1) (Update) Ontario to loosen internal trade, remove barriers on alcohol and labour mobility

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Liam Casey and Allison Jones, April 16, 2025

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is urging all of his fellow premiers to join his province and others in taking steps to remove barriers to the free flow of goods and workers within Canada, pitching it as a way to shore up the economy against the effects of American tariffs.

Ford’s government tabled legislation Wednesday aimed at loosening interprovincial trade and signed memorandums of understanding with the premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick agreeing that a good, service or registered worker that is recognized in one province is acceptable in the other.

“No single province can tear down these trade barriers alone,” Ford said. 

“Instead, we need all 13 provinces and territories working together, along with the federal government, to build a stronger, more united Canada. … These agreements are a blueprint, and they’re a challenge to other provinces and territories to join us. It’s a win for every business owner, a win for every worker and every community held back by red tape and duplication.”

Ontario also announced a $50-million fund for businesses to serve more interprovincial customers through projects addressing the impacts of U.S. trade disruptions.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, whose government has already passed legislation on interprovincial trade, said the 13 provinces and territories will likely move at different speeds, and come from different places, but he believes all Canadians recognize the need for change.

“I think everybody is thinking through the process of what works best for them and how quickly they can go,” he said. “I think what we’re trying to do is get the early adopters, the coalition of the willing, out of the gates, and so we can get some momentum.”

Ontario’s bill would make it the first government in Canada to unconditionally remove all current exceptions to interprovincial free trade, provincial officials said. 

Examples include a requirement that real estate services providers in Ontario have a local presence, limiting trapping and hunting guide licences and mandating the use of locally grown grapes in wine production.

The legislation is intended to see the goods, services and workers of reciprocating provinces and territories automatically recognized in Ontario.

For example, officials said that currently some trucks have to stop at provincial borders to change signage, so harmonizing those requirements would save those companies time and money.

On alcohol, long a point of contention in interprovincial trade talks, the legislation would introduce an interprovincial direct-to-consumer sales model so that Ontario residents could buy directly from producers in other provinces, and Ontario producers could sell directly to consumers elsewhere in Canada.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said that is a great opportunity.

“We can celebrate in Canada and cheers each other with Canadian-made products, perhaps instead of American-made products,” she said.

“We’re really excited to be moving forward and using this opportunity, this threat to our country that has been put in place by the president of the United States. The response is that Canada is getting stronger, working more closely together, doing more business with themselves.”

Trade barriers within Canada cost the economy up to $200 billion a year, Ford said. 

“With President (Donald) Trump taking direct aim at Canada’s economy, it can’t be business as usual,” he said. 

“These last few months have made it clear, as premiers, we need to work together to build a more united, more competitive, more self-reliant Canadian economy that creates jobs and prosperity here at home.” 

As well, the bill is set to remove barriers that make it difficult for people in certain jobs to work in different provinces. The government  is also looking at additional, specific measures to allow health professionals to more easily work in Ontario, officials said.

That includes consulting on allowing American-licensed physicians and nurses to be allowed to work in the province “as of right” and automatically recognizing the credentials of other provinces and territories for doctors and nurses.

2) Honda confirms no plans to reduce Canadian auto production despite tariffs

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Ian Bickis, April 15, 2025

Honda Canada said Tuesday it is not considering changes to its Canadian automotive production, refuting a news report saying it was looking to shift some production to the United States.

Japan’s Nikkei financial newspaper reported earlier Tuesday that Honda is looking to shift enough Canadian CR-V and Civic production to the U.S. so that it can meet 90 per cent of U.S. sales with vehicles produced there, up from its current level of about 70 per cent.

Honda Canada is constantly looking at various contingency plans but it intends to maintain current levels of Canadian production, said spokesman Ken Chiu.

“We can confirm that our Canadian manufacturing facility in Alliston, Ont., will operate at full capacity for the foreseeable future and no changes are being considered at this time.”

Honda’s comments confirm what government officials had said earlier in the day: that no changes are in the works for the Honda operations, which employ around 4,200 people and produced about 375,000 CR-V and Civic vehicles in 2023.

The company also produces the same models in the U.S., with the Nikkei report saying the company was looking to hire more workers and add shifts to the U.S. operations. Honda said it couldn’t comment specifically on what was in the report.

Honda said its flexible manufacturing approach allows it to quickly adapt to various market conditions, including production shifts to specific models built at each facility, bound for various regions and potentially new markets, depending on customer demand.

“Canadian production will remain at full capacity thanks to domestic sales, which are up nine per cent in the first quarter of this year,” said Chiu.

Federal Industry Minister Anita Anand said earlier in the day that Honda had confirmed it had no production changes under consideration and that she would be meeting with the head of Honda Canada later Tuesday. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier that the head of Honda Canada told him the report is inaccurate. Ford and his office say Honda told them the company does want to increase production in the U.S., but not at the expense of Canadian production.

