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Stellantis May Abandon Brampton for Good: What It Means for Ontario Jobs

  Published August 18, 2026 With less than 24 hours left before Washington's 50% tariff deadline hits at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the headlines are all about cement, wine, and dairy. But the real fight holding up a deal is happening in the auto sector — and this week it collided with a story much closer to home: Stellantis is weighing whether to walk away from its Brampton, Ont. assembly plant for good. Put those two stories together and you get a clearer picture of what's actually at stake for Ontario workers, renters, and taxpayers than any tariff-deadline countdown can show on its own. The Trade Deal Is Stuck on Auto Rules, Not Wine or Cement Canadian and U.S. negotiators have been in Washington for a week trying to head off Trump's Section 338 tariffs — a rarely used trade law that, unlike earlier rounds, doesn't recognize USMCA certificates of origin for the goods it covers. Autos, alcohol, and dairy are all on the list, but autos are the sticking point. Canada is pu...

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Market Rebound: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Inch Higher Amid Tariff Relief Hopes

                                           

 U.S. stock futures edg    ed higher on Wednesday, signaling a potential rebound from recent sharp sell-offs. Investors are hopeful that President Donald Trump may soon scale back his new tariffs on Canada and Mexico. This optimism comes after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that an existing Trump trade deal could provide a pathway to relief on some imports for these countries as early as Wednesday.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose around 0.1%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.3%. However, a soft print on labor-market hiring revived worries about a potential economic slowdown. Data from ADP showed that private-sector companies added just 77,000 jobs in February, significantly below economist expectations.

President Trump, in an address to Congress, acknowledged the current economic discomfort but reassured markets by stating, "There'll be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much". The S&P 500 hit its lowest level in four months on Tuesday, erasing all of its post-election gains, amid retaliation to Trump's implementation of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and doubling duties on China.

As the market awaits further developments, investors remain cautious but hopeful for a resolution that could stabilize the economic landscape.



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