In the news today: Party leaders campaigning in Quebec today, job numbers due
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…
Federal party leaders are campaigning in Quebec today
Party leaders will be in Quebec today as the second week of the federal election campaign comes to a close. Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre will hold a press conference in Trois-Rivières, Que., this morning. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will make an announcement and visit a local business in Montreal. Liberal Leader Mark Carney is expected to deliver remarks and make an announcement in Montreal this morning before touring an auto manufacturing facility in Woodbridge, Ont., and holding a rally in Toronto.
StatCan set to release March jobs numbers today
Statistics Canada is expected to release employment figures for March today. Economists polled by Reuters expect a gain of 10,000 jobs in the month, and for the unemployment rate to rise by a tenth of a point to 6.7 per cent. RBC Economics expects the economy instead shed 10,000 jobs last month. Canada’s labour market was off to a hot start in January but cooled in February, adding just 1,100 jobs amid harsh winter weather and economic uncertainty.
Here’s what else we’re watching…
Auto prices to rise due to Trump tariffs: experts
Experts say U.S. tariffs on Canadian auto imports will drive prices higher for both new and used cars. Sean Mactavish, CEO of used-car marketplace Autozen, says prices are already rising on some used cars as sellers anticipate buyers looking for a better deal compared to a new vehicle. U.S. President Donald Trump has enacted 25 per cent duties on imported vehicles, with temporary reprieve for some parts compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement, and Canada has announced some retaliatory tariffs on automobiles coming in from the U.S.
Bay closures to cause job losses beyond the store
When Hudson’s Bay closes the vast majority of its stores in June, the job losses will expand well beyond the storied retailer’s own workforce. Experts say Canadians working for salons, spas and other service providers located within the Bay and its sister stores, Saks Fifth Avenue or Saks Off Fifth, stand to lose their jobs, along with staff hired directly by some brands to preside over beauty counters, jewelry departments or fashion boutiques throughout the stores. People whose companies sell merchandise to the Bay, and are thus losing one of their key revenue streams, could also wind up on the chopping block with the retailers’ 9,364 workers.
Nuclear waste agency eyeing second repository
An organization tasked with managing Canada’s nuclear waste found one site to store millions of bundles of radioactive used fuel for thousands of years hundreds of metres underground — and now it’s looking for a second. The used fuel from Canada’s current fleet of nuclear reactors is ultimately destined for a deep geological repository in northern Ontario, expected to be in operation starting in the 2040s. The organization says currently, the waste is stored in above-ground or in-ground storage silos, but that won’t be adequate for the hundreds of years or longer that it will take for the radioactivity to decay to naturally occurring levels.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2025.
