'Landmark investment:' Promised federal permanent transit fund would help expand Edmonton LRT, Iveson says - Edmonton Journal | Canada News Media
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'Landmark investment:' Promised federal permanent transit fund would help expand Edmonton LRT, Iveson says – Edmonton Journal

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Promised permanent transit funding announced by the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday would be used to help finance Edmonton’s planned LRT system expansion, Mayor Don Iveson said.

Although the amount of funding pegged for Edmonton hasn’t been determined, municipalities across the country will split $3 billion in pledged annual funding starting in 2026 through a new permanent transit fund, Trudeau said, announcing the effort as part of a larger $14.9-billion investment in public transit projects over the next eight years.

Iveson, also chairman of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Big City Mayors’ Caucus, said the funding is “a landmark investment” in supporting COVID-19 recovery for cities across the country as transit projects will help create jobs, shorten commutes and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With guaranteed annual funding into the future, Iveson said the city can start deciding timeframes and next steps for LRT expansion in all quadrants.

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“Permanent funding really makes firm timelines for the full buildout of the LRT system imaginable,” he said. “It will mean big projects can go ahead sooner, it will mean firm timelines for longer term, even larger mega projects in cities across the country, and it will also mean acceleration of some of our green fleet initiatives.”

One of the next LRT projects on the list for the city is building the Metro Line Northwest expansion, first north to Castle Downs and then to St. Albert. The funding announcement will allow the city to start moving forward on the first phase sooner and allow for firm timelines, Iveson said.

Another project that could benefit is the planned Capital Line South extension to Ellerslie Road. Preliminary design work on the project is complete and the city was awaiting funding to be able to move forward on construction.

The money is welcome news as municipalities continue to struggle with revenue shortfalls on transit as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Iveson said. The city is currently forecasting a budget shortfall of $152 million in 2021 — $63 million from transit revenue reductions alone as ridership isn’t anticipated to exceed 50 per cent of usual capacity until mass vaccination.

“We’re excited about an announcement that positions municipalities as central partners in Canada’s pandemic recovery,” he said. “Permanent transit funding offers cities long-term predictability to finally be able to deliver transformational system expansion and drive durable economic growth across our country.”

Edmonton currently receives about $130 million a year for transit from the federal government based on a ridership formula.

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Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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