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[1/6] Aerial view of the wildfire in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, Canada in this social media handout image released May 31, 2023. Nova Scotia Government/Handout via REUTERSMONTREAL, June 2 (Reuters) - A coastal city in Quebec ordered some 10,000 residents to evacuate homes on Friday as wildfires spread in eastern Canada and stretched firefighting resources already tackling blazes across the country. Wildfires are common in Canada's western provinces, but this year the eastern province of Nova Scotia is reeling from its worst-ever wildfire season. In another eastern province, Quebec, Premier Francois Legault has urged people to avoid spending time in forests over the next few days. Canadian armed forces have been helping fight fires in western Canada since early May and troops were sent to Nova Scotia on Thursday.

Persons: Bill Blair, Blair, Francois Legault, Stephane Lauzon, Justin Trudeau, Mateusz, Allison Lampert, Ismail Shakil, Nick Macfie Organizations: Nova, Nova Scotia Government, REUTERS, Emergency, Thomson Locations: Shelburne County , Nova Scotia, Canada, Nova Scotia, REUTERS MONTREAL, Quebec, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec , New Brunswick, Polish, Ottawa, United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Poland, Montreal

Canada's largest carrier had said earlier that an issue with its communicator system had resulted in flight delays across its system. "Air Canada’s operations are stabilizing and flights are departing," the airline said Thursday afternoon. Air Canada did not describe the specific issue but said Thursday's glitch was unrelated to the one last week. "Air Canada will continue to work with the manufacturer to ensure stability in the system in the future." "We’re now working our way back to normal operations," Spirit said in an emailed statement.

Persons: We’re, Allison Lampert, Ismail Shakil, David Shepardson, David Gregorio, Mark Porter Organizations: Air Canada, Canada, Southwest Airlines Co, Spirit Airlines, Thomson Locations: MONTREAL, Montreal, Ottawa, Washington

☆ Canada sends military to help battle blazes in Nova Scotia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Smoke from the Tantallon wildfire rises over houses in nearby Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 28, 2023. Nova Scotia is battling two large fires that are threatening communities on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Halifax. The armed forces would provide equipment and personnel to relieve firefighters "who have been working tirelessly around the clock to protect communities right across Nova Scotia", Blair said. The federal government sent the military to Alberta last month to help battle blazes there and Canada is also getting help from other countries. Some 800 U.S. firefighters have come to battle the blazes, mostly in Alberta, with another 100 are scheduled to arrive in Nova Scotia over coming days, officials said.

Persons: Eric Martyn, Bill Blair, Blair, Justin Trudeau, Steve Scherer, Anirudh Saligrama, Sharon Singleton, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, OTTAWA, CBC News, CBC, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bedford , Nova Scotia, Canada, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Alberta, Quebec, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

While a federal election is not due until 2025, housing affordability is among the top concerns for Canadians who have grappled with supply shortages. The Liberal Party government's ambitious plan to welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025, or about 1.25% of its population, is expected to fuel robust demand for housing. In April 2022, the Liberal government announced plans to double housing construction over the next decade. It's been 8 years (since he took power), and now, housing costs have doubled," Poilievre said on Twitter earlier this month. Speaking with the heads of Canada's municipalities last week, Trudeau said the government's next "long term infrastructure" plan will be revealed this autumn.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Randall Bartlett, Bartlett, Pierre Poilievre, Trudeau, Poilievre, Darrell Bricker, they're, Bricker, James Laird, Laird, Fergal Smith, Steve Scherer, Marguerita Choy Organizations: TORONTO, Bank of Canada, Liberal Party, Desjardins, Liberal, Housing, Canada Mortgage, Housing Corporation, Canadian Home Builders ' Association, Reuters, Conservative Party, Twitter, Toronto Area, Public Affairs, Thomson Locations: Toronto, Ottawa

OTTAWA, June 1 (Reuters) - The Canadian government is backing up to C$3 billion ($2.24 billion) in loans for Trans Mountain Corp (TMC), the crown corporation building an over-budget and long-delayed oil pipeline expansion to Canada's Pacific Coast. Last year Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, which bought the Trans Mountain pipeline in 2018 to ensure the expansion project got built, provided a C$10 billion loan guarantee to TMC. The Trans Mountain Expansion will nearly triple the flow of crude from Alberta's oil sands to Burnaby, British Columbia, to 890,000 barrels per day and is intended to boost access to Asian refining markets. Finance Ministry spokeswoman Marie-France Faucher said the loan guarantee was "common practice" and did not reflect any new public spending. TMC is paying a fee to the government for the loan guarantee, she said.

