Donald Trump’s trade war began today. The U.S. President’s across the board 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are in effect, including a lower 10% tax on Canadian energy. Canada is retaliating with levies on $30-billion worth of American goods – and in 21 days, will add tariffs on another $125-billion worth of U.S. products.
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Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem has a warning about a long, drawn-out trade conflict. He says unlike the pandemic recession, there won’t be a bounce-back. Macklem says open trade between Canada and the U.S. has benefitted both countries raising standards of living – and tariffs will kick this into reverse. Moments after Trump confirmed tariffs will go ahead, the major stock indexes in Canada and the U-S plunged.
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Despite Canada’s efforts to meet the U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands to boost border security, the union for Canada’s customs and immigration officers says they’re still short about 2,000 front-line officers – and they desperately need another training centre.
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More Canadians are falling victim to investment and crypto scams – and younger Canadians top the list. The Better Business Bureau says those aged 18 to 44 have dropped the most cash of any age group – losing an average of $2,500. The Bureau says scammers have become more sophisticated creating realistic forms and websites.
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A new business in Brandon has created some buzz. Multi Cook, a Ukrainian food franchise, has opened on 18th Street. It reportedly specializes in homemade-style preservative-free food offering a menu of 70 to 80 dishes – everything from perogies and dumplings to homemade Ukrainian sausages and cabbage rolls. Brandon is one of three locations in Canada, but Multi Cook has more than 1,000 locations in Ukraine and over 200 globally.
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The Brandon Home & Leisure Show returns to the Keystone Centre next month under new leadership. The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba has taken over from ‘Display Manitoba’. A major change is dropping admission to $5.00, with free entry for kids 14 and under, to make the event more family-friendly.
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Brand new hockey gear for kids is headed to several Manitoba Indigenous communities. Ontario group ‘Their Opportunity’ is shipping 19 pallets of equipment to First Nations; everything from sticks and helmets to goalie pads and pucks. The gear is to be distributed in the Island Lake Region, Wasagamack, Red Sucker Lake, Garden Hill, and St. Theresa Point.
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Researchers predict the world’s health systems will soon come under crippling pressure from a huge challenge. They say 3.8 billion adults will be overweight or obese in 15 years – or around 60% of the global adult population.
The study says governments need to do more to transform diets and improve peoples’ nutrition, physical activity and living environments.
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It’s slowly getting warmer in Manitoba, but it doesn’t mean winter is over. Environment Canada Climatologist Dave Phillips says the mild start to March will continue; there will be more melting days that freezing days, but predicting precipitation is much harder. For example in 2022, Phillips says the dry winter was followed by the wettest spring on record.
