U.S. wine export market struggling after Canada ‘pulled the plug,’ expert says

By Jordan Fleguel

Journalist,

 BNNBloomberg.ca
Published: June 18, 2025 

After U.S. President Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs targeting Canadian goods earlier this year, Canada was quick to respond with retaliatory measures aimed at American sectors that rely on exports north of the border, one of which was the wine industry.

The result was a 93 per cent drop in American wine exports to Canada in April, the biggest year-over-year decline in decades. Since Canada is the largest buyer of exported U.S. wines, the ongoing trade dispute has plunged the industry into crisis, according to one expert.

“Wine firms here in the U.S. thought that a tariff on (imported) goods, including wine from Canada, would be a boon, but it has turned out the other way around,” Karl Storchmann, executive director of the American Association of Wine Economists, told BNN Bloomberg in a Wednesday interview.

“Canada pulled the plug and the exports of U.S. wine to Canada are virtually down to zero or they’re closing in on zero… and exports to Canada account for more than a third of all U.S. exports by value, and that is massive.”

Trump’s decision in March to impose blanket 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods entering the U.S. was met with swift retaliation at both the federal and provincial level in Canada.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), which typically imports around US$1 billion worth of American alcohol each year, was directed to remove all U.S. wine and spirits from its shelves by Premier Doug Ford. Similar actions were taken in other provinces, including British Columbia.

After those tariffs were removed following Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade announcement, imports resumed, but at a much slower pace, and the federal government continues to impose a 25 per cent tariff on U.S. wine entering the country.

But even though American wine is again available for Canadians to purchase, strong “Buy Canada” sentiment has exacerbated the problem for U.S. producers, who are encountering another issue domestically, Storchmann noted.

“If you cannot ship out millions of dollars (worth) of wine, it will stay here, but the pot is closed, and the lid is on the pot. It must lead to price drops in the U.S., so it’s not turning out to be a boon, it might be the absolute opposite,” he said.

Storchmann said Canadian purchasers of U.S. wine tend to buy premium products from high-end producers in California – and lots of it.

“Canada is a very, very important market for upscale wine and it’s in enormous quantities. The premium wine markets are Canada and China,” he said.

American wine exports to China, the third largest purchaser of U.S. wine, also took a hit in April, as Beijing and Washington were in the midst of a trade war of their own. China bought 30.5 per cent less American wine in April than it did in the same month in 2024.

Storchmann said that on top of all this, overall demand for wine around the world has been on the decline for the last two or three years.

“Wine consumption in the U.S. and globally has been going down probably pretty much starting after COVID-19, so that is another problem,” he said.

“That’s why Canada virtually pulling the plug makes it especially hard.”

Tom Mulcair: Carney can take on Trump, but he’s got big challenges at home, too

By Tom MulcairOpens in new window
Published: June 20, 2025 

 Mulcair breaks down new steel and aluminum protections, their impact on Canada-U.S. trade, and PM Carney’s key measures.

The new Carney government got elected on a promise of results.

The core team he’s assembled to back him was purpose built with a single goal top of mind: Getting things done.

Economic issues generally and trade issues, in particular, were dictating the agenda. What was new was the single-minded determination. The threat of a trade war with our closest ally, the United States, was thought to be the stuff of a theoretical lament for our nation.

Then, it happened. When it did, and newly-elected Donald Trump actually voiced the desire to attack Canada economically and make us the 51st state, there was a sudden need for a Canadian adult in the room.

President Donald Trump, right, and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney participate in a session of the G7 Summit, Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. 

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Exit Justin Trudeau, enter Mark Carney. No matter where you are on the political spectrum, you’ll have seen that Carney has been moving very fast on his promise to find new partners around the world and to develop opportunities at home.

Carney knows that the window to get anything changed in a big, modern economy is very narrow. Opposing interests are well defined, positions are well defended. The extreme clientelism of the Trudeau years ground his government to a halt. It’s not that they lacked ideas, it’s that they couldn’t get anything done.

Caught in a second minority government, Trudeau cut a deal with Singh to ensure his own political survival. It wound up costing both of them dearly. Parliament was shut down by the Conservatives and the Liberals were in free fall in the polls. Singh’s NDP was nearly wiped out at the ballot box, because the deal with Trudeau had cost them any definition of who they were.

Although he was also handed a minority government by voters, Carney has been behaving like someone who has a majority; and it’s easy to understand why.

