Good day,

I hope you had a good weekend.

Today’s issue is a heavy one. British Columbia is dealing with a rapidly expanding wildfire emergency, with roughly 22,000 people forced from their homes.

We’re also looking at Poilievre’s warning to Carney over Trump, a surprisingly strong Canadian jobs report, growing opposition to a new West Coast pipeline and the backlash facing Tim Hortons over temporary foreign workers.

Let’s get you caught up.

British Columbia is dealing with a major escalation in its wildfire season.

As of Sunday, 102 wildfires were burning across the province, nearly half were considered out of control and roughly 22,000 people had been evacuated.

The entire community of Summerland was forced out, along with thousands more around Peachland. Another roughly 10,000 people had been warned to prepare to leave.

One of the biggest concerns is the Bald Range wildfire, which grew to more than 100 square kilometres within hours.

Premier David Eby declared a provincial state of emergency as Ottawa approved federal assistance for evacuee shelter and accommodations.

The issue is not only how fires start. It is how quickly they can spread when weeks of heat and dry weather leave forests extremely combustible.

Researchers also say some fires are now remaining stronger overnight, a period that historically gave crews more time to gain control.

Pierre Poilievre is telling Prime Minister Mark Carney to stop making concessions as Canada approaches the next U.S. tariff deadline.

In a letter to Carney, Poilievre and Conservative Canada-U.S. critic Shuvaloy Majumdar argued Canada has already given up too much without receiving enough in return.

They point to Ottawa cancelling the digital services tax, removing most retaliatory tariffs on CUSMA-compliant U.S. products and changing the Gordie Howe Bridge revenue arrangement.

New U.S. tariffs are scheduled to take effect on August 19.

The Conservatives want Ottawa to push for zero tariffs on softwood lumber, removal of steel and aluminum duties, a tariff-free auto deal and better access to U.S. infrastructure contracts.

They are also proposing a strategic reserve of Canadian critical minerals that would favour countries giving Canada tariff-free market access.

That is a notable shift. It treats Canadian resources as leverage rather than assuming unrestricted exports are always the best option.

Carney’s problem is that both choices carry political risk.

If he gives Trump more concessions, critics will say Canada rewarded pressure.

If he refuses and the tariffs hit, Canadian exporters could take a serious economic blow.

Public appetite for giving in appears low. An Angus Reid survey found only 7 per cent of Canadians preferred simply conceding to U.S. demands to avoid tariffs.

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Canada’s labour market delivered a much stronger July than economists expected.

Employment increased by 75,000 jobs, while the national unemployment rate fell from 6.5 per cent to 6.4 per cent.

That is the lowest unemployment rate since July 2024.

The result was especially surprising because RBC had expected only about 5,000 new jobs.

It also follows gains in May and June, making the recent trend more encouraging than a single good month.

But there are a few reasons not to declare a jobs boom yet.

The Labour Force Survey can be volatile, and the headline number includes public-sector workers, private employees, self-employed workers, full-time jobs and part-time jobs.

The quality of those 75,000 jobs matters almost as much as the total.

Another important factor is slower population growth.

Canada has reduced the pace of temporary and permanent immigration, meaning the economy no longer needs to create quite as many jobs every month simply to keep unemployment from rising.

RBC says that slower labour-force growth is helping improve the picture for individual workers.

The planned project would move roughly one million barrels of oil per day from Alberta to the West Coast, giving Canadian producers greater access to Asian markets.

That goal has become more attractive as Canada tries to reduce its dependence on the United States.

But Indigenous leaders say governments are moving too quickly without enough consultation with First Nations whose territories could be affected.

Ottawa and Alberta have promoted Indigenous equity ownership as a major part of the project.

The idea is that First Nations could own part of the infrastructure and earn long-term revenue rather than receiving only short-term benefit agreements.

But ownership and consent are not the same thing.

Some nations strongly support resource development. Others remain concerned about spill risk, tanker traffic, fisheries and the route through traditional territory.

There are examples where Indigenous ownership has worked. A consortium of 36 First Nations purchased a 12.5 per cent stake in Enbridge’s Westcoast pipeline system.

The question is whether that model can translate to a much larger and more politically sensitive oil pipeline.

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Tim Hortons’ Canadian same-store sales were roughly flat in the latest quarter, slipping about 0.1 per cent after growing 3.6 per cent in the comparable period a year earlier.

The slowdown comes while the company faces criticism over franchise locations using Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

But there is an important distinction.

There is no proof the controversy caused the sales slowdown.

Tim Hortons says roughly 4,000 of its 110,000 Canadian restaurant workers were hired through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

That works out to about 3.6 per cent of the workforce.

The company has also launched a campaign to hire 10,000 local workers, while saying its reliance on temporary foreign workers has been declining since 2024.

The controversy matters because the labour market has changed.

Fast-food companies expanded their use of temporary foreign workers during labour shortages. Now youth unemployment is higher and many Canadians are asking why entry-level employers still need overseas labour.

Tim Hortons also operates mainly through franchisees, meaning individual hiring decisions are usually made by local restaurant owners rather than corporate headquarters.

Sales could also be slowing because of higher menu prices, weaker consumer spending and increased competition.