Persons: Justin Trudeau's, Chrystia Freeland, Marie, France Faucher, Faucher, Stephen Ellis, Keith Stewart, Ismail Shakil, Nia Williams, Daniel Wallis, Richard Chang Organizations: OTTAWA, Canadian, Trans Mountain Corp, Export Development, Liberal, TMC, Finance, Morningstar, Greenpeace Canada, Thomson Locations: Coast, Burnaby , British Columbia, France

☆ Raging wildfire empties homes in eastern Canada, pollutes air in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Eric Martyn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The fire, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of downtown Halifax, has already forced 18,000 people to evacuate their homes. No fatalities have been reported but about 200 homes, structures have been damaged, the CBC reported, citing the Halifax Regional Municipality. Forest fires also led to evacuations of about 400 homes in the province of New Brunswick over the weekend, officials said. "The stories and the images we're seeing coming out of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are heartbreaking," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, pledging federal support for the Atlantic provinces. The Halifax wildfire was expected to cause poor air quality hundreds of miles to the south in parts of the U.S. East Coast and Midwest as smoke drifts across the regions.

Persons: David Steeves, Justin Trudeau, what's, Brendan O'Brien, Ismail Shakil, Sriraj Kalluvila, Marguerita Choy, Deepa Babington Organizations: HALIFAX, U.S, Nova, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, CBC, CBC News, U.S ., National Weather Service, Thomson Locations: Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canadian, Halifax Regional Municipality, New Brunswick, Ottawa, Atlantic, Bedford , Nova Scotia, West Bedford, Alberta, U.S . East Coast, Midwest, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania , New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago

Companies Equinor ASA FollowBp Plc FollowWINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 31 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor ASA (EQNR.OL) said on Wednesday that it will postpone its Bay du Nord Canadian offshore oil project for up to three years, due to rising costs. Ottawa backed Bay du Nord saying that it would produce relatively low emissions. "Bay du Nord is an important project for Equinor. "The (Bay du Nord) economics are positive but if you play around with costs and risk more, it's not going to be the best opportunity in their portfolio," he said. Bay du Nord would be so far from shore - 500 kilometers (311 miles) - that it falls in international waters.

Persons: Justin Trudeau's, ”, Trond Bokn, Equinor's, Equinor, Newfoundland & Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, it's, Mark Oberstoetter, Wood Mackenzie, Rod Nickel, Nia Williams, Marguerita Choy Organizations: ASA, Bp, Equinor ASA, Ottawa, Newfoundland & Labrador Premier, BP, Wood, Sierra Club Canada, Columbia, Thomson Locations: WINNIPEG , Manitoba, du Nord Canadian, Bay, Nord, Newfoundland, Norway, Brazil, Winnipeg , Manitoba

☆ After a Hard-Right Turn, Alberta’s Conservatives Retain Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Ian Austen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The result, while a win for conservatives, is likely to be seen as a rebuff of the politics of Danielle Smith, the hard-right leader of the United Conservative Party who has been Alberta’s premier for seven months. Ms. Smith came to power after the party effectively rejected a more moderate conservative, Jason Kenney, as premier over his refusal to end pandemic restrictions and vaccine mandates. The views of Ms. Smith, a former radio talk show host and newspaper columnist who previously led another conservative party, are firmly aligned with that faction. She has declared that the unvaccinated were the “most discriminated-against group” she’d seen in her lifetime and suggested that police officers who enforced pandemic measures had committed crimes. In May, a video surfaced of her likening people who chose to be vaccinated to Germans who came to support Hitler.

May 29 (Reuters) - United Conservative Party (UCP) leader Danielle Smith's election victory in Canada's main oil-producing province Alberta on Monday is likely to herald further friction with Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, particularly over climate change. The populist premier's win signals a further rightward shift in the traditionally conservative province, and comes despite a series of controversies and gaffes from Smith, 52, since she first became premier in October. In her victory speech, Smith was quick to take aim at Trudeau and what she described as the federal government's "harmful policies". "As premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans. In early 2022 she announced plans to run for leadership of the United Conservative Party, which was born in 2017 from a merger of the Progressives Conservatives and Wildrose Party.

