Hard Numbers: Where do Canada’s weapons go? Plus: One man’s wrong turn, a seal oil sting, new immigration rules

A pair of armored personnel carriers parked at the General Dynamics Land Systems Canada factory in London, Ontario.
A pair of armored personnel carriers parked at the General Dynamics Land Systems Canada factory in London, Ontario.
REUTERS/Chris Helgren

11: Who would you guess is the world’s second-largest importer of Canadian military equipment after the US? For 11 years in a row, it’s been … Saudi Arabia, which imported more than $1 billion in Canadian arms in 2022 alone. The highly public (and recently resolved) spat between Canada and the Kingdom appears not to have affected that brisk arms trade at all.

400: This upcoming sentence doesn’t end how you think it will: An American man who put the incorrect address into his GPS ended up taking a wrong turn, which took him to the Rainbow Bridge at the Canadian border, where he was caught with 400 pounds of weed and $600,000 in his car.

936: In other, more intentional, cross-border smuggling news: A US Department of Justice sting operation nabbed an Ontario-based company for exporting at least 936 bottles of harp seal oil capsules to the US, in violation of strict environmental protection laws. The company, FeelGood, pleaded guilty on Monday and probably isn’t feeling great about facing a maximum penalty of a $500,000 fine and five years of probation. Canada has been stepping up its own efforts to track and trap illicit wildlife traffickers.

5: And for those looking to cross the Canadian border for more upstanding reasons, Canada has announced a new plan to attract immigrants with qualifications in five key areas: healthcare, STEM professions, manual trades like carpentry and plumbing, transportation, and agriculture. The move comes amid a broader debate about the extent to which Canada is suffering labor shortages.

More from GZERO Media

A miniature statue of US President Donald Trump stands next to a model bunker-buster bomb, with the Iranian national flag in the background, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 19, 2025.
STR/NurPhoto

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will decide whether to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities “in the next two weeks,” a move that re-opens the door to negotiations, but also gives the US more time to position military forces for an operation.

People ride motorcycles as South Korea's LGBTQ community and supporters attend a Pride parade, during the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, in Seoul, South Korea, June 14, 2025.
REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon

June is recognized in more than 100 countries in the world as “Pride Month,” marking 55 years since gay liberation marches began commemorating the Stonewall riots – a pivotal uprising against the police’s targeting of LGBTQ+ communities in New York.

Port of Nice, France, during the United Nations Oceans Conference in June 2025.
María José Valverde

Eurasia Group’s biodiversity and sustainability analyst María José Valverde sat down with Rebecca Hubbard, the director of the High Seas Alliance, to discuss the High Seas Treaty.

Housing shortages in the US and Canada have become a significant problem – and a contentious political issue – in recent years. New data on housing construction this week suggest neither country is making enough progress to solve the shortfalls. Here’s a snapshot of the situation on both sides of the border.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks during a meeting of northeastern U.S. Governors and Canadian Premiers, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., June 16, 2025.
REUTERS/Sophie Park

While the national level drama played out between Donald Trump and Mark Carney at the G7 in Kananaskis, a lot of important US-Canada work was going on with far less fanfare in Boston, where five Canadian premiers met with governors and delegations from seven US states.

- YouTube

What’s next for Iran’s regime? Ian Bremmer says, “It’s much more likely that the supreme leader ends up out, but the military… continues to run the country.”

Enbridge’s 2024 Sustainability Report is now available, outlining our approach to meeting today’s energy needs while advancing solutions for tomorrow. Now in its 24th year, the report reflects our ongoing commitment to being a safe operator of essential energy infrastructure and a responsible environmental steward, principles at the heart of our mission to be North America’s first-choice energy delivery company. Highlights include a 40% reduction in emissions intensity, surpassing our 2030 target, and a 22% drop in absolute emissions since setting our goals in 2020. Explore the 2024 Sustainability Report today.