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Chief Helen Paavola of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation looks at video footage that shows the damage to her community.Willow Fiddler/The Globe and Mail
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of The Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis on the biggest headlines, stock tips, personal finance strategies and more.
Northern Ontario wildfires disrupt rail, forestry operations
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A ship is barely visible behind a man walking along the Thunder Bay marina Thursday afternoon.Willow Fiddler/The Globe and Mail
Wildfires in Northern Ontario have forced communities to evacuate, blocked rail traffic and halted forestry operations as smoke blanketed much of the province and parts of the United States this week.
Canadian National Railway halted freight rail operations in areas hit by fires. The mainline north of Lake Superior has been closed since Monday and transcontinental freight trains are being rerouted. Via Rail, which operates mainly on CN tracks, has cancelled service between Toronto and Winnipeg until July 19.
Domtar, one of the country’s largest lumber companies, suspended all harvesting and road building in northwestern Ontario because of the wildfires. The company’s two major sawmills in the region, in Thunder Bay and Atikokan, continued to operate and receive logs from independent suppliers.
Gordie Howe bridge to open July 27 after Canada, U.S. reach deal
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Under the new agreement, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is now expected to open on July 27.Dax Melmer/The Globe and Mail
The Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit is set to open July 27 after Canada and the United States reached a deal on revenue-sharing from tolls. The crossing, which was funded by Canada and is jointly owned by Canada and Michigan, was originally supposed to open in early June, but was postponed at the behest of the Trump administration.
The fine print of the deal has not been shared publicly and Canadian officials have played down the amount of revenue the U.S. will receive. According to Ottawa, for 15 years Canada will send 50 per cent of the profits from bridge tolls to an economic development fund that will benefit the U.S. regional economy near the bridge – namely Michigan. But Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested that “any sharing of the toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt – all of the debt – is repaid.”
Bank of Canada keeps interest rate unchanged at 2.25%
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A man checks his phone as he walks past the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa on Wednesday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate at 2.25 per cent for the sixth consecutive time amid oil price volatility and improving domestic data. The bank said it expects inflation to decline in the coming months, and economic activity to pick up. But it said the path forward will depend to a significant degree on the war in the Middle East and U.S. trade policy.
Financial markets expect the Bank of Canada to remain on hold over the next two meetings, in September and October, with the possibility of a quarter-point hike in December, according to Bloomberg data. Most Bay Street economists expect the bank to remain on hold until 2027.
WestJet flight attendants could strike starting Aug. 2
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WestJet flight attendants held a day of action in Calgary on Tuesday, while union members voted to approve potential strike action.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
WestJet flight attendants voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike over ground pay negotiations and could walk off the job as early as Aug. 2, setting up potential flight interruptions during the long weekend. The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 8125, which represents 4,400 WestJet flight attendants, said 99.4 per cent voted in favour of a strike.
The union held the vote after months of negotiations with the airline failed to yield any significant movement on ground pay – an identical battle their peers at Air Canada fought last summer to get compensated for ground duties. The union will still have to give WestJet 72 hours notice if they do intend to launch a strike.
In a struggling economy, Canada’s aerospace industry is flying high
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A Bombardier Challenger aircraft at their production facility in Dorval, Quebec.Graham Hughes/The Globe and Mail
Canada’s aerospace industry is soaring after a pandemic slowdown brought the industry to its knees. Now, that all seems to be a distant memory as the industry gives way to a rebound of epic proportions – one reinforced by a new wave of defence spending that could benefit hundreds of companies.
Everywhere, there is evidence of growth. Airbus has doubled its workforce in Canada since 2016 and now employs more than 5,300 people in the country. Bombardier and de Havilland Inc. just broke ground on new manufacturing facilities in Montreal and Calgary respectively to bolster output. And parts suppliers such as Héroux-Devtek Inc. and Groupe Meloche inc. are in full-on acquisition mode as they try to bulk up their capabilities.
“I think it’s a golden moment,” Bombardier CEO Éric Martel said. “I was concerned when the geopolitical issues started, with first Ukraine and Russia and then now with Iran. But you know what? I haven’t seen things slow down.”
Nicolas Van Praet spoke to Canadian aerospace leaders and experts to get their take on the current environment, why it has changed and what’s next.
This week, a Canadian business became the first publicly listed company in the area of:
a. Interplanetary tourism
b. Nuclear fusion
c. Surgical AI
d. Quantum computing
b. General Fusion Group Ltd., based in Richmond, B.C., now trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GFUZ. It is the first publicly listed company focused on nuclear fusion, a still experimental approach to generating energy by fusing atoms together. Efforts to develop fusion power into a commercially viable form of electricity production are in the early stages, but companies in the sector raised US$2.6-billion in 2025.
Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz , and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.