Canadian companies face higher costs to purchase goods and services but are limited in raising consumer prices due to competitive pressures and weaker demand, according to quarterly surveys published Monday by the Bank of Canada, the Wall Street Journal reported. Overall, near-term inflation expectations among firms have eased after a sharp escalation in the previous quarter. More firms report a deteriorating sales outlook as the repercussions from chaotic U.S. trade policy continues to reverberate.
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A small township in northern Ontario says it will suspend all municipal services next month, after years of financial instability and pleas for provincial help, GlobalNews.ca reported. The Township of Fauquier-Strickland announced the decision last Tuesday, citing over $2.5 million in accumulated operating deficits and the complete depletion of reserve funds. In a release issued July 9, municipal officials say they’ve exhausted all other options, including layoffs and significant service cuts.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday said Canada will introduce a tariff rate quota for countries with which it has free trade agreements, excluding the United States, to protect the domestic steel industry, Reuters reported. A 50% tariff will apply to imports from these countries that surpass the 2024 volumes, though Canada will honor existing arrangements with its United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade partners, Carney said. Canada will implement additional tariffs of 25% on steel imports from all countries containing steel melted and poured in China before the end of July.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that she had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and that the two had agreed to strengthen trade collaboration, particularly in light of the tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump set to go in effect on August 1, Reuters reported. "We both agreed that the (U.S.-Canada-Mexico) trade agreement needed to be respected, and we shared our experiences about the letter than we received from President Trump," Sheinbaum said in her daily morning press conference.
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Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 1.9% in June, meeting analysts' expectations, as increases in the price of automobiles, clothing and footwear pushed the index higher, data showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The consumer price index was at 1.7% in the prior month. Statistics Canada said on a monthly basis the CPI increased 0.1%, matching analysts' forecasts. CPI has been under 2%, or the mid-point of the Bank of Canada's inflation target range, for three consecutive months.
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Hudson’s Bay is firing back at one of its biggest lenders. A new court filing from the defunct department store’s chief financial officer pushes back on the lender’s calls to subject the retailer to more oversight because it allegedly mishandled its liquidation and is hopelessly pursuing a deal to sell 25 of its leases, Bloomberg News reported.
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Canada Back in Tariff Crosshairs

Although markets are trying to shrug off the week's U.S. tariff threats as yet another negotiation tactic, there's growing unease at the daily barrage, the latest being a 35% tariff on Canadian goods and higher levies on other countries, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his tariff assault on Canada on Thursday, saying the U.S. would impose a 35% tariff on imports next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trading partners.
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The Canadian advertising market has been in turmoil for some years, with local broadcasters and online media players cutting jobs and losing market share amid shifting advertising demand, marketing budget cuts and U.S. streaming giants with ad tiers increasingly dominating the domestic media space, The Hollywood Reporter reported. But now that volatility has reached the Canadian podcasting business, with news The Podcast Exchange, a Toronto-based advertising reseller and branded content producer, has signaled it may seek bankruptcy protection.

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