What he’s seeking to accomplish can only be realized if other political actors are on board, but there was no way he was going to put himself in lockstep with the NDP, an idea he quickly rebuffed.

Carney’s ‘de-facto majority’

Instead, Carney’s determination and bold vision seem to be accompanied by a chess player’s moves. He’s almost challenging the other parties to take him on because he’s confident in his overall position.

Carney knows that Canadians agree with his approach and want him to succeed. Provoking an election any time soon would simply provide Carney with a majority. That political reality has provided him with a de-facto majority, even if he lacks a numerical one. Carney has gone all in.

Barely a month after the election, he introduced sweeping legislation to accelerate resource projects and has sought to remove American arguments about security issues by immediately meeting our NATO spending obligations and tightening the border.

Visit our opinion page for more editorials from this columnist and others

The NDP quickly signalled that they wouldn’t make the same mistake that had cost them most of their seats. They’d become an opposition party. It used to irritate us in the NDP when we were called the “conscience of Parliament”, because it left us out as real players.

I suspect that interim NDP Leader Don Davies won’t mind that role at all in the current context. The NDP seem set to patiently rebuild their brand and avoid voting with the Liberals. The Bloc, as comically irrelevant as ever, will continue to wave their wooden swords and no one will pay any attention.

The real game, and the real view into the strategy of Mark Carney, was his forceful squeeze play on the Conservatives. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith weighed in quickly: She wanted Carney’s bill passed. It didn’t take long for the Conservatives to fold. Carney will get his legislation before the summer, as he requested.

Poilievre is about to become an Alberta MP and he’ll have to decide who his boss is: His own party or Danielle Smith’s. The answer to that question could have a determining effect on whether Poilievre’s Conservatives retain the sizable gains they made in Ontario, where he used to be an MP.

As is often the case in politics, it’s the people inside your tent who can cause the most problems. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a classic Progressive Conservative, has been proving himself to be a key ally of Carney. He wants resource projects and other development for Canada’s largest province. The key goal of accelerating the review process is at the top of his list

.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces that he will be reversing his government’s decision to open the Greenbelt to developers during a press conference in Niagara Falls, Ont., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. The announcement comes after a second cabinet minister resigned in the wake of the Greenbelt controversy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton

The corrupt shenanigans, around Ford’s Greenbelt land grab, should be a warning sign to Carney. Be careful when pushing aside environmental and habitat protections. Ford may believe that the public no longer cares about the issue but the Mounties are still investigating and the result could be serious trouble for Ford and for Carney, if he becomes too closely identified with the Ford approach.

There will be innumerable environmental, social and economic issues that will require deft handling by Team Carney. None will be as difficult as reconciling the constitutional, treaty and inherent rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples with their ambitious agenda.

Mark Carney receives a pair of moccasins from David Pratt Vice-Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations as he holds an election campaign rally in Saskatoon, Sask., on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

That’s where the “aw shucks” populism of Doug Ford can quickly become a major problem.

Ford’s recent pronouncements on the relationship with Indigenous peoples have been particularly ham-fisted:

“There’s an opportunity of a lifetime for them. We’re giving them $3 billion with a B … to be equity partners, to make their communities more prosperous and wealthier and have services they’ve never had before…there’s going to be a point that you can’t just keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government,“ said Ford.

“You’ve got to be able to take care of yourselves — and when you literally have gold mines, nickel mines, every type of critical mineral that the world wants, and you’re saying, ‘No, no, I don’t want to touch that, by the way, give me money.’ Not going to happen. It’s simple.”

The reply from Alvin Fiddler, the highly respected Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, was sharp and to the point. He said Ford’s remarks were “offensive, rooted in racism and colonial violence.”

Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation Alvin Fiddler speaks at a news conference against Bill C-5 in the Foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Ford has since offered an apology but it’s hard not to agree with Grand Chief Fiddler’s characterization. That could eventually prove a huge problem for Carney.

For over 50 years, going back to an injunction that was issued in favour of the James Bay Cree to block a mammoth hydroelectric project in Quebec, wise resource developers have understood the need to work on a respectful nation-to-nation basis.

That’s what Quebec has done, by the way, and although things are far from perfect, large developments continue to move forward because partnerships, and trust, have been created.

The old method, of throwing everything you’ve got at big law firms in the hope of defeating Indigenous rights, has proven a failed model, time after time after time. Ford does seem to have a glimmer of understanding that partnerships are the key, but he’s such a blunt instrument, he manages to insult those he says he’d like to make a deal with. Not an auspicious start.