The threat of losing Canadian production comes after the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all imported vehicles on April 3, including ones produced in Canada despite the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade deal, significantly raising costs for all importers.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a campaign stop Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff are an attempt to “pull apart” the integration of North America’s auto industry.

“We are seeing some of the impacts in the short term of that with layoffs for some of our automakers, potential shifts in production.”

Carney said he doesn’t think the Trump administration is taking into account how integrated the industry is and that it will likely have to make permanent the currently temporary tariff exemption on auto parts from Canada.

In an effort to lessen the hit to the auto sector in Canada, the federal government on Tuesday announced that producers that maintain their production levels in Canada would be able to import a certain number of U.S. assembled vehicles into Canada free of tariff countermeasures.

The move comes as Mazda confirmed it was halting production of Canada-bound CX-50 vehicles at its Alabama plant because they’re subject to Canada’s counter-tariffs.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre condemned Donald Trump’s “unfair targeting of Canada” while saying that Canada’s counter-tariffs should remain in place.

Speaking outside a Montreal hospital, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said that Canada should block auto companies such as Honda from removing infrastructure from Canada that public money helped pay for. 

He also said Canada should implement rules preventing automakers from selling vehicles in Canada if they don’t have a manufacturing presence here.

“There’s over 40 million Canadians. We have a growing population because of our immigration policies. So this is a desirable market for auto companies to sell. If you’re going to sell a car in Canada, you have to have a footprint in Canada. Meaning you have make cars here or you have jobs here,” Singh said.

Last year, Honda announced a $15-billion commitment to its Canadian operations to create an electric vehicle supply chain in Ontario. The plans, supported by up to $5 billion in public funds, include building an electric vehicle battery plant next to its existing Alliston plant. 

— With files from Allison Jones, Liam Casey, Kyle Duggan, Nick Murray and David Baxter

3) (Updated) Ottawa says automakers that keep manufacturing in Canada will get a tariff exemption

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, April 15, 2025

Automobile companies that continue to manufacture vehicles in Canada will get an exemption from Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs as U.S. President Donald Trump attempts to upend the North American industry through steep import duties.

Federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced Tuesday that auto manufacturers will be allowed to import a certain number of U.S.-assembled vehicles — ones that comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade — free of the countermeasure tariffs Ottawa imposed in response to Trump’s levies.

The number of tariff-free vehicles a company is permitted to import will drop if there are reductions in Canadian production or investment.

“The North American automobile sector is the most integrated industrial manufacturing sector in the world, particularly the Canadian-U.S. auto sector,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday. “And so President Trump’s tariffs are an attempt in some degree to pull apart that integration and the benefits that come from that integration.”

Carney made the comment in response to a media question while campaigning in Saint-Eustache, Que.

Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all imports of automobiles to the United States on April 3 but ordered a partial carve-out for vehicles built under the continental trade pact, known as CUSMA. In response, Ottawa put similar tariffs on U.S.-made vehicles bound for Canada.

Duties on auto part imports to the U.S. were set to take effect no later than May 3; Carney said he does not believe those tariffs will go ahead now. The Liberal leader said he has been in touch with automaker CEOs in Canada and around the globe.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said earlier Tuesday at a campaign stop in Montreal that “Trump deserves nothing but condemnation for the unfair targeting of Canada.”

Trump’s duties have rattled the North American automobile sector. Vehicles cross the Canada-U.S. border multiple times before they’re finished and experts say the tariffs will drive up prices.

The Canadian and American auto industries officially integrated with the 1965 Auto Pact trade deal.

Mexico became part the industry in the 1990s with the North American Free Trade Agreement. That was replaced during Trump’s first administration by CUSMA, which boosted protections for the automobile sector.

Carney said Trump’s tariffs already have caused short-term impacts, including temporary layoffs. 

After a report emerged about possible shifts in Canadian Honda production Tuesday, Industry Minister Anita Anand posted on social media that the company has “communicated that no such production decisions affecting Canadian operations have been made, and are not being considered at this time.”

The Detroit Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — have been lobbying the Trump administration for months. Trump suggested Monday another pause on automobile tariffs could be coming.

“I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies where they are switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places,” Trump said. “And they need a little bit of time because they are going to make them here.”

On Tuesday, Champagne also announced relief for Canadian businesses affected by the trade dispute.

“We’re giving Canadian companies and entities more time to adjust their supply chains and become less dependent on U.S. suppliers,” Champagne said in a news release.

Ottawa says it intends to provide a temporary six-month tariff holiday for goods imported from the U.S. that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging. The temporary exemption also will apply to goods used to support public health, health care, public safety and national security.

Champagne added the large enterprise tariff loan facility, announced in March, is now accepting applications.

