Affordability continues to be on the minds of many Canadians. High gas prices for drivers also remains a factor, which is why some looking for a new ride are giving electric vehicles another look.
“Safety features are number one,” said Roxanne Forsyth. She and her husband attended the Edmonton Auto Experience show on Thursday in search of a new vehicle. “Comfort, of course and better gas mileage.
“Maybe a hybrid or some sort of electric.”
Enthusiasm for EVs appears to be growing. According to statistics from Alberta Transportation, 19, 863 electric vehicles were registered in the province in 2025 — compared to just 3,527 in 2021.
Hybrid models were also up – 84,564 registered in 2025.
These numbers, however, pale in comparison to vehicles with a traditional internal combustion engine: Alberta saw over three million of those registered last year.
Story continues below advertisement
Questions surrounding range and reliability made up the bulk of those asked of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta.
President Andrew Bastiuk and his team worked to dispel any of those concerns.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
“One of the challenges was there was very few manufacturers, and those manufacturers made a couple of body styles,” Bastiuk said.
“Now almost every manufacturer has multiple body styles so most people’s needs can be met.”
GM EV announcement a ‘symbolic’ start to shift in auto sector
Bastiuk said technology has come a long way from when EVs first hit the market. Batteries have longer range and can better withstand cold Alberta winters. But, there are still improvements needed in terms of infrastructure in the province.
“Going north can be a little challenging,” Bastiuk said. “Grande Prairie is now covered, Fort McMurray is not yet covered.
Story continues below advertisement
“It’s coming but for those that need to do that commute, that’s not currently a great option for an electric vehicle.”
Curious drivers also had the opportunity to test drive an EV outside the Edmonton Expo Center.
Aakash Jhaveri, national engagement manager for Plug N’ Drive, said more than 50 per cent of Canadians have never been behind the wheel of an electric vehicle.
“If you want to work on EV adoption, we need to get people into these cars, need to get them to experience them and the product will do the talking themselves, but people don’t always have that opportunity.” said Jhaveri.
Jhaveri believes renewed federal EV and hybrid vehicle incentives will also help to drive sales. Eligible EVs can receive up to $5,000.
“There’s a lot more interest.”
Experts hope federal EV policies will spur Alberta adoption
With diesel and fertilizer prices surging, Canadian farmers are bracing for much higher costs than anticipated this growing season.
As the war in Iran persists, diesel’s price continues rising, approaching $2 per litre in much of Canada — besides parts of B.C. where prices have surpassed that.
This fuel is commonly used in farming machinery and, due to its climbing cost, may be one factor in future food price spikes.
“We expect crop margins, the profitability of planting crops, of this upcoming season to be small. Even a small rise in diesel prices are going to be impactful, and might be very meaningful,” explained Sebastian Pouliot, a Quebec City-based economic consultant.
“We’re going to be filling our fuel tanks in the next couple of days — that’s going to be an additional cost. We haven’t really sat down to figure out how much that’s going to be,” Charles Fossay, the director of Keystone Agricultural Producers in Manitoba, told Global News.
Story continues below advertisement
Airlines adding fuel surcharge to flight bookings
Some farmers offset costs by filling their on-farm fuel reserve tanks at the onset of the war, Fossay said.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
He is not alone in having to manage unexpected costs. Farmers from coast to coast to coast said they feel the pressure to produce.
“It’s going to be very expensive this year to irrigate if things don’t change,” said Christian Michaud, a New Brunswick farmer, discussing the issue of dry growing seasons in the Maritimes.
In addition to diesel, farmers are also facing challenges due to soaring fertilizer costs, but Pouliot said consumers should not expect grocery prices to go up yet.
“It’s not going to happen right away. Prices at retail don’t change all that quickly typically. Even if fuel prices rise, we’re not going to see it in food right away — it might be in a few weeks, a few months in some cases,” he explained.
Story continues below advertisement
Pouliot said he does not expect the cost of food to significantly rise if diesel prices reset at the end of the conflict, and an agreement is reached soon.
“You can only store so much (fuel), and you’ve got to refill your tanks throughout the year. So, you can save a little bit here, but if the prices stay up, at the end of the day, you’re still paying a lot of money,” Fossay said.
