News of the day: Crumbling aluminum sector, Chinese EVs coming to Canada, housing construction slowdown, quantum unicorn, executive career trap and more

It’s Thursday, July 16. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

It’s Thursday, July 16. Here are the top stories we’re following today. Aluminum is the best-performing base metal this year, but extruders that process it say their businesses are dying amid surging prices, U.S. tariffs and dumping from overseas.

Chinese electric vehicles are starting to arrive in Canada, and thousands more are set to enter the country this year as part of a new strategic partnership between the two countries. Here’s what Canadians can expect, what brands could land here, how much they could cost and whether drivers could be turned away from the U.S. border. Housing construction in Canada continued to thin in June — further evidence that homebuilders are pulling back amid weak demand, rising costs and a surplus of unsold homes.

Coquitlam, B.C.-based quantum computing startup Photonic Inc. has convinced some of Canada’s biggest institutional investors to fork over their cash, but it still needs to prove it can scale its technology in a way that’s useful for businesses and convince companies and governments to pay for its services. As executives ascend the corporate ladder, they gradually lose control over the factors that determine their future, writes Howard Levitt.