Carney has his work cut out for him, and has been going about it with inspiring energy and determination.

To help him meet his ambitious goals for Canada, he has managed to recruit some extraordinary players to his team. Within cabinet, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson will play a crucial role. But it’s two outsiders who provide the key clues to Carney’s approach.

File photo of then Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Marc-Andre Blanchard speaks to media during the Liberal cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma

Chief of Staff Marc-André Blanchard is best known in Ottawa as Canada’s former ambassador to the U.N. Prior to that he’d been the national CEO of one of Canada’s top law firms. You don’t get to drive that sort of enterprise without knowing how to deal with oversized egos; great training for dealing with caucus and cabinet.

Blanchard is said to have bruised many during his tenure, but he got the job done. He went on to a key role at the massive Caisse de dépôt pension fund where his international experience was put to good use (and where his published salary was $2 million a year).

He’ll be taking a huge pay cut to return to public service and he’s not doing it for the glory. He’s onside with Carney’s vision for Canada and will be essential to achieving those results.

A file photo of then Hydro Quebec president Michael Sabia, speaking at the legislature committee studying Hydro Quebec strategic plan on Nov. 30, 2023 at the legislature in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

The most astounding hire was that of Michael Sabia. Like Blanchard, a tough task maker. A Montreal colleague chuckled as he related Sabia’s tendency to call key meetings for 5:30 pm on Fridays during his time running Hydro Quebec. A nice way to remind top people that their big pay cheque comes with obligations. He’ll be running the Privy Council Office, Carney’s ministry that operates the entire government.

Go back to the Throne Speech to understand what types of massive cuts and reorganization are in store for the top brass in Ottawa. Any deputy minister who thought they’d be spending the summer on the dock at their cottage had better think again.

This is a unique time in Canadian political history. An unparalleled threat to our very existence being handled by a brilliant, energetic and refreshingly engaged new team. Canadians are onside. Now it’s time to deliver the results.


Tom Mulcair

Contributor

Tom Mulcair is a former leader of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada between 2012 and 2017, and a columnist for CTVNews.ca

BEFORE BECOMIN THE NDP LEADER HE WAS A FORMER LIBERAL CABINET MINISTER IN QUEBEC

CANADA

Liberals, Conservatives pass major projects legislation in House of Commons

By The Canadian Press
Updated: June 20, 2025 

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

OTTAWA — Conservative members of Parliament voted with the minority Liberal government to pass its marquee major projects legislation Friday evening, setting it up to become law before Canada Day.

The legislation, also known as Bill C-5 or the one Canadian economy act, would allow the government to green-light a list of projects that have been deemed to be in the national interest, fast-tracking their approvals.

The Liberals have called it the core of the government’s domestic economic response to U.S. tariffs.

“This is what makes us different from the United States, this is what makes us more independent from the United States, this is what’s going to move us forward,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told a press conference Friday evening.

He defended the speed with which his government pushed the bill through the House, saying it needed to pass quickly “because we are in a crisis.”


“And if you don’t think we’re in a crisis, go to Sault Ste. Marie, go to Hamilton, go to Windsor,” he added.

The bill was introduced on June 6 and was pushed through the House after about eight hours of committee study on Tuesday and Wednesday.

After the second of two votes in the House of Commons on Friday, Carney crossed the floor to shake hands with Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman.

Two votes were held instead of one after the House Speaker ruled that the legislation had two distinct parts without a clear common element.

That allowed Bloc Quebecois and NDP MPs to vote in favour of the first part of the bill - which looks to tackle internal trade barriers - and against the more controversial second part dealing with major projects.

Provincial and territorial premiers have given the government lists of projects they want to see fast-tracked under the legislation, but no national list of projects has been created, Carney said.

“We all agree that more fulsome conversations are needed to select the nation-building projects and to determine the conditions that they must fulfil. In other words, the real work begins now,” he said.

At least two premiers aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on which projects should be fast-tracked. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is bullish on building a pipeline through British Columbia, while B.C. Premier David Eby has pointed out that there is no project proponent or funding for a pipeline.

After a first ministers meeting on Friday, Eby said in a media statement that he impressed upon his colleagues how central his province is to achieving the premiers’ priorities.

“As a gateway to growing markets in the Asia Pacific, any successful trade diversification strategy for Canada hinges on our success as a province. B.C. is the economic engine of the new Canada and must be treated fairly by Ottawa when it comes to infrastructure investment,” Eby said.

Carney has said that his government will not force projects on provinces or territories that oppose them.


