Strathmore

With less than a year to go until the 2026 World Cup, political tensions and U.S. policy threaten to pose problems as Canada, the United States and Mexico prepare to co-host the tournament.

Next year’s FIFA World Cup will be the biggest ever, with the three countries hosting a record 48 teams. Between June 11 and July 19, they will play 104 matches, most of them in the U.S.

Avery Shenfeld doesn't think the Bank of Canada will cut its benchmark interest rate at its decision on Wednesday, but if it does, he said it will be a "pleasant surprise."

"There's always a chance that they'll surprise with the rate cut," the chief economist of CIBC said.

Most economists are also expecting the Bank of Canada will hold its policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent for a third consecutive decision later this week.

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed a request to hear an appeal from Achter Land and Cattle regarding an earlier court decision that found a thumbs-up emoji served as an agreement to a grain contract. South West Terminal launched a claim for damages after Achter Land and Cattle failed to deliver on the contract.

Two people have been hospitalized and more than 200 have shown symptoms after a gastrointestinal outbreak at a Calgary-area food facility.

Alberta Health Services says the outbreak at Saskatoon Farm in Foothills County is presumed to be E. coli and an intestinal illness called amoebiasis.

Saskatoon Farm's food service facilities were ordered closed on Wednesday until deemed safe again, while the rest of the business remains open.

Alberta Health Services says there have been 18 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli, three of which also tested positive for amoebiasis.

The Canadian Nurses Association says it hopes the new "united Team Canada" approach at the Council of the Federation will lead to harmonization of nurses' licences across the country.

The association was among a number of health-care advocacy groups at the recent annual meeting of Canada's premiers.

While health care tends to take centre stage when the premiers meet, this year's gathering with Prime Minister Mark Carney was dominated by discussion of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war.

Most Canadians believe the country is making good progress on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, a new poll from Leger suggests.

"The extent to which people feel progress on reconciliation is being made or not has an important bearing on how they feel about the country," said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies, which commissioned the poll.

The survey of 1,580 respondents was conducted between June 20 and 22. A margin of error cannot be associated to the survey because online polls are not considered to be truly random samples.

Strathmore town council approved a Physician Incentive Program Policy.

The council introduced the policy in a Wednesday (July 23) council meeting.

The policy is intended to attract physicians from around the world to the community.

It offers a one-time grant of up to $90,000 to the successful applicant. The final grant amount is determined by the town's chief administrative officer

The policy includes the following regulations:

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the federal public service could shed almost 60,000 jobs over the next four years as Ottawa looks to cut costs.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to multiple ministers asking them to identify cuts to program spending at their departments of 15 per cent by 2028-29.

The report, written by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives senior economist David Macdonald, says the federal public service could lose up to 57,000 employees by 2028.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada's new Arctic ambassador will play a key role in preserving sovereignty in the region as the military closely watches the movements of a Chinese icebreaker.

Iqaluit resident Virginia Mearns will be Canada's senior Arctic official on the world stage, following a career with local Inuit governments.

"Canada's Arctic ambassador is going to advance Canada's polar interests in multilateral forums," Anand told The Canadian Press in an interview from Inuvik, N.W.T.

The U.S. has imposed general tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles and copper tariffs will begin in early August

In order to provide some relief from the threat of 35 per cent tariffs, Bangladesh has decided to sign a memorandum of understanding on wheat trade with the U.S. The country has agreed to purchase 700,000 tonnes of U.S. wheat annually for the next five years. Photo: file