Global markets have been in turmoil since Trump launched, then partially paused, his “reciprocal” tariffs earlier this month. A 10 per cent universal import tariff remains in place for most countries, as well as specific duties on sectors like aluminum, steel and automobiles.

Trump slapped 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing responded with a 125 per cent retaliatory duty on U.S. products.

A new poll suggests Canadians are expressing high levels of concern about the recent stock market volatility linked to U.S. tariffs — and are more worried than Americans about how duties will affect their finances.

The Leger poll sampled 1,630 Canadian adults and 1,007 American adults from April 11 to April 13. Because the poll was conducted online, it can’t be assigned a margin of error.

It suggests 78 per cent of Canadian respondents were worried about stock market volatility. Most Canadian respondents, 87 per cent, said they believed the new tariffs will affect their personal finances, compared to 78 per cent of Americans.

Leger conducts tariff polls weekly and says that more Canadians and Americans reported seeing an increase in consumer prices in the past week. 

— With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa and Catherine Morrison in Saint-Eustache, Que.

4) (Update)Tariffs and Trump loom large in Ontario’s agenda-setting throne speech

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Liam Casey and Allison Jones, April 15, 2025

The economic uncertainty created by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs permeated Ontario’s throne speech Tuesday, a ceremonial offering intended to set the new provincial government’s agenda and tone.

The speech, delivered by Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont, kicks off the new session of Premier Doug Ford’s third majority government. It leaned heavily on the theme of Ford’s successful election campaign, which tied the tariff threat to nearly every sector, from mining to manufacturing to housing.

“For decades, Ontario and Canada have relied on free trade with the United States to deliver unprecedented economic growth and prosperity,” the government said in its speech.

“The last few months, however, have taught us that we can no longer assume the benefits of our economic partnership with the United States. The strength of Ontario’s economy and the social programs it funds can no longer depend on a partner that has proven itself to be fundamentally unreliable. Instead, your government will build an economy that is more competitive, more resilient and more self-reliant.”

The speech touted the importance of new railways, highways, airports and seaports, as well as new pipelines, promised an investment of “unprecedented amounts in new energy production,” hinted at health-care changes, and signalled upcoming legislation in trade and mining.

It also included Ford’s intention to get a tunnel built under Highway 401 to tackle gridlock in the Greater Toronto Area, a plan not yet costed out, but to which the premier appears fully committed.

The government’s first bill is expected to be on interprovincial trade, as Ford has touted the benefits of breaking down internal barriers in order to bolster the economy against the external economic threats.

“Goods produced and services provided in other provinces and territories will be treated the same in Ontario, provided other provinces and territories do the same,” the government said in the speech.

“Hard-earned credentials from other provinces and territories will be recognized automatically, ensuring highly skilled workers from elsewhere in Canada can get on the job faster, fill key gaps in Ontario’s labour force and help grow our economy.”

The government’s second order of business, the speech said, will be to table a bill that would give the government authority to designate regions where multiple critical mineral deposits are present, including the Ring of Fire region, as regions of “strategic importance.”

“Within the boundaries of these regions, proponents that meet high operating, safety and environmental standards will benefit from significantly streamlined permitting and approvals, alongside an uninterrupted commitment to meeting duty to consult requirements,” the government said in its speech.

Sol Mamakwa, the New Democrat who represents the riding of Kiiwetinoong where the Ring of Fire is located, said properly engaging Indigenous communities involves acknowledging the treaties they have with the Crown.

“We’re supposed to share the benefits of the resources that are there and this government has failed miserably over the last seven years,” he said.

“You cannot use a tariff war…with the United States of America to override the rights of the First Nations people that live in these lands. That’s not right. If they continue to do that approach, they’re going to get some pushback. The people are ready to fight within the courts. The people are ready to fight on the land.”

The speech also suggested some impending health-care announcements, promising to prioritize patients’ health over “a dogmatic ideology that seeks to protect and preserve an outdated status quo.”

“(The government) will bring the principles of Lean methodologies to deliver care in emergency departments and surgical centres more efficiently, saving you precious time and further shortening wait lists,” the speech said.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said she believes it means the government wants to introduce more private delivery, though the speech noted an ongoing commitment to ensuring patients don’t have to pay out of pocket.

The government is also indicating it will spend more on housing-enabling infrastructure, work with municipalities to lower development charges, and standardize the cost and timelines of building homes, but one key housing promise is notably absent.

The speech said the government will work to “unlock new homes,” but without a mention of the goal of 1.5 million homes that the government used to frequently tout.

Ontario has not yet met any of its annual targets toward that goal, though it came very close in 2023 after it started counting long-term care beds. Data published Tuesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed that housing starts in Ontario in March were down 46 per cent, year over year, for communities with 10,000 or more people.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack, appointed to the role a few weeks ago, acknowledged there are challenges.

