Good Monday morning,
In today’s Politics This Morning:
- The U.S. trade commission holds a public hearing on Canada and other countries’ exports of milk proteins.
- IRCC advances the process to grant up to 10,000 PR approvals to parents and grandparents of eligible Canadians.
- Air Canada flight attendants start voting on a strike action to demand fair pay.
The new tariff deadline— August 1— is fast approaching. Tick tock. This time, the U.S. Commerce Secretary HOWARD LUTNICK has said that the tariffs are definitely coming. No more extensions, no more grace periods.
President DONALD TRUMP is sticking to his guns on this one. He is, of course, famously a man of his words. Never mind that they can sometimes contradict each other, and may not even exist in a dictionary— the latest one being “sedatious”. But hey, it’s the English language’s fault!
Last week, he indicated that Canada may not have a trade deal by August 1, and that the country may just have to pay tariffs.
The European Union got its “huge deal” sealed yesterday, with a 15 per cent tariff across the board still imposed— down from the 30 per cent Trump threatened to apply. This is also the number that Japan agreed to.
The EU has also additionally agreed to buy US$750-billion worth of energy from the United States, Trump announced, and to invest $600-billion in the country at some point in the future.
Fighting it out in the courts
Canada does have its existing joint trade agreement with the U.S. and Mexico, so the 35 per cent levy will hit the exports that are not covered by that deal.
This is the tariff linked partly to Trump’s complaints about fentanyl coming in from Canada. On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear arguments against Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs in a case filed by five U.S. businesses.
The Hill Times’ NEIL MOSS has written about it here.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is carrying out a “fact finding investigation” on the “export competitiveness” of the nonfat milk solids industries, also known as milk proteins, in the U.S. and other countries including Canada.
As per CBC’s MIKE CRAWLEY, Canada is accused of selling products under the category, like skim milk powder, at cheaper prices internationally to cut competition, while it charges more domestically due to supply management.
Today, a public hearing is being held by the United States International Trade Commission at 9:30 a.m. to this end. It can be watched live on this link.
Steel and aluminum sector reels from the trade war’s impact
The steel and aluminum tariff is also hitting the Canadian industry hard.
Algoma Steel suffered a net loss of $24.5-million and incurred $10.5-million in tariff-related costs, according to its financial results for the first quarter of 2025.
The company’s ability to carry on its current level of operations may be “materially and adversely affected” if the tariffs continued to impact its sales, it said.
The levy on the sector has only gone up since the beginning of the year, from 25 per cent to 50 per cent in June.
The feds recently reduced foreign steel imports coming into the country by lowering import quotas and increasing tariff rates. Canadian steel will also get priority in construction projects and federal procurement contracts, the government announced as part of a series of new measures on July 16.
But Algoma Steel has called for more financial assistance. It has sought $500-million in support under the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan program.
The Hill Times’ JESSE CNOCKAERT interviewed Algoma’s Steel’s CEO MIKE GARCIA on what the industry needs to survive the tariff blow. Stronger retaliatory tariffs were on the list.
Today, Industry Minister MÉLANIE JOLY is paying a visit to the company’s Sault Ste. Marie site at 9:30 a.m. She may reveal the government’s offer of cash while there.
Prime Minister MARK CARNEY, meanwhile, is planning to hold a media event in Prince Edward Island to announce what his office describes as “new measures to lower costs for Canadians.” That’s happening at 10:30 a.m. ADT.
Harper speaks about Canada-U.S. relations at Saskatoon conference
Last week, Politics This Morning reported on the Council of State Governments’ midwest legislative conference that is taking place in Saskatoon from July 27 to 30.
Today, former prime minister and Conservative leader STEPHEN HARPER is a keynote speaker for a session on Canada-U.S. relations at 9:30 a.m CST. But that’s not the only highlight. There are several members of Saskatchewan’s legislative assembly taking part in the events too.
There’s a breakfast table topic discussion on mental health and addiction treatment— a cheerful start to the day—and another on trends in the agriculture industry.
Then there is a “learning lab” on building a “cross-border hydrogen economy” where consulting firm Deloitte is presenting the findings of what it calls a “first-of-its-kind study” on how the two countries can “grow a low-carbon hydrogen economy.”
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Candace Laing is also among the panelists for a plenary session on Canada-U.S. trade relations that’s happening at 10:45 a.m. CST. The full schedule is available here.
In the news
Dissecting the numbers: Health Canada’s departmental plan forecasts a spending drop of $1-billion by 2027-28, TESSIE SANCI reports.
Care for the pharma sector: Sanci speaks to pharma experts on how the U.S. tariffs will hit an already complex pharmaceutical supply chain.
Lobby update: Cnockaert writes about what the new changes to the Lobbying Act will mean for lobbying businesses as the registration threshold gets tighter.
Heard on the Hill: In this week’s round-up of people stories from the world of the Hill, CHRISTINA LEADLAY has updates on a new book on party loyalty in Canadian politics, a nuclear disarmament advocacy award for a former MP, and more.
The Hill Times’ Hot Room Podcast: PETER MAZEREEUW chats with a former senior public servant BHAGWANT SANDHU about the looming cuts to federal public service. Give it a listen here.
What else is happening today?
The secretary of state for rural development, Saskatchewan MP BUCKLEY BELANGER, is in Armstrong, B.C., where he will give an update on upgrades to high speed internet and mobile connectivity in the region at 10:30 a.m. PT. He will be joined by the province’s Citizen’s Services Minister DIANA GIBSON.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will start sending out invitations to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who expressed interest in sponsoring their parents or grandparents to get permanent residency status in Canada from today. The process will eventually lead to an acceptance of up to 10,000 such applications this year. More details on it here.
About 10,000 flight attendants who are members of the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees will start voting on a potential strike action for better pay and working conditions starting today. The Daily Hive has covered the story here.
In case you missed it
What’s happening with the plans for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Build Canada Homes entity? The Globe and Mail has some answers in their story here.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s decision to raise anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber retroactively threatens hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses in British Columbia. The Canadian Press has covered the story here.
We asked, you answered
Senator David Adams Richards wrote mercy among the children
Congratulations to ERNIE REGEHR who was the first to answer that Conservative Senator DAVID ADAMS RICHARDS is also an award-winning author and scriptwriter who wrote the Giller Prize-winning book, Mercy Among the Children (2000).
Adams Richards also wrote Mary Cyr (2018); Principles to Live By (2016); Crimes Against My Brother (2014); Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul (2011); The Lost Highway (2007); The Friends of Meager Fortune (2006); River of the Broken-Hearted (2004); The Bay of Love and Sorrows (1998); Hope in the Desperate Hour (1996); For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down (1993); Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace (1990); Nights Below Station Street (1988); Road to the Stilt House (1985); Lives of Short Duration (1981); Blood Ties (1976); and The Coming Winter (1974).
Kudos to everyone else who answered correctly: MARC DESMARAIS, RON COLUCCI, JANICE HAMILTON, MICHAEL KACZOROWSKI, TANYA HORNUNG, and KAT SULLIVAN.
Today’s Political Trivia
Which former Senator was an editorial writer for the Montreal Gazette and a war correspondent who was taken prisoner while covering the Korean War and spent 33 months in a North Korean prison camp where he was also tortured?
Please send your answers to triva@hilltimes.com by NOON ET today, and the winner’s name will be highlighted in tomorrow’s Politics This Morning, along with the names of all other participants. Good luck.
Tell us what you think of Politics This Morning! Send feedback to pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com and rkachhela@hilltimes.com