What Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' means for Canadians' wallets
U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that he would increase government spending and loosen some fiscal restraints with a new spending bill dubbed the "big beautiful bill" last week. Mark Ting, a partner with Foundation Wealth and On The Coast's personal finance columnist, says that markets have already responded positively to the bill.
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Globe and Mail
30 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Support for solar energy and offshore wind falls among Democrats and independents, AP-NORC poll says
Americans' support for green energy tax credits and renewable energies like wind and solar power has decreased in recent years, according to a new poll, driven by a softening in support from Democrats and independents. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that U.S. adults' support for tax credits for electric vehicles and solar panels has weakened, as well as their enthusiasm for offshore wind farm expansion. While Democrats remain the strongest supporters of these initiatives, the poll reveals signs of growing cynicism within their ranks. The poll results coincide with sweeping changes President Donald Trump's Republican administration is making to regulations related to energy and climate change, including slashing the federal workforce in these departments. And although Democrats and independents have weakened their support for some green energy initiatives, there has not been an increase in support for Trump's energy policies. The poll found only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults — including only 1 in 10 Democrats and about 2 in 10 independents, along with three-quarters of Republicans — approve of the way Trump is handling climate change, which largely tracks with his overall approval rating. Democrats and independents drive decline in support for renewable energy credits About 6 in 10 Democrats, 58%, favor tax credits for purchasing an electric vehicle, down from about 7 in 10 in 2022. Among independents, support declined from 49% in 2022 to 28%. Only one-quarter of Republicans supported this policy in 2022, and that hasn't changed measurably. 'As far as the pollution goes ... the vehicles nowadays put out very little emissions to the air,' said JD Johnson, a 62-year-old Democrat from Meadowview, Virginia, who somewhat opposes tax credits to purchase an electric vehicle. That's partly because he sees the electric vehicle manufacturing process as energy intensive and believes gasoline-powered vehicles have made improvements with the pollutants they emit. The decline in favoring solar panel tax credits was across the board rather than being concentrated among Democrats. 'For solar panels, in all honesty, I don't think they're that efficient yet,' said Glenn Savage, 78, a left-leaning independent from Rock Hill, South Carolina. 'I'd rather see them pour money into research and try to get the solar panels more efficient before they start giving tax breaks to the public. I may be wrong on that, but that's just my thought.' Scientists say transitioning to renewable energies and ditching fossil fuels that release planet-warming emissions are essential to protect the planet. Billions of dollars in project grants for clean technologies awarded during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration have been canceled by the Trump administration, and the offshore wind sector has been stunted by Trump's executive order that paused approvals, permits and loans for wind energy projects. Fewer than half of U.S. adults, 44%, now say that offshore wind farms should be expanded in the U.S., down from 59% in 2022. About half favor expanding solar panel farms, while about two-thirds were in support in 2022. When people are concerned about the economy and their personal finances, environmental issues are sometimes prioritized less, said Talbot Andrews, an assistant professor in the department of government at Cornell University who was not involved in the poll. 'I think it makes people anxious to think about increased taxes or increased spending on environmental issues when the cost of eggs are going through the roof,' Andrews said. Low support for Trump's efforts to expand offshore drilling and coal mining Trump has championed the expansion of offshore oil drilling, as well as domestic coal production. Despite a decline in support for expanded renewable energies, the new poll shows that only about one-third of U.S. adults think offshore drilling for oil and natural gas should be expanded in the U.S., and only about one-quarter say this about coal mining. In both cases, Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to support expanding these energy sources. Trump has sought to open up national monuments for oil drilling, but more U.S. adults oppose than support auctioning off more public space for oil drilling. Only about one-quarter of U.S. adults favor this, while 4 in 10 are opposed. Republicans are much more likely than independents or Democrats to be in support. Bipartisan support for consumer rebates and home appliance ratings The Energy Star program that certifies appliances, such as dishwashers and refrigerators, as energy efficient recently appeared in headlines when the EPA made plans to scrap the program. The blue and white logo is well recognized, and experts say the program has long had bipartisan support until recently. The poll found three-quarters of Democrats support providing consumer rebates for efficient home appliances, compared with 6 in 10 Republicans. Patrick Buck, 54, from Chicago, describes himself as a liberal Republican and is a fan of the consumer rebates for energy-efficient appliances. 'It seems to work in terms of transforming what people have in their houses, because a lot of people have a lot of old appliances and just can't afford new ones,' he said. Safe air, water, meat and produce The poll found only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults are 'extremely' or 'very' confident in the federal government's ability to ensure the safety of their drinking water, the air they breathe and the meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables they buy in grocery stores. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults are 'somewhat' confident in the federal government's ability to ensure the safety of each of these, and about 4 in 10 are 'not very' or 'not at all' confident. The Trump administration has announced plans to roll back rules and policies related to limiting pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, such as rules that limit pollution from power plants and blocking California's efforts to phase out cars that run on gas. The federal government has also cut staff at the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency tasked with protecting public health and ensuring food supply safety. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Edmonton Journal
43 minutes ago
- Edmonton Journal
Iran fires missiles at U.S. base in Qatar in retaliatory strike
