News

Tariffs Take Effect

25% tariffs took effect yesterday on basically everything but energy products, as President Trump decided to rip the decades-old largest trade agreement ever between Canada, USA, and Mexico.

Canada has responded by saying they will provide counter-tariffs that amount to about $155 billion.

That likely won’t mean much to President Trump. The larger reaction is that of the US stock market.

At the time of writing, the S&P 500 had wiped out its entire gains for 2025 on the news of the tariffs.

That amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars in a matter of hours, far greater damage than what Canada can do.

For his part, Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier, has said he will go after the USA using energy.

He has threatened to cut off electricity exports to the USA, and minerals for manufacturing. Ontario is a major electricity exporter to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

He also plans on adding a surcharge of every megawatt of energy that US states purchase, along with stopping all nickel exports, which Ford states will shut down their manufacturing.

LCBOs have also been mandated to stop selling American liquor products.

Sadly no one will win this battle. The goal now is to shop Canadian as much as possible and hopefully calmer heads prevail and we can avoid a massive depression from setting in.

A QUESTION FROM THUNDER BAY DIGEST

I’ve been working on this newsletter now for almost six months and it’s been amazing.

I want to make it better, and spend my time on producing a higher quality newsletter, instead of focusing partly on content, and partly on advertising to cover costs and make this financially viable.

Based on feedback I’ve already received I’m curious to know if you’d stay subscribed for a small $10/monthly subscription cost?

Doing so would allow the newsletter to improve by:

• No advertising

• More stories per issue

• Greater event details (links, more write-ups, bigger lists)

• Subscriber-based content (send me your events, news, etc, and it will get top priority for no charge)

• Increase frequencey to daily by being able to dedicate more time

• Greater research on issues to provide more insight and analysis

• Longer-term goals would be to create a community where information could be posted regularly, but be regulated by paying subscribers (to avoid trolls and abject negativity all the time)

• And yes… more resources for better proofreading… 🤣

Health Care

Cardiovascular Construction Starts

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre has begun construction on its cardiovascular surgery program.

To remind everyone, this involves the creation of a new 76,000-square-foot cardiac care wing.

The goal is to have it completed in late 2027.

To accommodate construction, the hospital will be temporarily closing its Bear (B1) parking lot.

The project is estimated to cost $118.7 million, broken down as follows:

• $98.7 million - Province of Ontario

• $20 million - Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation

Mining

Premier Ford Wants Faster Mining

Over the weekend Premier Ford spoke at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto.

His goal was simple: speed up our ability to extract valuable minerals.

The priorities he stated:

• Convince the federal government to eliminate the need for duplicate environmental assessments (this makes a lot of sense to me)

• One-project-one-process approach to streamline permitting and cut red tape

• Designate regions where critical minerals are, or likely to be, as regions of strategic importance for our economy and security, thus allowing those areas to be fast-tracked

• $500 million critical minerals processing fund that will support processing; attract private capital investments; speed up key projects

• $70 million investment to expand the Aboriginal Participation Fund to help train Indigenous workers in mining jobs

Crime

Greenstone Drug Bust

A major drug trafficking investigation led to a huge bust in Greenstone.

Members of the Greenstone Community Street Crime Unit, along with officers from Thunder Bay, Nipigon, Marathon, Manitouwadge, and the Nishnawbe Aski Police Drug Unit were involved in the bust.

Siezed were:

• 190 grams of methamphetamine

• 155 grams of psilocybin mushrooms

• 42 grams of crack cocaine

• 14 grams of cocaine

• 10 grams of fentanyl

• Over $2,700 in cash

• A stolen pick-up truck

A 49-year-old man from Longlac has been charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and possession of stolen property of over $5,000.

City

New Pedestrian Crossings Coming

The city is looking to add five new pedestrian crossings by the end of the year.

On the wishlist are four new traffic signal installations and one pedestrian crossover.

The traffic signals would be activated by pressing a button, whereas the crossover would be identical to the ones already around the city.