“Obviously, we’ve come to a grind,” he said. “Why? We’ve got headwinds – Donald Trump and the tariffs, higher taxes, etc. It’s tough out there, but there’s going to be swings here. We’ve got lots of time.”

He said building 1.5 million homes by 2031 is still possible.

“Sure it is,” he said.

Municipalities will also get more help to end homeless encampments, the speech said. The government intends to re-introduce legislation it tabled at the end of the last session, but did not pass, toward achieving that goal.

“Your government stands firm in its commitment to do whatever is necessary, and to use whatever legal tools might be required, to help municipalities get the job done,” the speech said.

5) Tariff uncertainty foils ‘slam dunk rebound year’ for national home sales: CREA

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Sammy Hudes, April 15, 2025

The Canadian Real Estate Association has downgraded its forecast for home sales activity in 2025, while the number of homes that changed hands across the country in March was down 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago.

The association said Canadian home sales in March also fell 4.8 per cent on a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis from February, as potential buyers stayed on the sidelines amid concerns over tariffs and economic uncertainty.

CREA is now expecting a total of 482,673 residential properties to be sold throughout the year, essentially unchanged from 2024, but marking a steep cut from its previous forecast in January of an 8.6 per cent increase from last year.

It marks the largest revision by CREA in between its quarterly forecasts since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the association said.

The national average home price is forecast to decrease a slight 0.3 per cent on an annual basis to $687,898 in 2025, which would be around $30,000 lower than predicted in early January.

“Up until this point, declining home sales have mostly been about tariff uncertainty. Going forward, the Canadian housing space will also have to contend with the actual economic fallout,” said CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart in a press release.

“In short order we’ve gone from a slam dunk rebound year to treading water at best.”

In March, the national average sale price fell 3.7 per cent compared with a year earlier to $678,331.

With 39,202 home sales recorded during the month, activity was at its lowest level for March since 2009, the board said. It noted sales have been down over the last few months in all but a handful of small markets across the country, with the largest declines seen in Ontario and B.C.

The number of newly listed properties was up three per cent month-over-month in March. Meanwhile, a total of 165,800 properties were listed for sale by the end of the month, up 18.3 per cent from a year earlier but still below the long-term average of around 174,000 listings for this time of the year.

“Notably, markets are hugely tilted in the favour of buyers in B.C. and Ontario and are even loosening rapidly in the once drum-tight Alberta market,” said TD economist Rishi Sondhi in a note.

He said the trend of increasing supply and subdued demand suggests Canadian average home prices will decline in the second quarter following a five per cent drop in the first three months of the year.

“March’s (sales) decline was not much of a surprise given that tariff-related economic uncertainty remained elevated last month,” said Sondhi.

“For the first quarter overall, sales plunged 12 per cent, which will weigh on residential investment and overall economic growth.” 

6) (Updated) Trump floats aother pause on automobile tariffs

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, April 14, 2025

President Donald Trump on Monday floated another possible pause on automobile tariffs to give companies time to set up U.S. supply chains, bringing more uncertainty to the deeply integrated North American vehicle industry.

“I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies where they are switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office when asked about short-lived product exemptions.

“And they need a little bit of time because they are going to make them here. But they need a little bit of time.”

Trump put 25 per cent tariffs on all imports of automobiles to the United States on April 3 but made a partial carveout for vehicles under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, known as CUSMA.

The continental trade pact was negotiated during the first Trump administration and included protections for the automobile industry. Experts say Trump’s tariffs undermine the trade pact.

 A White House official previously confirmed that cars made under CUSMA rules of origin were hit with duties until a system is set up to gauge how much of each finished car is made with American components. When that system is in place, tariffs will only hit the value of non-American parts.

Even with exemptions for some parts of cars under CUSMA, the duties have rattled the North American automobile sector. Vehicles cross borders multiple times before they are a finished product. Duties on parts set to take effect no later than May 3. 

The auto industry is also being hammered by the 25 per cent steel and aluminum tariffs, as well as 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports. 

The Big Three — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — had been lobbying the administration for weeks. Trump paused his fentanyl-related economywide tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month in February, citing conversations with the vehicle manufacturing companies. 

When Trump announced the automobile tariffs he said they would be permanent but Monday’s comments show the president may do another reversal of his ever-changing trade agenda.

“I don’t change my mind, but I’m flexible,” Trump said Monday. 

The auto tariff turn adds to mounting uncertainty in markets around the world about Trump’s plan to realign global trade.

Trump launched his global “reciprocal” tariffs earlier this month, only to walk back the most devastating duties hours later. A 10 per cent universal import tariff remains in place for most countries, as well as duties on specific sectors like aluminum, steel and automobiles.

Trump also escalated his trade war with China, which responded with 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products. The Trump administration on Friday temporarily exempted electronics from some of those tariffs.

The president has also suggested he will implement specific tariffs for pharmaceuticals, lumber and semiconductors soon..