[1/2] Danielle Smith of the United Conservative Party (UCP) gestures during her party's provincial election night party after a projected win in Calgary, Alberta, Canada May 29, 2023. Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP), defeated left-leaning New Democratic Party leader Rachel Notley on Monday, and immediately targeted Trudeau, threatening the country's ambitious climate goals. Some analysts have said deep emissions cuts are not possible without reducing oil production, which Smith fiercely opposes. "As premier I cannot under any circumstances allow these contemplated federal policies to be inflicted upon Albertans." "One of the challenges is there is a political class in Alberta that has decided that anything to do with climate change is going to be bad for them or for Alberta," Trudeau told Reuters in a January interview.

☆ Canada, Quebec to provide about C$300 mln for GM-POSCO battery materials facility
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File PhotoOTTAWA, May 29 (Reuters) - Canada's federal government and the Quebec province will each provide about C$150 million ($112 million) for a General Motors-POSCO Chemical (GM.N)(005490.KS) battery materials facility that is expected create about 200 jobs in the country, the Canadian industry ministry said on Monday. The U.S. carmaker and South Korea's POSCO outlined their plan last year to build the facility in Becancour, Quebec, to produce cathode active material (CAM) for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. CAM includes components like processed nickel, lithium and other materials that make up about 40% of the cost of a battery, the industry ministry said in a statement. "This investment in GM-POSCO's new facility in Becancour will help further position Quebec as a key hub in Canada's growing EV supply chain," Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said.

☆ Alberta heads to the polls with Canada's green agenda in balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 23, 2023. The battle between populist Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party (UCP), which is seeking a second consecutive term, and Rachel Notley's left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) is expected to be extremely close, pollsters say, even though Alberta is traditionally a conservative bastion. Alberta is Canada's highest-emitting province, largely due to vast oil sands operations in the northern boreal forest and produces 80% of the country's 4.9 million barrels per day of crude oil. She held another major rally in NDP stronghold and Alberta capital Edmonton on Sunday. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time and the result is expected to be called late Monday night.

☆ A budget Canadian airline had 4 of its planes repossessed. Its CEO is blaming a conspiracy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Bianca Giacobone | Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In March, lessor Airborne confiscated four of Flair Airlines' planes because of late payments. A low-cost Canadian upstart airline had four of its planes repossessed by New York-based aircraft lessor Airborne Capital on March 11, forcing the carrier to cancel multiple flights and leaving a trail of disgruntled passengers behind. Flair Airlines CEO Stephen Jones blamed "behind the scenes" scheming between the airline's competitors and Airborne Capital for the repossession of four of Flair's Boeing 737 planes. It's not the first time Flair has clashed with other Canadian airlines. US investment firm 777 Partners owns a 25% stake in Flair Airlines, which was cause for concern for the CTA.

Persons: Stephen Jones, Flair, We've, Jones, — Flair, It's, —, Tim Donovan, Donovan, Prince Edward Island Organizations: Airborne, Flair Airlines, Flair, Morning, Capital, Airborne Capital, Boeing, The Canadian Press, Air Canada, BOC Aviation, Financial, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, National Airlines Council of Canada, Canadian Transportation Agency, Partners, CTA, National Airlines Council, Easter, Airways Magazine, Bonza Airlines, Dominican Republic Locations: New York, North America, Canada, Titusville , New Brunswick, Toronto, Saint John , New Brunswick, Charlottetown, Ottawa, Montreal, Florida, Dominican

☆ Alberta on high alert for wildfire upsurge over scorching holiday weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Sky crane helicopter dumps water on the Eagle Wildfire Complex near Fox Creek, Alberta, Canada May 19, 2023. Record-high temperatures and lack of rain this year have led to widespread fires burning nearly 830,000 hectares (2 million acres) of land in Alberta, about 10 times the size of the province's largest city, Calgary, according to Alberta Wildfire. "We will all be on high alert this weekend," Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire, said on Friday. The wildfires have tested Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's disaster management skills ahead of a provincial election on May 29. Some 275 houses, businesses and other properties had been damaged, while more than 10,000 people remained evacuated by Friday, according to Alberta government officials.