The legislation has drawn criticism from Indigenous leaders and environmental groups who say it gives too much power to the federal cabinet to bypass existing laws.

The House transport committee did amend the bill to, among other things, remove the Indian Act from a list of laws the government can sidestep when determining whether a project should move forward.

First Nations leaders have warned the bill could violate their constitutionally protected rights and may lead to legal challenges.

Carney tried to assuage some of those concerns in his press conference on Friday.

“The major projects office will have an Indigenous advisory council whose core function will be to honour Section 35 rights in the implementation of this bill,” he said.

Carney promised to hold full-day summits with First Nations, Inuit and Metis rights-holders and leaders in the coming weeks, alongside Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty and Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, along with other cabinet ministers.

“Consultation, co-operation, engagement and participation are at the heart of this bill,” he said.

Alty said the prime minister’s decision to hold those summits is a “serious sign” that Indigenous rights will be upheld.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce applauded the bill’s passage, saying in a media statement that it “rises to meet the moment” of the economic crisis caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

TC Energy’s president and CEO Francois Poirier called it “a bipartisan step forward for Canada to get back into the business of big nation-building projects,” but added the country’s regulatory framework is in need of reform.

Scheer, who spoke with reporters after the votes, said he and his colleagues supported the bill because “if there’s even a glimmer of hope that something might come from this, then Conservatives aren’t going to stand in the way.”

“We’ll see what happens now,” he added.

The House of Commons has adjourned until September. The bill is now headed to the Senate, which is scheduled to sit until June 27.

By Sarah Ritchie.

With files from Kyle Duggan and Alessia Passafiume.

Affordability challenges plague Canadian  renters despite falling prices: report

By The Canadian Press
June 19, 2025 

A woman enters a building next to a sign advertising an apartment for rent on moving day in Montreal, Monday, July 1, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

TORONTO — A new report suggests Canadian renters continue to face affordability challenges even as asking rent prices have fallen this year, while those considering the leap to home ownership are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Royal LePage’s 2025 Canadian renters report, which includes results from a survey conducted by Burson, found 37 per cent of renters in Canada spend between 31 and 50 per cent of their net income on monthly rent costs.Read more from the report

The survey of more than 1,800 renters in early June indicated that 15 per cent of respondents were spending more than half of their income on rent, while 37 per cent were spending 30 per cent or less.

Rents have eased for eight consecutive months, but remain well above historical norms, according to the report.

It said rents are 5.7 per cent higher nationally than they were two years ago and 12.6 per cent higher than three years ago. Over the past half decade, average asking rents in Canada have risen by an average of 4.1 per cent annually, outpacing wage growth.


Due to those affordability challenges, four-in-10 respondents said they have reduced spending on groceries and food, while three-in-10 have reduced contributions to savings or retirement.

“Rental markets tend to respond more slowly than resale housing to changes in the economy. Home prices have softened in many regions through the first half of the year, and we’re now seeing that relief begin to flow through to the rental sector,” said Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper in a press release.

“Yet, for those aspiring to own, this may be the moment to take a harder look at what’s possible. With prices down in many markets, rates easing, and wages growing faster than the cost of housing, the path to ownership — long a distant beacon for many — may now be coming into clearer focus."

The report said more than half of all renters surveyed indicate they plan to buy a property in the future, but just 16 per cent said they plan to do so within the next two years.

Twenty-eight per cent of renters said they considered purchasing a property before signing or renewing their current rental agreement while 40 per cent are waiting for home prices to decline and 29 per cent are holding out for further interest rate cuts.

Soper said the data shows many tenants “are motivated to get a foot on the property ladder.” But he warned that waiting for the perfect window of opportunity could be a mistake.

“In Canada’s least affordable cities, entry-level opportunities have improved significantly, with home prices off last year’s peaks, incomes up and borrowing costs trending lower,” he said.

“Still, many renters ... are choosing to wait. History suggests they may be disappointed. Over the past 75 years, Canadian home values have risen approximately five per cent annually, running consistently ahead of inflation.”

Not all renters are waiting on the sidelines to buy, however. Nearly one-third of renters said they do not plan to purchase a home at all, according to the report.

Of those respondents, 53 per cent said they don’t believe their income will allow them to buy a property in the neighbourhood they want to live in and 40 per cent said that renting remains more affordable.