A week after the federal and Ontario governments announced they would cut the HST for new homes bought in Ontario for a year, the federal housing minister said he is in talks to expand the initiative.
“We are in discussions with all of the provinces and territories about taking down the GST for one year on new home purchases,” Housing Minister Gregor Robertson said in an interview with Global News.
The minister did not provide a timeline as to when agreements with other provinces may be announced, but emphasized that provincial governments will be expected to put up their own money or bring forward new legislation.
“That does take some negotiating. The provinces have to do the follow-through, working with local governments,” Robertson said.
“There’s some details to work through here.”
Story continues below advertisement
Ford says his government will waive HST on newly built homes for 1 year
Last week, the federal and Ontario governments agreed to remove the 13 per cent sales tax on new homes in the province, valued up to $1 million for one year.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
The maximum rebate of $130,000 extends to homes valued up to $1.5 million and decreases proportionally for more expensive houses.
Both governments also agreed to split $8.8 billion over 10 years, to pay for infrastructure in Ontario cities that cut development charges, which are municipal taxes levied to pay for things like sewers and roads to new subdivisions.
The federal Conservatives have called for a complete elimination of HST on all new housing, regardless of price, but Robertson said he didn’t think the GST cut would be permanent.
“I think that the point right now is to really infuse some momentum in the market, especially in Ontario and B.C, where they’ve been struggling,” Robertson said.
Story continues below advertisement
Housing minister on trying to end Ontario’s homebuilding slump
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim called on British Columbia Premier David Eby to secure a similar housing deal with the federal government on Thursday.
“We know the only way to improve long-term affordability is to keep building more homes,” Sim said in a statement.
“This is a window of opportunity for the province to partner with the federal government and municipalities to lower costs and deliver the homes people need.”
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is predicting Canadian homebuilders will continue to face headwinds from higher costs, weaker demand and more unsold homes particularly in the condominium market, with new home construction set to decline through 2028.
When asked if the removal of the HST from Ontario home purchases was done with developers in mind, the minister said he is trying to avoid the worst effects of a sluggish housing market.
Story continues below advertisement
“There are going to be very few housing starts in the next couple of years because the pre-sales have been so low. We’re certainly seeing layoffs in the building sector in (Toronto and Vancouver),” Robertson said.
“The construction jobs unfortunately will be impacted in the next year or two, so you know we’re going to see a ripple effect here. That’s what we’re trying to prevent.”
By Carlos Méndez, Mrinmay Dey & Mike Scarcella
Reuters
Posted April 7, 2026 10:47 am
1 min read
U.S. agriculture equipment maker Deere (DE.N), opens new tab on Monday agreed to pay $99 million into a settlement fund for farms and farmers that are part of a class action over costs and access to repairs.
The case is part of broader scrutiny in the U.S. over so-called right-to-repair practices, with regulators and plaintiffs arguing that some manufacturers limit competition by controlling access to repair tools and software.
The settlement fund covers eligible plaintiffs who paid Deere’s authorized dealers for repairs to large agricultural equipment from January 2018, according to a document filed on Monday in the federal court in Chicago, Illinois.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
In the settlement, Deere also agreed to make available to farmers for 10 years “the digital tools required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair” of large agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, and sugarcane harvesters, the filing showed.
Story continues below advertisement
The proposed accord requires a judge’s approval.
“This settlement addresses the issues raised in the 2022 complaint and brings this case to an end with no finding of wrongdoing,” Deere said in a separate statement.
Deere also faces a separate lawsuit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. A U.S. judge ruled in 2025 that Deere must face that lawsuit, which accused the company of forcing farmers to use its authorized dealer network and driving up their costs for parts and repairs.
Deere is blocking farmers from acquiring the “tools and information necessary to repair their equipment in a timely and cost-effective manner,” the FTC had said in a court filing in April. Deere has denied the wrongdoing.
If you feel like vehicle headlights are too bright these days and are blinding your eyes on the road, Transport Canada wants to hear from you.
The federal agency is conducting a survey on headlights that have gotten a lot brighter over the years, with some experts saying they’re a safety concern.
Bright LED lights on the road is becoming a more common trend that semi-truck drivers are noticing first-hand.
Bill Fries has been a trucker for 30 years and said the stronger headlights can be useful, but harsh on the eyes.
