11.70 at US$1,915.40 an ounce and the September copper contract was down three cents at US$3.73 a pound.
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TALKING POINTS
Canada’s best story might be immigration
“On Canada Day, praise for the country was not in abundance. In these times it’s the curmudgeons who hold court. But while there are plenty of things to grouse about, how we are doing on the critically important issue of immigration is not one of them.” – Lawrence Martin
Want lower grocery bills? Give Canadians a more diverse retail foodscape
“I’ve heard some people muse that this kind of public infrastructure belongs to a different time and that the corporate supply chains of the big box stores are the future. This is because the supermarket industry has gone through decades of corporate mergers and consolidation, resulting in a very powerful sector in which people who do business with these large corporations, from farmers to consumers, have less and less choice.” – Sarah Elton
A silent revolution is reshaping multilateralism and leaving the West behind
“In a world of rapidly evolving power dynamics, a silent revolution is reshaping multilateralism and increasingly leaving the West and its institutions behind. To paraphrase India’s Foreign Minister, the West’s problems are no longer the world’s problems.” – Mark Leonard
LIVING BETTER
Five travel photography tips from a professional
Before you leave for summer vacation, take in professional photographer Pat Kane’s wisdom on how to capture the best shots possible.
TODAY’S LONG READ
“The guesthouse under the clock”, belonging to owners Marta Romanska (62) and Piotr Romanski (61). As of Dec. 2022, 90 per cent of their guests are Ukrainian couples who are separated due to the war and come to this apartment to spend a few days together.Anna Liminowicz/The Globe and Mail
At first glance, the Pensjonat Pod Zegarem, or “house under the clock,” hardly stands out on this quiet residential street in Przemysl, a picturesque city in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the guest house has become something similar; no longer a way station for visitors, but a place of nurture for Ukrainian couples torn apart by the war. They come here for a few days of respite, to reconnect and nourish each other before separating once more.
Evening Update is written by Emerald Bensadoun. 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.