The new traffic signals are slated to be installed at the following intersections:

• Arthur Street-Leland Avenue

• Red River Rd between Clarkson Street and Junot Avenue

• Golf Links Road - 1 north of Oliver Road and 1 south of Oliver Road

The new pedestrian crossover will be at the intersection of Hodder Avenue and Lillian Street.

The city has received a grant that will cover 70% of the costs and installation is expected to be completed by the end of this year’s construction season.

Indigenous News

Ring of Fires Roads by 2040

Current estimates put the completion of the Ring of Fire access roads not until 2040.

At the same time, progress is being made on all three access roads needed to connect the Ring of Fire, Marten Falls First Nation and the Webequie First Nation to the TransCanada Highway.

The government put Marten Falls and Webequie in charge of running the provincial environmental assessment (EA) for the access roads.

Two of the three EAs are nearly complete.

The last major hurdle, however, is getting First Nation approval.

Despite running the EA processes, neither Webeqiue nor Marten Falls have actually consented to the road projects.

This could all become much more pertinent depending on what the tariff situation does longer-term.

Things to do This Week

Events In and Around the City

International Tapestry Women’s Network
International Women’s Day Pre-Registration Event
Thunder Bay Art Gallery
Pre-register by Feb 28
[email protected]
$ FREE

The Great Canadian Roadtrip 2.0
Live country music
Thunder Bay Community Auditorium - 1 Paul Shaffer Dr
March 3 @ 7:30pm
$42-$49

The New Canadian Curling Club
Live theatre
Magnus Theatre - 10 Algoma St
March 3-March 8 @ 7:30pm
$25 - $50

Name That Tune
Live musical trivia
Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. - 712 Macdonell St
March 5 @ 7pm-9pm
$ FREE

Ira Johnson Band
Live music
Howl at the Moon - 8 Cumberland St S
March 5 @ 8pm
$ FREE

Country Line Dancing with Lady T
Country music & dancing
Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. - 712 Macdonell St
March 6 @ 6:30pm
$10

Home, I’m Darling
Theatre
Cambrian Players - 818 Spring St.
March 6-9 @ 7:30pm-9:30pm
$25-$30

Open Mic Comedy
Amateur live comedy
The Foundry - 242 Red River Rd.
March 6 @ 8pm-11pm

Karaoke
Live music
March 6

• Royal Canadian Legion - Branch 5 - 229 Van Norman St

• Howl at the Moon (sober karaoke) - 8 Cumberland St. S.

• Norteños Cantina - 225 Red River Rd.

• Polish Combatants’ Association - Branch 1 - 209 Cumberland St. N.

• The Waterhouse - 9 Cumberland St. S.

• The Alley - 236 Cumming St.

TBSO Pops - A Night at the Movies
Live orchestral music
Italian Cultural Centre - 132 Algoma St. S.
March 7-8 @ 7:30pm
$25-$50

Country Night featuring Back Forty
Country music
The Outpost - 955 Oliver Rd.
March 7 @ 9pm
$15

Karaoke
Live music
March 7

• The Hodder - 481 Hodder Ave

• The Social - 1047 Dawson Rd

• The Bar - 863 Red River Rd

• The Waterhouse - 9 Cumberland St S

Story Time with the Thunder Bay Drag Queens & Kings + Crafting with Queens
Family friendly live reading & crafting
Waverley Public Library - 285 Red River Rd
March 8 @ 2:30pm-4pm
$ FREE

Building with Beads - Mardi Gras Gala
Charity fundraising dinner event for Habitat for Humanity
Valhalla Hotel - 1 Valhalla Inn Rd
March 8 @ 5:30pm
$130

Karaoke
Live music
March 8

• Westfort Prosvita - 721 Gore St W

• Howl at the Moon (sober karaoke) - 8 Cumberland St S

• The Hodder - 481 Hodder Ave

• Norteños Taqqueria - 698 Arther St W

• The Social - 1047 Dawson Rd

• The Bar - 863 Red River Rd

Home of the Day

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3 bathrooms
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