Article content Iran fired missiles at a U.S. air base in Qatar in retaliation for President Donald Trump's weekend airstrikes on three of its nuclear facilities. Qatar said the barrage at Al Udeid base, the biggest such U.S. facility in the Middle East, was intercepted and that there were no casualties. Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for U.S. Central Command, which oversees the American military in the Middle East. There are about 9,000 US service members in gas-rich Qatar, which sits just across the Persian Gulf from Iran. Article content Article content Oil prices fell immediately after the attack, with Brent dropping 3.3 per cent to $74.48 a barrel as of 6:10 p.m. Earlier, the U.S. and U.K. urged citizens in the country to take shelter and the Qatari government suspended air traffic. The move comes after the U.S. struck three major nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night. Trump said they were 'obliterated' and Tehran vowed to retaliate. Qatar suspends flights over its airspace Global airlines felt the brunt of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, as missile exchanges forced carriers to navigate around a wide swath of territory, tear up flight schedules and turn around aircraft mid-flight. Qatar suspended flights over its airspace late Monday, shortly before Iran launched a missile strike at a U.S. air base in the country around 7:45 p.m. local time. Qatar's move effectively halted operations of its namesake airline and forced dozens of flights from carriers including Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai out of position. Article content The disruptions are most consequential yet for air traffic in the region. Qatar Airways runs a global operation out of its Doha hub, connecting more than 170 destinations around the world. Turkish Airlines suspended service to Gulf destinations including Dubai, home to one of the world's busiest airports, while other airlines, including Singapore Airlines Ltd., British Airways canceled flights. The latest developments signify a widening of the war between Israel and Iran after Trump joined the fight on Sunday by attacking Iran's nuclear sites. The dramatic escalation, and Iran's retaliation, risk disrupting economies that had previously been shielded from the fallout of regional hostilities. Qatar and nearby Dubai have spent decades turning themselves into global aviation powerhouses, meaning that any narrowing or outright closure of air service creates a serious knock-on effect for the travel industry. Doha and Dubai are only a short distance from Iran, sitting on the other side of Persian Gulf and not far from the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping artery for the world's oil supplies that's become a flashpoint in the growing conflict. Article content Dubai is home to Emirates, the world's largest international carrier. Hamad International Airport in Doha, in the capital of Qatar, is among the ten largest, operating more than 500 flights a day. Together, they handle much of the traffic within the Middle East and are transfer points for long-haul travel between Asia, Europe and North America. They had avoided previous suspensions that were contained to countries surrounding Israel and the skies over nations where Iran's missiles pass. Prior to the U.S. strikes on Sunday, Tehran had threatened to hit U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf should Washington get involved, and close down Hormuz. The skies over large swaths of the Middle East have been restricted several times during the past 20 months, making flying through Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran difficult. Thousands of passengers stranded Article content The closures have forced airlines to cancel flights on profitable routes, spend more on jet fuel and pass through countries they usually avoid like Afghanistan, as they avoid dangerous skies. It has also meant hundreds of disrupted flights and thousands of stranded passengers. Israel has started to allow outbound flights after halting them since its latest attacks on Iran starting June 13. Tel Aviv is expected to let about 1,000 passengers per day leave the country from Ben Gurion Airport and Haifa. The U.K. is organizing a chartered flight for British nationals who want to leave Israel, while Germany sent a military transport plane to extract citizens and France said it also plans repatriation flights. 'Everything depends on how long this lasts,' Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist at Bloomberg Economics, said of the fallout from the flight cancellations. 'If there was a stoppage of flights for a day or two, there won't be an impact, but if this is a prolonged thing then obviously it's an issue.' —Leen Al-Rashdan with assistance from Danny Lee, Siddharth Philip, Nicholas Takahashi, Mihir Mishra and Dan Williams. Latest National Stories
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
U.S. air strikes on Iran did not break international law, NATO's Rutte says
Pre-emptive U.S. airstrikes on Iran are not a violation of international law, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said as he prepares to welcome Donald Trump to a summit of member countries that was choreographed to keep the United States in the military alliance. Mr. Rutte, NATO's top civilian official, was speaking ahead of the Tuesday opening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit where all 32 member states agreed to hike core defence spending to 3.5 per cent of their annual economic output after the U.S. president asked for this. Mr. Trump in March said he won't defend allies that are not paying enough for their defence. Israel targets Iran's government and key Tehran prison as Iran launches more attacks on Israel Mr. Rutte defended the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites after being asked two times about whether they breach international law as Russia did by attacking Ukraine in 2022. 'My biggest fear would be for Iran to own and be able to use and deploy a nuclear weapon to be a stranglehold on Israel, on the whole region and other parts of the world,' the secretary-general said. 'This is a consistent position of NATO: Iran should not have its hands on a nuclear on a nuclear weapon,' he said. 'I would not agree that this is against international law — what the U.S. did." Belgium Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who met with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Brussels Monday, told reporters he is of two minds on the U.S. airstrikes. 'In a rules-based world, you just don't start bombing other people,' he said. 'Having said that, Iran is an evil regime,' Mr. De Wever said. He and Mr. Carney on Monday laid wreaths at Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery in Belgium where Canadian soldiers who fought in the Second World War are buried. 'Iran is the big sponsor of terrorism,' Mr. De Wever said. 'Without Iran, there wouldn't have been a Hamas. Without a Hamas, not a 7th of October. Without the 7th of October, not a war in Gaza,' he said. 'Without Iran, there wouldn't be a Hezbollah. There wouldn't be Houthis. So it's a hard regime to feel sorry for.'
