HARD NUMBERS: China executes Canadians, Tariffs slow economic growth, Canada buys Australian tech, Fed keeps rates steady, Egg seizures escalate while drug busts drop
4: The Canadian government has strongly condemned China’s use of the death penalty, following revelations the country executed four Canadian citizens for drug-related offenses, despite appeals for clemency. China carries out more executions than any other country and has a conviction rate of over 99%.
2.2: US President Donald Trump's tariff tiff with Canada is dampening economic growth on both sides of the border. Canada’s GDP was set to rise by 2% in 2025, and America’s by 2.4%. An OECD analysis has revised those figures to 0.7% and 2.2%, respectively, as a result of the trade war.
6 billion: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a CA$6 billion purchase of an Over-the-Horizon Radar system from Australia to enhance Arctic early warning capabilities. Carney’s move both asserted Canada’s northern sovereignty and allowed Australia to find a buyer for its technology after DOGE cuts impacted possible US spending on the project.
4.5: The US Federal Reserve held overnight interest rates steady on Wednesday, in the target range of 4.25 to 4.5 %. But the Fed also signaled a willingness to cut borrowing costs by half a percentage point later this year, anticipating economic growth to slow to 1.7% and inflation to rise to 2.7%.
116: US Customs and Border Protection says it made 3,254 egg-related seizures in January and February 2025, a 116% increase compared to the same period one year ago. US egg prices have ballooned 59% since February 2024 because of the culling of flocks due to bird flu. In comparison, fentanyl seizures at the border dropped by 32% during the same period compared to the previous year.