“LED lights are extremely bright, they don’t really have distance. They’re intense, and if the drivers don’t adjust them, quite often I wear those yellow glasses, nighttime driving glasses that kill the glare and take a lot of the blue light out,” said Fries.
Story continues below advertisement
Vehicle lighting expert Daniel Stern says headlights getting stronger isn’t a myth.
“Headlights are brighter in the sense that they’re putting out more light at wider beam patterns, they’re also growing smaller and smaller and bluer and bluer,” said Stern.
“All three of those things make them more glaring.”
He added the colour temperature — warm vs cool lighting — makes a difference.
“For any given intensity, blue, white light like we get from LED headlights, spurs a lot more glare. Fifty to 60 per cent more discomfort glare than that same amount of light in a warmer, white light colour with less blue in it.”
Vancouver wants limits put on headlight brightness
That increased glare is a key part of Transport Canada’s national survey. It’s asking Canadians how headlight glare affects them and their experience on the roads at night with bright lights, at times creating dangerous situations.
Story continues below advertisement
“You put LED bulbs into a halogen headlamp, you turn it into a glare monster. It feels like they’re much brighter, but you’re not getting the right amount of light to the right places to see safely, so that’s a lose-lose deal,” said Stern.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
Edmonton auto repair shops say a very common concern they hear from customers is that their lights aren’t bright enough, but brand-new LEDS aren’t always the trick.
“A lot of the times it’s really difficult to see in front of you. I mean, if you could imagine yourself on a narrow highway and there are vehicles all around you and you have oncoming traffic that’s nearly blinding you, one miscalculation can cause an accident,” said Moe Araji with Fat Dog Automotive.
“There’s a misconception about bright headlights, though; just because the headlight’s bright doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to give you better visibility.”
As Transport Canada seeks potential solutions to headlight glare, local mechanics and Stern say they hope light inspections are part of the conversation.
“We really need to bring back vehicle inspections, at least lighting inspections. Not only are the lights badly aimed, but also you walk through any parkade, you see a lot of cars with cloudy, hazed headlight lenses. It happens with age, and that diffuses the beam so light that should be going down towards the road instead is going up towards other drivers’ eyes,” said Stern.
Story continues below advertisement
“Glare control measures that were adequate in the past, they no longer do the job. So what we have is headlamps much more glaring than they used to be, that are still legal according to the regulations, which haven’t changed.”
Benchmark home prices in Saskatchewan hit a record high of $374,100 last month, reflecting a price increase of more than six per cent compared to 2025, the province’s Realtor’s group reported Monday in its monthly update.
A major cause of the price spike is a decrease of almost 25 per cent in the number of listings typically available in the late-winter early-summer seasons compared to long-term historical averages.
“We are seeing record prices not because demand is accelerating, but because there simply are not enough homes available,” Chris Guérette, CEO of the Saskatchewan Realtor’s Association, said in a press release accompanying the monthly update.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
In March, 1,808 new residential listings were listed and buyers purchased 1,256 properties, according to the association.
The report said Saskatoon had “the tightest conditions in the province” with an estimated 1.6-month supply of active listings, assuming all the conditionally sold homes see the keys change hands.
Story continues below advertisement
“New listings improved compared to March 2025 but remain well below 10-year trends,” the report added.
Regina’s conditions aren’t quite as stretched, with the association estimating 1.7 months inventory of listings.
Benchmark home prices in both cities rose, with Saskatoon seeing an average sale price of $435,200 and Regina reporting $343,700.
“Demand is still there, but supply hasn’t kept pace. That imbalance is what’s driving price growth and putting pressure on buyers, particularly those trying to enter the market for the first time,” said Guérette, who believes this seller’s market is unique compared to the rest of Canada.
Looking at Saskatchewan’s neighbours, Alberta also experienced year-over-year price growth, but gains were limited to 1.6 per cent, according to the province’s real estate association. Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board reported “statistically even” prices when comparing February of this year to last.
The restaurant business has weathered its fair share of troubles since the pandemic and labour shortages continues to be a main point of concern for the province’s hospitality industry.
“Restaurants are struggling with both input costs going up and of course the affordability crunch that the customers are feeling themselves,” said Mona Pinder, executive director of the Alberta Hospitality Association.