Another 40 per cent said they don’t want to take on the responsibilities of maintaining a property.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press

Home construction must double over next decade to restore 2019 affordability: CMHC

By The Canadian Press
June 19, 2025 

Cranes are seen above a condo development and other housing projects under construction, in Coquitlam, B.C., on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says up to 4.8 million new homes will need to be built over the next decade to restore affordability levels last seen in 2019 based on projected demand.

The national housing agency released its latest supply gaps estimate report on Thursday, which said between 430,000 and 480,000 new housing units are needed per year across the ownership and rental markets by 2035.

That would represent around double the current pace of home construction in Canada.

A total of 90,760 housing starts have been recorded so far this year through May, and CMHC projects an average of 245,000 starts annually over the next 10 years under current conditions.Latest updates on investing here

CMHC deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth said doubling the pace of housing construction in Canada is achievable, “but not without a significantly larger and modernized workforce, more private investment, less regulation, fewer delays, and lower development costs.” He also called for more innovation in construction technology and growth in labour productivity.

“As we increase housing over time, house price growth will come down,” ab Iorwerth said on a call with media prior to the report’s release.

The report reassured that increasing housing supply is “unlikely to cause financial instability because these forces take time to produce reactions.” Ab Iorwerth added the projections were calculated on a 10-year timeline for that reason.

“We’re hoping that this will be a gradual transition,” he said.

“Housing supply will be increasing. This will start to slow the growth in house prices. Canadians will then be a little bit less keen to bid aggressively on housing ... and they’ll diversify their savings into other money markets or the stock exchange or whatever. And so the pressure will be taken out of house prices.”

In 2023, the agency estimated Canada would need to build an additional 3.5 million housing units by 2030, on top of 2.3 million that were already projected to be built by that year, to reach affordability levels seen in 2004.

In its latest report, CMHC said that timeline “is no longer realistic,” especially after the post-pandemic price surge seen across the housing market.

Ab Iorwerth said Canada has faced a “shock” to housing affordability since 2019.

“When we were looking at the data, we saw that there’s been a lot of loss of affordability since 2019,” he said.

“We’ve seen these very fundamental changes in the housing system since 2019. It’s what the pandemic led to, these structural changes that we’re seeing in the housing system ... and that’s why we’ve decided to look at 2019 as this aspiration to really try and address this challenge that most Canadians are now feeling.”

The agency defines affordability as the amount of income that goes toward housing. In general, it aims to return to levels of affordability at which adjusted house prices are no higher than 30 per cent of average gross household income.


But that ratio is projected to reach 52.7 per cent by 2035 in a “business-as-usual” scenario, up from 40.3 per cent in 2019. Doubling projected housing starts over the next decade would bring the figure down to 41.1 per cent of income being allocated for homebuying nationally, according to the agency.

During the federal election campaign, the Liberals promised to double the rate of residential construction over the next decade to reach 500,000 homes per year.

The plan emphasized scaling up prefabricated housing construction. It said a new entity called Build Canada Homes would provide $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing to prefabricated homebuilders to reduce construction times by up to 50 per cent.

Returning to 2019 affordability levels in the next decade would lead to house prices being roughly one-quarter lower than where they would otherwise be in 2035, the CMHC’s report added. Average rents would also be about five per cent lower.Latest updates on commodities here

The report included regional breakdowns, which show Ontario, Nova Scotia and B.C. have the most significant housing supply gaps by province.

Montreal faces the largest gap of any major city, where home ownership costs have also risen faster than other regions in recent years, followed by Ottawa, where CMHC said new supply has not kept pace with increased housing demand.

In Toronto, despite increased rental construction in recent years, the region is lacking home ownership options that match local incomes, and CMHC estimated a 70 per cent increase in homebuilding over the next decade would help to improve affordability issues.

For Vancouver, it said an estimated 7,200 additional homes are needed annually above the “business-as-usual” scenario, an increase of 29 per cent.

It estimated Calgary, which has seen record levels of home construction for three straight years, will need 45 per cent more new homes annually. Meanwhile, no additional supply is required beyond what is currently projected in Edmonton, as sufficient market housing is expected to be built in the region to maintain affordability by 2035.

---

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025.

Norway plans temporary ban on power-intensive cryptocurrency mining

By Reuters
June 20, 2025

(Anna Tarazevich / Pexels.com)

COPENHAGEN -- Norway aims to impose a temporary ban on the establishment of new data centers that mine cryptocurrency with the most power-intensive technology, in order to conserve electricity for other industries, the Nordic country’s government said on Friday.

