TRADE WAR

🇨🇦🇺🇸 Trade deadline day looms

If you haven’t heard, Canada and the United States are kind of stuck in a trade war at the moment. And while the effects have been felt in different ways on both sides of the border, Canada is working hard to get a trade deal done to bring relief to the sectors most targeted by President Trump’s tariffs and bring the two countries together to get on the same page.

While PM Carney has been saying there’s a July 21st deadline on a new trade deal or Canada will increase counter-tariffs, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, wouldn’t commit to the July 21st date but says he believes a new trade deal that’s “good for Canada” will be agreed to.

Despite letters being sent out to countries outlining the rate of tariff they will face, Hoekstra said Canada wouldn’t just “get a letter” due to how close the two countries have been. Of note, the ambassador said that Canada would likely face some level of tariff regardless of the trade deal that’s put in place, simply because Trump likes tariffs, but that the overall agreement would be good for both nations.

Also noted, Hoekstra believes the 51st state rhetoric was driven by the media - despite President Trump repeatedly going on social media rants about how the U.S. doesn’t need Canada and Canada’s tariff rate would be 0 if they just joined America as the 51st state.

At the Calgary Stampede, PM Carney told reporters he’s taking on a “nimble” approach due to the multiple trade goals that exist during these negotiations between the US and Canada.

🤕Canada on the ropes

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters that the government is exploring options to support Rio Tinto - a mining and metals giant - with cashflow problems as they begin feeling the crunch of President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs which currently stand at 50%. As the United States is looking to bring manufacturing jobs to the country, Canada is looking at ways to support the company, headquartered dually between Australia and the United Kingdom, as the company employs 4,000 Canadians in Quebec and had announced plans to spend $1.4-billion to expand its aluminum smelting operations in the province back in 2023.

The news of support for Rio Tinto comes after bad news for the month of June: Canada’s manufacturing sector saw the largest output drop since the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) down to 45.6, that marks the 5th consecutive month of declines and readings below 50 which indicates contraction in the sector. Unsurprisingly, tariffs are putting a squeeze on the sector as exports drop and firms have had to cut back on production and staffing.

Bottom line: The Federal government is walking a tightrope between keeping Trump appeased and making sure the country gets a fair trade deal. Not only that, but Carney’s reiterated his stance on protecting Canadian jobs now while also making clear to President Trump the opportunity that exists for Canada and the US to work ultimately work together. Nonetheless, Mark Carney has marched forward in his plans of diversification, having signed trade and defence deals with Europe before trade talks that ended up irking President Trump.

CANADA

🇨🇦 Canadian Headlines

💻Big tech sticks it to Canadians. Despite the Federal government repealing the digital services tax as part of trade negotiations with the United States, U.S. tech firms like Google and Meta are charging Canadians a 2.5-3% premium on Canadian advertisers to recoup the costs that would have gone towards paying the DST. For how fast big tech companies typically move, they’re taking their sweet time when it comes to charging Canadian advertisers more money.

⚡️Canada’s renewables push in trouble? After a brief period where the United States (under Joe Biden) and Canada were on the same page for the renewable energy push, President Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” scraps clean energy incentives that steer the United States off the path of further investment. What does this mean for Canada? PM Carney has taken an “all of the above” approach - diversifying energy investments where the United States, under Trump, is going all in on fossil fuels. While tariffs will still play a role, the opportunity exists where Canada lures investment from American companies to work on their EV programs with incentives, which could create jobs and help Mark Carney make Canada the “energy superpower” he wants it to become.

👀CSIS warns of espionage threat. CSIS issued an “espionage advisory” to government departments and universities due to China-linked operations intended to get sensitive information back to the Chinese government. One electric vehicle battery researcher was arrested in 2022 for sharing trade secrets with China while employed at Hydro-Québec and in 2021, a scientist was fired from an infectious disease laboratory on suspicions that they were sharing information with China.

🕴Government tightens consultant funds. The Federal government won’t be issuing blank cheques to consultants anymore. Addressing criticisms over delayed projects that run over on cost estimates, the Federal government is shifting to “outcome-based” practices and capping contracts at $20-million.

More stories:

• Ontario delays curriculum overhaul. This would have been a total overhaul from kindergarten to grade 12. Ontario’s education minister says this is to keep it consistent province-wide and provide teachers with more time to prepare for the changes.

• Overcoming challenging relationships and global trade. International trade minister Maninder Sidhu says Canada is still interested in building new trade relationships, but various friction points and not-so-cozy relationships make it harder, particularly with the U.K., India and China.

UNITED STATES

🇺🇸🐊 Alligator Alcatraz

If the above picture doesn’t seem real, well, think again. The photo was posted by the official X account for the US Department of Homeland Security as criticism of the new “Alligator Alcatraz” reached a boiling point.

🤨What is Alligator Alcatraz? Glad you asked. It’s a detention centre (surprise, surprise…) that was built in 8 days inside Big Cypress National Reserve, which is a protected land part of the Everglades. It will cost $450-million a year to operate. It can fit 5,000 people that are detained by ICE and other federal authorities, and despite being built in 8 days, officials claim it’s been built to withstand storms that come to the area (and we’re approaching Hurricane season…).

🐊What do alligators have to do with it? Because of it being built in a remote area of the Everglades, there’s not much around. Similar to how Alcatraz was surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Florida’s Attorney General said “there’s not much waiting for detainees other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.” And yes, he’s a big Trump ally.

Over the last 35 years, over $10-billion has gone into restoring natural water flow in the Everglades. Placing a detention centre in the middle of it will damage wetlands, disrupt wildlife habitats and hurt an already fragile ecosystem, say environmentalists.

