OTTAWA – The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up many aspects of Canadian life. As the pandemic’s second anniversary arrives, Statistics Canada reviewed the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 across the country. Here are the highlights: Hate crimes The number of hate crimes rose by 37 per cent in 2020, with 718 more incidents reported […]
Category Archives: Business
With oil prices flirting with $130 (U.S.) a barrel this week — a stunning increase from $18 (U.S.) a barrel short two years ago — Canadian oil and gas companies have hit a jackpot. Take, for example, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL), Canada’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company. Calgary-based CNRL, now worth […]
OTTAWA – Federal spending on health care and elderly benefits are set to rise at a faster clip over the next 12 months than previously planned under forecasts the parliamentary budget officer warns don’t account for looming budget promises. Health transfers are calculated to grow by at least three per cent each year, but the […]
STELLARTON, N.S. – Empire Company Ltd. reported a quarterly profit of $203.4 million, up from $176.3 million a year earlier, as its sales also climbed higher. The grocer says the profit in what was its third quarter amounted to 77 cents per diluted share, up from 66 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Sales […]
MONTREAL – Ottawa is issuing a call for expressions of interest regarding a high-frequency train project to connect Quebec City and Toronto. Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra made the announcement Wednesday in Montreal, calling it the first major step toward moving the project forward. The request to solicit industry advice and views on the Toronto […]
HALIFAX – People across Canada are feeling the financial pressure of surging gasoline prices, but residents of the Atlantic region are being particularly hard hit, in part, because of their heavy reliance on oil to heat their homes. The four provinces with the highest percentages of fuel oil for residential heating in 2019 were all […]
The saga of skyrocketing grocery prices continues. The newest victim? Your bread. Wheat products now join the list of food products that are experiencing price increases this year, such as fresh vegetables, fruit and dairy, the latter of which notably has seen a six per cent increase due to price hikes by the Canadian Dairy […]
OTTAWA – Canada posted a merchandise trade surplus in January compared with a deficit in December as imports fell to start the year. Statistics Canada said Tuesday the country saw a merchandise trade surplus of $2.6 billion for January compared with a revised deficit of $1.6 billion in December. BMO economist Shelly Kaushik said exports […]
OTTAWA – The RCMP told MPs Monday that it only gave the names of people directly involved in Ottawa protests to banks to freeze their accounts, and not supporters who donated to the so-called Freedom Convoy. The lists of protesters given to banks included personal details from the police database, such as whether protesters had […]
It is, in the face of Russia’s crushing invasion of Ukraine, hard not to get the sinking feeling we have entered a new and dangerous era. The current war, instigated by a Russian leader who, according to reports, is increasingly unstable, threatens to shift the tectonic plates of history and upend the long-established post-Second World […]