Investment

This Canadian province is among world’s top 3 best regions for mining investment

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2023

Three provinces make top 10, according to Fraser Institute

An employee of Sayona Quebec in front of a lithium deposit at the company’s North American Lithium Complex in La Corne, central Quebec. Photo by MATHIEU DUPUIS/SAYONA/AFP via Getty Images files

The report ranked 62 jurisdictions worldwide on geologic attractiveness (minerals and metals), as well as whether government policies encourage or deter exploration and investment (including permit times).

“While geologic and economic considerations are important factors in mineral exploration, a region’s policy climate is also an important investment consideration,” the report said.

This is the fifth time in six years that Saskatchewan has ranked in the global top three, though it fell from No. 2 in last year’s survey.

Saskatchewan isn’t the only Canadian jurisdiction that made the top 10, with Newfoundland and Labrador coming in at No. 4 and Quebec at No. 8.

But the report said some Canadian provinces and territories are failing to capitalize on their strong mineral potential, largely because they’re lacking a solid policy environment to attract investment.

For example, Ontario, Manitoba and Yukon all rank among the world’s top 10 most attractive jurisdictions for mineral potential, but fall to spots 18, 24 and 31, respectively, on policy factors.

“A sound regulatory regime coupled with competitive taxes make a jurisdiction attractive to investors,” Elmira Aliakbari, director of the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Natural Resource Studies and co-author of the study, said in a press release. “Policymakers across the globe should understand that mineral deposits alone are not enough to attract investment.”

Investor concerns over disputed land claims, protected areas and environmental regulations continue to be a major policy hurdle for British Columbia and Atlantic Canada. Uncertainty about protected areas, including which ones are off limits for mining exploration and production, is among the top three policy-related barriers to investment in the Atlantic provinces.

“Overregulation works as a deterrent to investment,” an unnamed president at a producer said in the report. “The project I was working on met all regulatory requirements, but still had to apply for a court order (mandamus) before the B.C. government granted the permit.”

Canada, however, is emerging as a preferred jurisdiction for green investments by the global mining industry, according to a separate report by DBRS Morningstar.

It said mining companies across the world are increasingly embracing Canada for investing in the new technologies needed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emission targets.

Part of the reason is because Ottawa’s federal budget for 2023 introduced a range of new tax incentives for sustainable investing.

But that’s not the only reason global mining players are attracted to Canada. Other compelling reasons include:

1. The abundance of hydroelectric power generation.
2. The availability of advanced research and development centres in mining and processing industries.
3. An extensive resource base of most of the 31 critical minerals identified by Ottawa for driving economic growth in the green economy.
4. A highly skilled and experienced labour force.

Two and a half months ago, Shopify Inc. president Harley Finkelstein said the company wasn’t planning any more layoffs after slashing 10 per cent of its workforce the previous summer. Yet, following first-quarter earnings on May 4, Shopify announced it was cutting 20 per cent, or more than 2,000, staffers as it sheds a strategic part of the business once meant to expand the company beyond digital e-commerce products. The Financial Post’s Bianca Bharti explains what you need to know.

The end game for millions of Canadians who diligently save for retirement by contributing to registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) is to be able to accumulate, on a pre-tax basis, a sufficiently large enough nest egg that will last through retirement. The tool most RRSP savers ultimately use to provide such an income stream from that plan is a registered retirement income fund (RRIF). But RRIF rules haven’t kept up with recent demographic and economic trends. Tax expert Jamie Golombek delves into what’s wrong with the RRIF and how to fix it so seniors can stop fearing their retirement savings will run out.

Investment

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

Published

6 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Investment

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

Published

4 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

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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Economy

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

Published

1 month ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

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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