“The Labour Party government has a clear intention to limit the mining of cryptocurrency in Norway as much as possible,” Minister for Digitalization and Public Administration Karianne Tung said in a statement.

“Cryptocurrency mining is very power-intensive and generates little in the way of jobs and income for the local community,” she added.

A temporary ban could be introduced during the autumn of 2025, the government said.

Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik, Reuters

‘Massive innovation opportunity’: Expert on stablecoins’ regulatory framework

By Joshua Santos

 BNNBloomberg.ca

Published: June 20, 2025 

The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill to develop a regulatory framework for stablecoins and a cryptocurrency expert says clarity on the ‘rules of the road’ would be welcome by investors.

Jillian Friedman, chief operating officer at Symbiotic says stablecoins represent the first major case of blockchain technology used as payment outside of the crypto world.

“We’re seeing stablecoins being used as a means of payment and part of, like, the global financial plumbing well outside of the crypto world or crypto trading,’ Friedman told BNN Bloomberg in a Friday interview.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency pegged or tied with the U.S. dollar and are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens.

The bill marks a major step towards legitimizing a once-niche but now fast-growing area of the crypto market and it’s expected the market will continue to grow further once the U.S. legislation has passed.

“People want clarity in terms of the rules of the road,” said Friedman.

“People are really excited about the potential and up until now and relatively recently, it hasn’t been clear how they can actually build with it and what’s allowed and what’s not.”

Friedman says the move by the U.S. to develop a framework for Stablecoins could also be welcomed in Canada.

“This is a massive innovation opportunity, and it would be really great to see that kind of acknowledgement and encouragement at the Canadian federal level as well,” said Friedman.

Friedman said stablecoins are used as an efficient way to send money regardless of the underlying technology. She said she uses it to mostly to operate her own business.

“It doesn’t mean we’re trading with bitcoin,” said Friedman. “It means that when we pay suppliers, we’re sending payments, not through wires but in a manner that’s as easy as it is to send an email. I can’t tell you how refreshing that is compared to operating a business using legacy financial tools and all the friction that’s required”.

If the U.S. bill is signed into law, stablecoins would be required to be backed by liquid assets such as U.S. dollars and short-term Treasury bills, and for issuers to publicly disclose the composition of their reserves monthly.

With files from Reuters

Billions of login credentials have been leaked online, Cybernews researchers say

By The Associated Press
 June 20, 2025 

A Facebook privacy tab is displayed on a computer screen in Ottawa 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

NEW YORK — Researchers at cybersecurity outlet Cybernews say that billions of login credentials have been leaked and compiled into datasets online, giving criminals “unprecedented access” to accounts consumers use each day.

According to a report published this week, Cybernews researchers have recently discovered 30 exposed datasets that each contain a vast amount of login information — amounting to a total of 16 billion compromised credentials. That includes user passwords for a range of popular platforms including Google, Facebook and Apple.

Sixteen billion is roughly double the amount of people on Earth today, signaling that impacted consumers may have had credentials for more than one account leaked. Cybernews notes that there are most certainly duplicates in the data and so “it’s impossible to tell how many people or accounts were actually exposed.”

It’s also important to note that the leaked login information doesn’t span from a single source, such as one breach targeting a company. Instead, it appears that the data was stolen through multiple events over time, and then compiled and briefly exposed publicly, which is when Cybernews reports that its researchers discovered it.

Various infostealers are most likely the culprit, Cybernews noted. Infostealers are a form of malicious software that breaches a victim’s device or systems to take sensitive information.

Many questions remain about these leaked credentials, including whose hands the login credentials are in now. But, as data breaches become more and more common in today’s world, experts continue to stress the importance of maintaining key “cyber hygiene.”

If you’re worried about your account data potentially being exposed in a recent breach, the first thing you can do is change your password — and avoid using the same or similar login credentials on multiple sites. If you find it too hard to memorize all your different passwords, consider a password manager or passkey. And also add multifactor authentication, which can serve as a second layer of verification through your phone, email or USB authenticator key.

The Associated Press

New technologies can reduce electrical waste as demand surges: energy expert

By Joshua Santos

Journalist, 

BNNBloomberg.ca
June 17, 2025 

Emily Heitman, President of Schneider Electric Canada, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the outlook on energy demand amid AI boom and tariff pressures.

As Canadian energy suppliers face an unprecedented demand to power artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, an expert says new technologies can reduce electrical waste.

“We waste as a country, 50 per cent of the energy we produce,” said Emily Heitman, president of Schneider Electric Canada, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday.

