The Ontario government is awarding the City of Guelph more than $3.6 million through the second round of its Building Faster Fund, citing the municipality’s progress in accelerating home construction amid ongoing housing supply pressures across the province. The funding announcement, made Monday by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, provides Guelph with $3,692,960 after the city exceeded 80 per cent of its provincially assigned housing target for 2024. Guelph broke ground on 1,279 new homes last year, reaching more than 85 per cent of its annual target and qualifying for the incentive-based funding program. Provincial officials say the…
Author: Sam Allcock
Sam Allcock
Sam Allcock is a business correspondent for Wire Service Canada, reporting on corporate developments, market trends, and economic news with clarity and accuracy. With over a decade of experience in journalism, he has covered stories ranging from financial results and trade agreements to emerging innovations, offering readers both local insight and global context. Known for his balanced and engaging reporting style, Sam is committed to delivering reliable, relevant, and timely business news that helps audiences make informed decisions.
The Ontario government has unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to significantly expand tourism, entertainment and transportation infrastructure in the Niagara region, positioning it as a world-renowned, four-season destination and a larger driver of provincial economic growth. Announced Monday in Niagara Falls, the Destination Niagara Strategy is designed to attract 25 million visitors annually and double the region’s tourism impact, generating an additional $3 billion in gross domestic product for Ontario each year. The province says the strategy will support local businesses, create good-paying jobs and help protect Ontario’s economy at a time of broader global uncertainty. “Niagara is home to the…
Ontario is moving to deepen internal free trade by advancing a regulatory framework that would allow goods and services approved in other Canadian jurisdictions to be sold and delivered in the province without additional regulatory hurdles, a step the government says could reduce costs and strengthen economic resilience amid global uncertainty. The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade confirmed Monday that it has published a draft regulation under the Ontario Free Trade and Mobility Act, 2025 (OFTMA), enabling mutual recognition of goods and services from other provinces and territories that adopt reciprocal measures. The proposal is intended to…
The International Energy Agency (IEA) will release its latest annual assessment of global coal markets later this month, providing a detailed outlook on demand, supply, trade and pricing trends through the end of the decade. Ahead of the public launch, the agency is offering reporters an opportunity to review the findings under embargo through a dedicated press webinar. The Coal 2025 annual market report is scheduled for publication on Wednesday, 17 December. An under-embargo press webinar will take place the previous day, Tuesday, 16 December, at 15:00 Paris time, the IEA said in a notice to media. The briefing will…
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford marked the beginning of Hanukkah on Sunday with a message of support for the province’s Jewish community, linking the holiday’s themes of resilience and hope to renewed global concerns about antisemitism following violent attacks in Sydney, Australia. In a statement released by the Premier’s Office on December 14, Ford acknowledged the start of the eight-day Festival of Lights, which begins at sundown and is observed by Jewish families through the lighting of the menorah, shared meals and time spent with loved ones. His remarks emphasized the historical and spiritual significance of Hanukkah while underscoring…
New single arriving Dec. 2, 2025 blends personal loss with cinematic, radio-ready ambition VANCOUVER — Vancouver-based indie rock project Sunday Morning is set to release its most immediate and emotionally direct work to date with the upcoming single “Carry the Sky,” scheduled for public release on Dec. 2, 2025. Led by songwriter and frontman Bruce Wilson, the project has built a reputation for poetic, art-driven rock rooted in lived experience. This latest track sharpens that approach into a sweeping, accessible statement that confronts love, grief and remembrance with uncommon clarity. Clocking in at just over five minutes, “Carry the Sky”…
The Ontario government is marking the opening of Oakwood Commons Community, a new 160-bed long-term care home in Brantford that anchors a broader seniors living campus designed to deliver multiple levels of care in one location. The facility, which welcomed its first residents in October, is part of the province’s strategy to expand and modernize long-term care capacity while supporting job creation and health infrastructure development. Oakwood Commons is a recipient of the province’s construction funding subsidy top-up and replaces the existing Fox Ridge Care Community, adding 70 new beds and upgrading 90 others. “This project is part of the…
CAMBRIDGE, Ont. — The City of Cambridge is grappling with renewed grief after a second fatal pedestrian incident in less than a month, prompting Mayor Jan Liggett to issue a sombre statement extending condolences to grieving families and the wider community. The latest tragedy, which involved the death of a small child, follows the loss of a young mother just three weeks earlier. The back-to-back incidents have shaken residents and intensified conversations around community safety, particularly as the city approaches the holiday season. “Tragedy from pedestrian fatalities has struck our community for the second time in three weeks,” Liggett said…
The Ontario government has launched a new $500-million fund aimed at boosting the province’s capacity to process critical minerals, positioning Northern Ontario as a cornerstone of Canada’s clean energy and advanced manufacturing economy. Announced Thursday in Sudbury, the Critical Minerals Processing Fund (CMPF) is designed to accelerate domestic refining, reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and support job creation across key industrial sectors. The fund, first outlined in the 2025 provincial budget, marks one of Ontario’s largest targeted investments in mineral processing. It arrives at a time when global competition for secure supplies of nickel, graphite, copper, cobalt and lithium continues…
PORT HOPE — Ontario has expanded its network of youth mental-health services with the opening of the Northumberland Youth Wellness Hub, a new site designed to provide faster, more convenient access to mental-health, substance-use, and social supports for young people across the region. The launch marks one of 10 new hubs the provincial government committed to developing, bringing the total system to 24 hubs now operating and eight more in progress across Ontario. The new Port Hope facility is part of Ontario’s broader strategy to streamline access to care for youth aged 12 to 25. It offers free, walk-in mental-health…