Five business events to watch this week

U.S. politics: The Democratic National Convention begins in Philadelphia on Monday. Republican nominee Donald Trump has promised he will renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and does not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which has yet to take effect. What Hillary Clinton has to say about the trade deals will be closely watched this week by Canadians.

Real estate: The British Columbia legislature will reconvene Monday for a special summer session to debate a proposal that would allow Vancouver to implement a tax on vacant homes in a bid to calm the city's scorching market.

The bottom line: Earnings season gets into full swing this week with a number of companies reporting from various industries. They include Canadian National Railway, WestJet, Barrick Gold, Loblaw, TransCanada, Enbridge and Torstar.

It's the economy, stupid: That widely watched gauge of the country's economy — the GDP — comes out Friday for May, the same month that saw massive wildfires erupt in Fort McMurray, Alta.

BlackBerry: The smartphone company is holding an event Tuesday to show how the company wants to change the way people and organizations think about mobile security and privacy.