“With digital technology coming alongside electrical equipment in your home, building and factory and the onset of AI, we can now real time monitor and manage the electrical usage that’s being utilized throughout the entire system of that building.”

The Canada Energy Regulator says that there are currently an estimated 239 data centres operating across Canada and the industry is expanding. It states data centres and their data transmission networks consume a lot of energy.

Schneider Electric Canada is a subsidiary of French power-equipment manufacturer, Schneider Electric SE. It helps customers, such as homeowners and building owners, manage and improve energy efficiency and resiliency.

“A good example would be an airport running the HVAC system at night when there is nobody in the section of the airport or a machine idling in a factory in the middle of the night when there’s no production going on,” said Heitman. “These are great examples of where energy is wasted every single day in practical applications.”

According to the International Energy Agency, data centres consumed an estimated 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) globally, or roughly 1.4 to 1.7 per cent of global electricity in 2022. That amount of energy is about 71 per cent of Canada’s electricity generation that same year and the agency projects global data centre energy consumption will double by the end of 2026.

“We like to say: ‘We don’t make energy, but we help our customers manage the energy that they’re utilizing,’” said Heitman.

Heitman acknowledged the conversation around energy use and production has ramped up in Canada in recent months considering the ever-changing geopolitical and trade environment.

After the U.S. placed blanket tariffs on Canadian imports earlier this year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford briefly introduced a 25 per cent levy on U.S.-bound electricity exports as an initial retaliatory measure. Ford suspended the levy after a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington.

“It is our plan to say: ‘Let’s produce as much as we can in Canada, strengthen the global supply chains we have and make sure we’re still serving our customers effectively no matter what is going on in the uncertainty of our geopolitical situation,’” Heitman said.Latest updates on investing here

The company is expanding its production capacity in Quebec by 30 per cent and adding 70 new employees to meet the rising demand for electricity, driven by AI and digital technology.

“We make switchboards, from panel boards to all types of electrical equipment for low voltage and medium voltage applications that are both produced in Quebec but also shipped across Canada for electrical distribution in this country,” said Heitman.

 

MEG Energy Seeks Alternatives After Rejecting $4.4-Billion Bid From Strathcona

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jun 20, 2025

Canada’s Strathcona Resources supports MEG Energy in its process to explore potential mergers after MEG recommended that shareholders reject a $4.4 billion (C$6 billion) takeover offer from Strathcona.

Last month, Strathcona, MEG’s second-largest shareholder with about 9%, made an offer to acquire MEG Energy for the equivalent of some $4.4 billion in cash and stock. A deal would have turned the combined company into the fourth-largest oil producer among companies using team-assisted gravity drainage recovery technology in the oil sands. It would also have also resulted in the fifth-largest oil company in Canada overall, Strathcona said, positioning it for an investment-grade credit rating.

However, MEG Energy said earlier this week that its board of directors had determined that Strathcona’s unsolicited bid to acquire all of the issued and outstanding MEG shares is “inadequate, opportunistic, and NOT in the best interests of MEG or its shareholders.”

MEG warrants a premium valuation, which Strathcona’s offer fails to deliver, the company said. The board has authorized MEG to initiate a strategic review of alternatives with the potential to result in an offer superior to the company’s standalone plan.

In response to the rejected bid, Strathcona said on Friday that as MEG's second-largest shareholder, it welcomes the MEG Board’s efforts to market-test the offer against other acquisition proposals. Strathcona agrees that the MEG Board has a duty to fully investigate each proposal for the business, including the offer.

Strathcona fully supports MEG “contacting other potential acquirers to determine if a superior transaction to Strathcona's offer is available,” said Adam Waterous, Executive Chairman of Strathcona.

Strathcona continues to firmly believe its offer “provides a true win-win for MEG and Strathcona shareholders, uniting two heavy oil "pure plays" into a new Canadian oil champion, while delivering significant accretion to MEG and Strathcona shareholders on all key metrics,” the company said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Strathcona defends unsolicited takeover offer for oilsands peer MEG Energy

By The Canadian Press
 June 20, 2025 

MEG Energy

CALGARY — Strathcona Resources Ltd. says MEG Energy Corp. has made errors and misleading statements in its justifications for rejecting its unsolicited takeover bid.

Last month, Strathcona made a cash-and-stock offer to buy all of the MEG shares it does not already own, and MEG shares have consistently been trading higher than the implied offer price.

