TORONTO —
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, it was no secret that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford didn’t see eye-to-eye on a number of issues and fought fiercely against each other’s campaigns.
But fast forward to 2020 and all that seems to have changed.
The two political leaders, from opposite sides of the aisle, often compliment each other publicly on their success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
While making a joint announcement on Thursday about an investment in the production of electric vehicles in Ontario, they were asked by a reporter about their political relationship, which has produced friction in the past.
“A year ago prime minister, you were warning Ontarian voters of the evils of the Ford, Sheer agenda,” the reporter asked. “And premier, wasn’t it a couple years ago you were warning people of the evils of the Trudeau, Wynne agenda?”
“It’s been clear over the last couple months, you two guys get along,” the reporter said. “What’s changed … given how much you attacked each other in the last campaign?”
Trudeau told reporters that while he and Ford still do have their disagreements, during the pandemic people “expect their institutions to work together.”
“Premier Ford and I find great common ground, there are still a number of things we are going to disagree on – and we’ll point those out – but we also know working together is really, really important in the areas we do agree,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau said that on top of it being nice for Canadians to see, he thinks working together is also “deeply reassuring” for citizens.
“Whatever political stripe we all want the same thing: to keep people safe, to bring our economy back as quick as possible.”
Ford echoed similar statements about Trudeau, saying that regardless of the political party “people expect us to work together.”
“This is about working together, collaborating together and coming up with solutions.”
“I appreciate the relationship that myself and the prime minster built, along with the other premiers.”
Ford has said multiple times since the pandemic began that all levels of government, including federal, provincial and municipal, need to work together to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and rebuilt the economy.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