Which makes a new piece of legislation tabled in the Alberta legislature this week feel like another challenge for an already strained industry that relies on people from all walks of life to operate.
Bill 26, or the Immigration Oversight Act, would target employers who want to take advantage of foreign workers.
The bill would mean the creation of a public registry, and require employers and immigration consultation to be licensed.
Story continues below advertisement
Joseph Schow, Alberta’s immigration minister, said the bill is about protecting workers who come to the province to earn a living and to accurately address the needs of the current labour market.
“It is clear that in some instances, we have become over-reliant on temporary foreign workers,” Schow said at a news conference Wednesday.
He said the current system favours hiring foreign nationals for some jobs, bypassing young Canadians.
“As a result, some of the jobs that usually would’ve gone to Albertans as entry-level positions are now going to temporary workers.”
Schow said the legislation is about Alberta taking more control over immigration to fill jobs where needed and is “absolutely not” about restricting the number of temporary foreign workers coming to the province.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promises referendum over immigration, Constitution changes
According to provincial statistics there are 271,024 non-permanent residents in Alberta. About 60 per cent of those hold work permits and six per cent hold work and study permits as of Jan. 1.
Story continues below advertisement
Those numbers have all decreased compared with the same time last year. The number of non-permanent residents fell by almost 26,000.
Get weekly money news
Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
National advocacy group Restaurants Canada said in Alberta, foodservice is a $16-billion industry that employs 155,000 people, including 63,000 youth, who represent more than 40 per cent of workers.
Pinder said restaurants in some rural areas do not have the workforce to run at full capacity, especially with youth workers.
Restaurants Canada agreed, noting youths often have limited schedule availability due to school and other commitments and are concentrated in urban areas close to higher education institutions.
“You can’t operate a kitchen without a trained chef or maintain a 24/7 rest stop if no one is willing to work overnight,” Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada, said in a statement.
Restaurants Canada said temporary foreign workers make up three per cent of the foodservice workforce but are critical, particularly for skilled roles like chefs and cooks, for overnight shifts and in rural regions where there are not enough workers.
This is why businesses look to temporary foreign workers, even though that process can be expensive, Pinder said, adding Alberta’s bill duplicates rules already in place at the federal level.
“Alberta is kind of known for looking at red tape reduction,” Pinder said.
Story continues below advertisement
“This doesn’t really feel like reducing red tape.”
While the process will effectively duplicate the work already being done by Ottawa, Schow said it’s necessary to prioritize and address Alberta’s unique labour market needs, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing.
Canada’s temporary foreign worker program a ‘breeding ground’ for contemporary slavery: UN report
Government officials said the plan is to publish the registry of employers who are approved to hire foreign workers. The bill will also establish a licensing system for immigration consultants and foreign worker recruiters to crack down on those who take advantage of vulnerable newcomers.
A new system for complaints and enforcement will be handled by Schow’s ministry. It aims to target those who charge money for job offers, misrepresent employment conditions, take illegal pay deductions or keep workers’ documents like passports.
Government officials said the regulatory framework proposed Wednesday is similar to existing legislation in Saskatchewan and British Columbia but will allow for different investigative powers.
Story continues below advertisement
Penalties will include fines, suspensions and bans from recruiting or hiring foreign nationals.
The legislation sets maximum fines of up to $1 million for individuals or $1.5 million for corporations. In severe cases, courts can imprison someone who violates the rules for up to a year.
Alberta push to suspend temporary foreign worker program concerning for food industry
Moshe Lander, an economist with Concordia University, says it is hard to gauge how the new measures would impact the economy, since the province is continuing to develop the bill’s regulations.
“If we’re going to have an economic analysis of what are the benefits and costs and what does this mean, and try and come up with a dollar amount, it’s almost impossible to do when we can’t model what we can’t see,” Lander said.
Cracking down on fraudulent activity and ensuring the protection of workers is important in maintaining the integrity of the TFW program, Restaurants Canada noted.
Story continues below advertisement
It and the Alberta Hospitality Association hope to see the provincial government instead scale up programs that have already seen success, like the Alberta Youth Employment Incentive.
The bill is currently tabled before the legislature. Schow said if passed, implementation could be seen as early as 2027.
The impact of higher fuel prices due to violence in the Middle East is now starting to show up in more places, including flight bookings.