Earlier this week, MEG urged shareholders to reject the bid, in part because it says combining with Strathcona would expose shareholders to inferior assets and capital market risk.

Strathcona has published a new presentation taking aim at the “Fact vs. Fiction” in MEG’s director’s circular outlining its rationale for opposing the offer.Stay on top of your portfolio with real-time data, historical charts and the latest news on the oil

In the presentation, Strathcona says its oilsands assets are comparable to or sometimes better than MEG’s.

It adds that Waterous Energy Fund, led by Strathcona executive chairman Adam Waterous, has no intention of selling its stake in Strathcona post-takeover, which MEG contends is a risk.

---


Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.

Competition Bureau reaches deal with Canadian Natural Resources over gas processing

By The Canadian Press
 June 20, 2025 

A flare stack burns off excess gas at a processing facility near Crossfield, Alta.

 (Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press)


OTTAWA — The Competition Bureau says Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has agreed to sell 75 per cent of its interest in its Seiu Lake natural gas processing plant to address competition concerns related to its proposed acquisition of Schlumberger N.V.’s (SLB) interest in the Palliser Block joint venture.

Under a consent agreement with the regulator, Canadian Natural will sell a majority interest in the plant to North 40 Resources Inc., an oil and natural gas exploration company operating in the area.

Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available.

North 40 will be the operator of the plant, while Canadian Natural will hold a non-operating 25 per cent interest in the facility.

The SLB assets being acquired by Canadian Natural include SLB’s 87.5 per cent stake in 16 natural gas processing plants in southeastern Alberta.

The Competition Bureau had raised concerns the deal would reduce competition for gas processing services in the region.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.

Teck Resources eyes output boost for chipmaking-metal germanium

By Reuters
June 20, 2025 

The Teck Resources logo is seen on a podium before the company's special meeting of shareholders, in Vancouver, B.C.

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

LONDON — Canada’s Teck Resources is weighing options to expand production of germanium, a strategic metal key to chipmaking, and is currently talking with governments, including Canada and the United States, on available funding, said Doug Brown, VP communications & government affairs.

Teck’s plan comes amid growing efforts to diversify supplies of critical minerals needed for the tech and defense sectors, as geopolitical tensions and trade barriers complicate access to materials mainly produced or refined in China.

“We are examining options and market support for increasing production capacity of germanium,” he told Reuters.

China, which supplies around 60 per cent of the world’s refined germanium, restricted exports of the metal - along with gallium and antimony, all having broad military applications - to the United States, further escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies following Washington’s crackdown on Beijing’s chip sector.

The export curbs were part of a broader effort launched in 2023, when China began imposing restrictions on critical mineral shipments, citing national security concerns.

By controlling the export of these minerals, China aims to exert influence over the industries that use them, including renewable energy, defense, and chip manufacturing.

Germanium is also used in semiconductors and infrared technology, fiber optic cables and solar cells.

Teck is exploring ways to add to the current processing line using existing technology as one of the options, Brown said.

Teck is North America’s biggest germanium producer, and the fourth largest globally. Most of its germanium, a by-product of zinc ore concentrate at its Red Dog operations in Alaska, goes to the United States, via smelting and refining in British Columbia.

Canada’s germanium exports to the United States are currently exempt from tariffs as they comply with the USMCA (United States, Mexico, Canada) trade agreement.

In a speech in Washington last January, Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson welcomed partnerships with the United States to invest in critical minerals, including germanium.

Canada’s Energy Ministry declined to comment on funding for Teck, while saying that the prime minister is leading broader trade negotiations with the United States.

(Reporting by Clara Denina; editing by David Evans)

Teck receives provincial certificate to extend B.C. Interior copper mine

By The Canadian Press
 June 17, 2025 

Teck's Highland Valley Copper mine is pictured in British Columbia's interior

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Vancouver-based mining company Teck Resources says it has received an environmental assessment certificate from the B.C. government to extend the life of the Highland Valley Copper Mine.

Teck says in a release that the positive decision supports the extension for Canada’s largest copper mine.

The mine is located about 50 kilometres southwest of Kamloops, B.C.

Teck president Jonathan Price says in a statement that site preparation work is expected to start shortly along with work to secure additional required permits, with a final construction decision by Teck’s board of directors expected later this year.

Price says the decision will not only support the extension, but will strengthening the North America critical minerals supply chain and contribute to jobs and economic activity.

The company says the project is expected to create roughly 2,900 jobs during construction and support 1,500 jobs once in operation.

This report by Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press, was first published June 17, 2025.