Trade & Tariffs: 1) In Warsaw, Carney deepens Canada’s defence, trade ties with Poland; 2)Construction on Highway 413 to start soon, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says

1)In Warsaw, Carney deepens Canada’s defence, trade ties with Poland

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Craig Lord, August 25, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney is striking a new strategic partnership with Poland that will see Canada deepen its ties in trade, defence and energy with the fast-growing European economy.

Carney was in Warsaw Monday where he met with his Polish counterpart, Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The two leaders said they’ve agreed to work more closely in areas such as defence, aviation, cybersecurity and clean energy. The two nations will start holding annual bilateral meetings and work to encourage industrial partnerships in those sectors.

Carney said the Polish partnership will drive European demand for Canadian exports and solidify Canada’s defence presence in Europe.

The prime minister’s office announced Monday that Canada will be the lead country at a large defence industry expo in Poland next year.

Canada announced it would join ReArm Europe in June, a loan program that looks to bolster defence capabilities of members.

Carney touted the partnership with Poland and wider co-operation with Europe as integral for meeting Canada’s goal to quadruple the pace of defence spending by the end of the decade.

“If I may say, we learned much from the Prime Minister, from his government, including the importance of pulling our full weight in NATO,” Carney told media Monday.

“It will take us a few years to reach Polish levels of commitment, but it’s possible and we’ve made that commitment.”

Carney’s visit to Poland comes after a surprise stop in Ukraine on Sunday.

Speaking next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carney urged international partners to ramp up support for Ukraine at a critical juncture in its war with Russia.

Tusk said in Polish that he felt Carney’s resolve after watching the Canadian prime minister speak with Zelenskyy the day before.

“I understand the readiness of Canada, of Poland, and of our European partners to keep helping Ukraine during the war and after the war. We will be co-operating closely in this field with Canada,” he said according to a translation provided by the prime minister’s office.

Before meeting Tusk, Carney received a demonstration from Canadian Armed Forces members stationed in Europe as part of Operation Unifier, which provides training to Ukrainian soldiers.

He told assembled members that their training is “essential for any future security guarantee” in Ukraine.

On Sunday Carney did not rule out sending Canadian troops to Ukraine as part of a possible security guarantee to secure a peace deal in the war with Russia.

He has not clarified in what capacity any soldiers would be on the ground, and said conversations of what support from ally nations looks like are still unfolding.

Defence Minister David McGuinty told reporters Monday before Carney’s meeting with Tusk that the shape of Canada’s role in sustaining an eventual peace in Ukraine is still up for discussion.

“When (Prime Minister Carney) was speaking, he was speaking in the context of a whole series of possibilities. And that’s very difficult to prejudge. We’ll see how this evolves over time. But but we are hopeful that peace will come,” McGuinty said.

The prime minister also met with Poland’s newly elected president, Karol Nawrocki, before heading to Germany for a meeting with Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.

Catherine Godin, Canada’s ambassador to Poland, said the strategic partnership between the nations reflects a “mutual appetite” for more bilateral trade, particularly as U.S. President Donald Trump wages his global tariff campaign.

“The scope of what we can do together is only growing,” she told reporters in Warsaw.

“Frankly the importance of Poland is growing. Now it’s the fastest growing economy in Europe, so we need to take Poland into account.”

Poland has been one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe over the past decade, and has taken on increasing geopolitical importance since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Global Affairs Canada’s profile on Poland says both countries have “a strong and enduring partnership based on shared fundamental values, mutual respect and robust co-operation.”

Marcin Gabrys, chair of Canadian Studies at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, said Poland has “very solid foundations” in its relations with Canada, and wants more co-operation in sectors such as nuclear technology, with both countries signing an agreement in January for projects like small modular reactors.

A 2017 trade deal between Canada and Poland has doubled trade of goods between the countries, but Gabrys noted that there is now a trade deficit for Canada, with Polish companies sending more goods and investment into Canada than vice versa.

“There are a lot of opportunities in terms of economic co-operation,” he said, including in mining and critical minerals, and ties through Poland’s large diaspora in Canada.

Much of Canada’s recent engagement with Poland has surrounded Ukraine, from Ottawa’s resettlement program that brought thousands of Ukrainian women and children to Canada through Poland, to collaboration on bolstering the defence of NATO countries bordering Russia.

— with files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa

2) Construction on Highway 413 to start soon, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Liam Casey, August 27, 2025

Construction on Highway 413 north of Toronto will begin within days, Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday.

But Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria refused to say when the highway will be completed and how much it will cost taxpayers.

“We’ll continue to work with those in the industry to accelerate it and get it done as quickly as possible,” Sarkaria said at a news conference outside a highway truck inspection station in Caledon, Ont.

The proposed 52-kilometre highway will connect Highway 400 in Vaughan, Ont., with Highway 401 in Mississauga.

The province has awarded two contracts to begin the work, one to Fermar Paving for an embankment at the Highway 401 and Highway 407 interchange and the second one to Pave-Al to resurface Highway 10 in Caledon, Ont.

Ford is big on building highways.

He said traffic costs the Ontario economy some $56 billion annually. He has also said large construction projects will be one of the weapons used in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.

“It will keep drivers moving and keep our economy going,” Ford said. “No matter what President Trump sends our way, construction alone will keep 6,000 workers on the job and will add a billion dollars to Ontario’s GDP every single year.”

The controversial project brought a handful of protesters to the announcement, some with signs that read, “Don’t pave the Greenbelt.”

Environmentalists have criticized the project as it will carve through prime farmland and put several endangered species at risk.

“Once again the premier is using tariff talk to justify wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a highway that won’t solve gridlock, while failing to provide any clear timeline or budget for this reckless and costly plan,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

“This ill-advised project will only fuel more sprawl and pollution, while destroying the wetlands that protect us from flooding and the farmland that feeds us.”

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said instead of looking at solutions that bring “immediate relief” — such as removing tolls for trucks on Highway 407 — Ford “is focused on a project that has no timeline, no price tag, and no plans to get people out of traffic.”

“Ontarians are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and need solutions that get them home to their loved ones now, not decades from now,” she said.

Ford said Wednesday he would not be removing tolls for trucks on Highway 407.

The lack of transparency on large infrastructure projects such as Highway 413 is unacceptable, said Andrea Hazell, the Liberal critic for transportation.

“Without clear cost estimates, timelines, or proof the contracts were awarded fairly, the public cannot assess the value of this project,” she said.

“Transparency matters, and Ontarians deserve to know the full implications of Highway 413 before billions more are sunk into another Ford project that risks leaving commuters in the same gridlock and taxpayers footing an even bigger bill.”

The Ford government passed legislation last year that allowed for an accelerated version of an environmental assessment to be completed on the Highway 413 project.

It also designated that highway, along with the proposed Bradford Bypass and the Garden City Skyway bridge expansion, as priority projects to speed up their construction.

The legislation also facilitates construction 24 hours a day, streamlines utility relocations, introduces new penalties for obstructing access for field investigations or damaging equipment and accelerates access to property and property acquisitions.