Another problem? The state doesn’t own the land. The Miami-Dade County does. The state offered $20-million for the land, which has an appraised value of $195-million. Despite this, Governor DeSantis invoked emergency powers to take control of the property and begin development.

⚠️Criticism has come from everyone.

• Environmentalists say the facility pollutes the wetlands and threatens wildlife.

• Native American leaders say they were not consulted.

• Immigration rights activists say the whole thing shows disregard for the health and dignity of detainees.

• Former DHS spokesperson under Biden’s administration was blunt, saying “you don’t solve immigration by disappearing people into tents guarded by gators.”

• Miami-Dade County Mayor opposes the aggressive tactics by the state and warns of the impacts on the Everglades ecosystem.

• Almost half of Americans disapprove of the facility, and just one-third approve of it.

🐻President Trump wants more. While touring the facility, Trump said he’d like more states to build similar facilities. On Sunday, President Trump and Florida Governor, DeSantis, urged more red states to follow Florida’s lead and install their own remotely located detention facilities. Representatives for Alaska’s state government said “we don’t have alligators, but we have lots of bears” and Nancy Mace of South Carolina said the state has a swamp and a dream and South Carolina’s gators are “ready.”

WORLD

🏦 Numbers

✈️38%. Canadians travelled across the border to the United States in May 2025 38% less than they did in May 2024. An unintended consequence of the trade war that was started by the USA is the impact on tourism: estimates have losses anywhere from $2.1-billion to $7.4-billion depending on how long the boycott lasts. Meanwhile, Canadians are opting for more trips and money spent in Canada.

🇫🇷102 years. For the first time since 1923, Paris opened the Seine for public swimming after massive cleanup operations went into effect for the Olympics last year. 1,000 swimmers will be welcome daily until August 31.

⚠️39 degrees. That’s the temperature it took for the Autobahn to expand and crack open in Germany as Europe battles devastating heat waves. Europe’s heatwave has put many countries to work, as infrastructure breaks like the Autobahn take place in tandem with forest fires in multiple countries and hundreds of firefighters deployed to fight them in Greece, Turkey and Germany.

🚨 More Headlines

🇺🇸Heartbreaking Texas floods. As of this writing, 82 people are dead after flash floods hit Camp Mystic during the Fourth of July weekend. Overnight rains caused flash flooding, which overwhelmed the Guadalupe River and surged more than 26 feet within an hour and a half. President Trump is honouring Governor Abbott’s emergency declaration to deploy FEMA, as Governor Abbott has vowed to continue the search until everyone is accounted for.

🇵🇸Is it finally time for a ceasefire? Israel dropped more airstrikes on Gaza, killing at least 38 people as ceasefire talks reach a fever pitch. The latest negotiations on a 60-day ceasefire call for Israel to withdraw, create buffer zones to allow humanitarian aid and for Hamas to release live and dead hostages. Israeli PM, Netanyahu, is against permanent troop withdrawal and is insistent on the dismantling of Hamas. A few days ago, Netanyahu vowed there would be no Hamas in a postwar Gaza.

🥊UFC fight at the White House. For the 250th birthday of the United States, the UFC will be hosting a fight (or a full card?) on the grounds of the White House. A UFC spokesperson reached out to confirm that this was indeed going to happen.

🫠Elon Musk starts the “American Party.” Continuing his feud with Trump, Elon Musk has started the America Party in response to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” which is intended to appeal to the “80% centrist majority.”

CLIMATE CHANGE

🌎David Suzuki: It’s too late.

David Suzuki, the environmentalist we all grew up with in Canadian schools in some way (who hasn’t heard of him?) did a Canada interview and declared “it’s too late” to stop climate change. He says Donald Trump’s 2024 win was a “dagger in my heart” and a triumph for capitalism and neoliberalism.

Read the full interview here.

NEWS

💭 ICYMI

🎤Trump backs immigrants. Well, a Trump impersonator. Bad Bunny showed his support in a new music video by having a familiar voice deliver a pro-immigration message. In his video for “NeuvaYol,” which came out on July 4th, a voice that sounds an awful lot like President Trump’s says the country is nothing without immigrants.

🧠OpenAI brings in forensic psychiatrists. AI is impacting people in a negative way, and its users are falling into delusions with AI chatbots. OpenAI is trying to get ahead of it, by hiring psychiatrists to measure the effects of AI on mental health.

🐶Stem cells for pets. It’s time for our pets to get in on the good stuff. A biotech startup is developing stem cell treatments for dogs and cats to deal with chronic conditions, arthritis and injuries. $18-million in funding is going towards the initiative.

🐻‍❄️Tripod Polar Bear thriving. Nature has crazy ways of working. What should have been impossible was anything but: a tripod polar bear with a baby cub following along - all in Manitoba. Mama bear toughs out the elements, surviving injury, blood loss and infection to not only survive - but thrive.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

✅ TO-DO FOR THE WEEK

📺What to watch: The second season of Quarterback comes out on Netflix this Tuesday, July 8th. Big Brother 27 premieres on Thursday, July 10th. Jaws @ 50: The Inside Story, exploring the making of the movie and its lasting impact is available on Disney+ on Friday, July 11th.

🎵What to listen to: Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story.

📖What to read: A personal recommendation that has gripped us - “The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea.”

🥵Feeling the heat? No need to. Stay cool with one of the best tower fans on the market today.

🎾Summer activity? Join your friends on the tennis court (it seems like everyone is out there these days).