Economics Canada to consider steel safeguard response to U.S. tariffs Canada said on Tuesday it will consider a safeguard action on seven steel products to protect domestic producers from imports since the United States imposed tariffs against its major trade partner in March. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said a 15-day consultation period will be used to look at the harm or threat of harm to seven steel categories, including steel … Read More
Economics Saudi Arabia freezes new trade with Canada for urging activists’ release Saudi Arabia will suspend new trade and investment with Canada after that country’s foreign ministry urged Riyadh to release arrested civil rights activists, it said in a statement released to the official Saudi Press Agency on Sunday. It also gave the Canadian ambassador 24 hours to leave the country and recalled its own ambassador to Canada, the statement by the … Read More
Economics Canada cannot start work on Trans Mountain pipeline until deal closes The Canadian government would like to see construction accelerate on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, but has no control over decisions to resume or start new work until it takes ownership of the major crude oil pipeline project, Canada’s natural resources minister said. “We think that construction and staying on a schedule is important, but that will be up to … Read More
Economics Canada rate hike in question as data disappoints An unexpected plunge in Canada’s retail sales in April and flat inflation figures for May drove the Canadian dollar to a year-low on Friday and cut expectations for a July rate hike to 50-50 at best. Retail sales fell 1.2 percent in April, the largest drop in more than two years, adding slowing consumer spending to a list of concerns … Read More
Economics Trudeau and Trump discuss speeding up NAFTA talks in meeting at G7 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed accelerating NAFTA talks during a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit of Friday. “The prime minister and the president had a very positive, productive meeting and it lasted longer than originally scheduled,” a senior government official, speaking on background, told reporters assembled at the G7 summit Friday. “They did discuss NAFTA at … Read More
Economics ‘Nowhere near close:’ U.S. rebuffs Trudeau hope for quick NAFTA deal The United States declared the NAFTA countries were nowhere close to a deal, in a statement Thursday designed to douse expectations that an agreement might be just a few minor adjustments away. It rebuffed an effort from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, and several high-ranking staffers who were in the U.S. on Thursday urging a … Read More
Economics Canada home resales fall in April, lowest in over five years: CREA Resales of Canadian homes fell 2.9 percent in April from March to the lowest level in more than five years, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Tuesday. The industry group said actual sales, not seasonally adjusted, fell 13.9 percent, while the group’s Home Price Index was up 1.5 percent from April 2017. Canada’s once-hot housing market has cooled in … Read More
Economics Canada building permits up in March on plans for apartments The value of Canadian building permits rose more than expected in March on increased plans to build apartment buildings in the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia, data from Statistics Canada showed on Wednesday. The 3.1-percent increase topped economists’ forecasts for a gain of 2.0 percent, while February was revised slightly downward to a decline of 2.8 percent from an … Read More
Economics Justin Trudeau to interrupt foreign trip to meet B.C., Alberta premiers over troubled Trans Mountain pipeline Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will break off a foreign trip to return to Ottawa for a meeting on Sunday with the premiers of two provinces arguing over an oil pipeline, his office said on Thursday. The unexpected development is a sign of the pressure building on Trudeau to solve a dispute which could turn into a constitutional crisis. Trudeau’s federal … Read More
Economics Canadian PM optimistic over NAFTA as deal on autos seen possible Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday for the first time that a deal to renegotiate NAFTA was likely, amid signs negotiators may be closer to settling one of the regional trade pact’s most contentious issues. “We remain very confident that a win-win-win deal is not only possible, but likely,” Trudeau told a Toronto business audience. The head of … Read More