Canada’s premiers wrapped their three days of meetings Wednesday with calls for the federal government to sit down with them for a dedicated first ministers’ meeting to discuss infrastructure strategy and funding.
“True federal partnerships are needed to ensure progress, but (with) respect for provincial and territorial jurisdictions and responsibilities, to recognize all of our unique circumstances and needs,” said Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, who hosted the meeting.
Stefanson said the premiers want the dedicated sit-down with the federal government to include talks about strategic infrastructure — including community, economic, and competitive infrastructure — as well as economic trade corridors.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault said that infrastructure needs to extend to health-care and housing infrastructure.
The last time the premiers met with the federal government was in February to discuss increasing health-care transfers, when the latter tabled a $196.1-billon, 10-year offer. Quebec is now the only holdout to ink a bilateral deal with the federal government, laying out particular conditions on the funds.
Healthcare remained a focus for the premiers during the days-long meeting, with The Canadian Press reporting Tuesday the leaders of the provinces and territories are hoping to see the federal government streamline international recruiting to help with staffing shortages. They also heard recommendations for ways to tackle gaps in the system from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
The premiers also discussed critical minerals, energy security, and climate change, specifically as they relate to Canada’s need to compete against the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which provides billions of dollars in clean energy incentives south of the border, Legault noted.
Housing was another major focus of the meeting, especially with the Bank of Canada announcing Wednesday it has raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points — its 10th consecutive hike — to five per cent.
“Of course we have our own unique needs based on whatever jurisdiction that we come from, so (housing) is very important to all of us as well,” Stefanson said.
B.C. Premier David Eby said that infrastructure includes housing and he believes the prime minister will be “receptive” to the conversation considering its provincial and national importance.
“The solution that we really came to at the table is we need to have an integrated national approach to this essential infrastructure that’s going to support pieces like housing,” he said. “You can’t pull one piece out without having a conversation about all this infrastructure.”
Federal co-operation is paramount, Eby said.
“The provinces can only get so far on our own without the federal partner at the table,” he said.
Earlier in the week, many of the premiers took aim at the federal government’s climate policies, including the premiers of the Atlantic provinces, who recently launched a campaign against federal fuel regulations, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who accused the Trudeau Liberals of “federal interference into (provincial) business.”
“There are energy issues across all jurisdictions, and when we speak as a unified voice, we would like to raise the conversation so that it’s a Canadian approach and not necessarily just a regional approach,” said Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey when asked why the provincial and territorial demands for the federal government coming out of the meeting pertains to infrastructure and not climate policy.
“But there was a robust conversation amongst Atlantic premiers voicing our concerns with respect to the energy issues that we face on clean fuels,” Furey added.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
