Here are five things you need to know this morning
Violence erupts in Mexico: The federal government has ordered Canadians in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to shelter in place due to violence erupting in the region. The unrest unfolded after it was reported Mexico’s army had killed the leader of a major drug cartel, as part of a crackdown by the Mexican government. Mexico is one of Canada’s biggest economic partners, with merchandise trade of about $56 billion per year, and significant tourism.
Assessing Trump’s tariff response: Analysts are still assessing the impact of Friday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the bulk of U.S. President Trump’s tariffs. The President said Friday afternoon the U.S. would impose a 10 per cent levy on foreign goods under a different law. It took several hours before the White House clarified it’s leaving in place an exemption for many goods shipped under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). On Saturday morning, Trump said in social media post that the global tariff would be raised to 15 per cent. That exemption means the effective tariff rate for Canada and Mexico will decline. Until the court decision, Canadian products that didn’t qualify for the USMCA exemption were taxed at 35 per cent. However, Trump’s response may indicate his intention to radically alter or even blow up USMCA altogether.
EU set to halt U.S. trade deal: Meanwhile, The European Union is poised to freeze the ratification process of its trade deal with the U.S. and is seeking more details from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on its new tariff program. The main political groups in the European Parliament say they’ll suspend legislative work on approving the trade deal, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of an emergency-powers law to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs around the world.
Loblaw expansion: Loblaw plans to invest $2.4 billion in Canada this year, including opening 70 new stores and creating over 9,000 jobs. The expansion will include new Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies and discount grocery banners such as No Frills, along with renovations to nearly 200 existing stores. The company is also continuing construction of a large, automated distribution centre in Ontario. The spending is part of Loblaw’s broader five-year plan to invest $10 billion in Canadian communities by 2030.
Emera misses estimates: We’ll be watching shares of Emera today. The Nova Scotia-based energy company reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, with adjusted profit coming in below analyst forecasts. The shortfall was driven largely by shortcomings in its Florida electric utility business. Emera’s Canadian electric utilities also saw a sharp drop in profit compared with last year.