WestJet will begin charging more for customers to use one of the perks included in their annual rewards membership, due to aviation fuel skyrocketing in price.
Beginning April 8, WestJet said it will introduce a temporary fuel surcharge of $60 on all bookings made with a companion voucher.
The vouchers are part of WestJet’s Mastercard credit card and rewards programs, allowing the account holder who buys a round trip for themself to get a reduced fare for a second guest on the same itinerary.
WestJet said the new $60 fee will be reflected in the “other ATC” (air transportation charges) portion of companion voucher bookings.
Story continues below advertisement
The current cost for WestJet members to cash in their round-trip companion vouchers is:
Within Canada or to/from continental U.S.: UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex: $119 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC) Premium or Premium Flex: $219 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
Elsewhere in the world: UltraBasic, Econo, EconoFlex: $399 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC) Premium or Premium Flex: $499 (plus taxes, fees, charges and other ATC)
The Calgary-based airline said it will continue to assess the surcharge and adjust as conditions allow.
WestJet did not say how long the temporary fuel surcharge will remain in place.
“Fuel is the largest contributor to airline operating costs, and a temporary surcharge helps us manage the recent surge in fuel prices,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Global News on Friday.
“While airfares can be adjusted and have greater flexibility in pricing, the nature of our companion vouchers does not allow for this same flexibility.”
Get weekly money news
Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
In the month since the Israel-United States attack on Iran resulted in the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz ocean passage, experts have warned that an increase in energy costs would be passed on to consumers as major shortages were forecasted.
Soaring fuel costs impacting package deliveries, food prices in Canada
About one-fifth of the world’s oil supply — 20 million barrels per day — travels through the waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula on its way to the open seas and then to global customers.
Story continues below advertisement
With fuel not passing through the strait, crude has now soared to its highest price in years and its derivatives — jet fuel, diesel and gasoline — have also shot up significantly.
The price of heavy fuel oil — used to power container ships and other large vessels — at the world’s top 20 refuelling hubs has nearly doubled since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks in late February, according to figures from data platform Ship & Bunker.
Jet fuel, diesel and gasoline all derive from crude, making them sensitive to any swerve in its price.
But aviation fuel has come under the greatest pressure, according to Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh. Jet kerosene tends to see the lowest inventories because it needs to be stored in specialized tanks, she said.
Iran war: Rising oil prices put financial pressure on Canadians
Consumers have been feeling the jump in the price of oil and its derivatives at the pumps and on their plane fares for weeks now, with no end in sight.
Story continues below advertisement
Airfreight, which has seen demand rise amid the dearth of container ship voyages, is also costing more as aviation fuel prices skyrocket.
“You’re going to start having money tacked on to making any transport movement,” said John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada.
“Ultimately, that’s going to flow through and the consumer is going to pay for that.”
Middle East airspace shutdown creates travel chaos
Fuel often marks airlines’ highest cost. Air Canada spent more than $5.1 billion on it in 2024, amounting to 24 per cent of the carrier’s operating costs — its largest expense.
“The recent sharp increase due to the situation in Iran has already made operating flights more expensive. Based on this, it’s likely further pricing adjustments may be needed,” WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser warned in an email in mid-March.
Story continues below advertisement
Last month, Air Transat tacked on higher fuel surcharges for flights to Europe while large international airlines Air New Zealand, Australia’s Qantas Airways and Scandinavia’s SAS also announced price hikes abroad.
— With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
Federal Conservatives are calling for Ottawa to drop the tax on gas and diesel fuel for the rest of this year.
The Tories say their plan would eliminate the Fuel Excise Tax at 10 cents per litre, the Clean Fuel Standard at seven cents per litre, and the Goods and Services Tax at eight cents per litre.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
Combined, they say the cuts would save Canadians 25 cents a litre.
After the year, the Conservatives say they would make the cut to the fuel standard tax permanent.
The party’s statement says Canadians are currently paying 20 per cent more than Americans are paying for gas. It notes that other countries have already taken action to lower gas prices by reducing fuel taxes, including Australia, Spain and Ireland.
To pay for the tax relief, the Conservatives say they would cut what they call the Liberals’ “wasteful spending on the gun buyback, bureaucracy, consultants, foreign aid, and boondoggles.”