☆ Giant Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture sells for record $32.8 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A 10-foot-high bronze spider has set a new auction record for a sculpture by a woman artist, Sotheby’s announced Friday. Louise Bourgeois’ 1996 “Spider,” which stands at over 10 feet tall and more than 18 feet across, sold for $32.8 million including fees at a sale in New York on Thursday evening. The sale also set a new auction record for a work by Bourgeois. In May 2019, another sold for $32.1 million with fees at Christie’s in New York. The sculpture sold on Thursday evening was previously owned by Brazil’s Fundação Itaú.

☆ Shopify is reopening its offices for in-person work for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shopify will open some of its offices for daily work beginning this summer. Shopify plans to allow its employees to come into its offices to work several days a month, CEO Tobi Lütke told workers at an internal town hall earlier in May. "Shopify continues to value in-person time to build trust and create connections outside of dedicated team events," a Shopify spokesperson said. The company refers to its dedication to remote work as "digital by design." Most recently, Amazon began requiring employees to work in its offices at least three days a week starting this month.

☆ Wildfire risk spurs Alberta to close parks, urge caution ahead of holiday weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Leslie Kramer walk her dogs as some 90 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 23 out of control, according to the provincial government, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada May 16, 2023. Traditionally, residents spend the Victoria Day weekend outside as families take advantage of the warmer weather to go camping or enjoy other outdoor activities. The long weekend in May has usually seen an uptick in seasonal wildfires, some of which are accidentally caused by people, according to Alberta Wildfire. With abnormally hot and dry weather forecast until at least early next week, Alberta has preventively closed some provincial parks and campgrounds for the weekend and imposed a fire ban. Consultancy firm Rystad Energy has estimated nearly 2.7 million barrels per day of Alberta oil sands production in May is at risk in "very high" or "extreme" wildfire danger rating zones.

☆ Canada's antitrust regulator sues Cineplex over alleged misleading ticket prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Canada's competition regulator said on Thursday it was suing Cineplex Inc (CGX.TO) for allegedly advertising movie tickets at a lower price than what many consumers actually have to pay. "We're taking action against Cineplex because misleading tactics like drip pricing only serve to deceive and harm consumers," said Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell. Competition Bureau Canada alleged that Cineplex was breaking the law by adding an additional fee that raises the price of its tickets purchased online, according to a statement from the regulator. The bureau said Cineplex introduced the online booking fee in June 2022 and it has generated significant revenue for the company. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

April's unexpected acceleration in inflation to 4.4% from 4.3% in March has some economists forecasting a hike later this year. "Inflation has come down. We expect it will continue to come down," Macklem said when asked about the inflation figures published this week. He did, however, acknowledge that April inflation "did come in stronger than we expected." "While most households are proving resilient to increases in debt-servicing costs, early signs of financial stress are emerging," particularly among recent home buyers, according to the so-called Financial System Review.

☆ Ethics official cites Alberta premier for violation, ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith interfered with the judicial process, the Canadian province's ethics commissioner said in a ruling released on Thursday, two weeks before a provincial election that is expected to be hard fought. Ethics Commissioner Marguerite Trussler said Smith had breached conflict of interest laws by contacting the province's justice minister about the case of a Calgary pastor facing criminal charges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In statement on Thursday, Smith said she would seek legal advice on how a premier could talk to a justice minister about sensitive matters in the future. Last week Smith apologized for having compared Albertans vaccinated against COVID-19 with followers of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. In March, another UCP candidate resigned after claiming children are exposed to pornography in schools and teachers help them change their gender identities.

☆ No respite for wildfire-hit Alberta as conditions set to worsen
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Leslie Kramer walk her dogs as some 90 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 23 out of control, according to the provincial government, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start to wildfire season in western Canada this year. Alberta has been the worst-hit, with about 91 wildfires burning, including 27 out of control, as of Wednesday. On Wednesday, consultancy firm Rystad Energy said nearly 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of Alberta oil sands production in May is at risk in "very high" or "extreme" wildfire danger rating zones. Of estimated May production volumes, about 60% are subject to extreme wildfire danger levels, with the remaining 40% subject to very high danger, Oslo-based Rystad said.

☆ Alberta wildfires hit gas flow out of Canada to US, spiking prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Smoke rises above the southeast perimeter of the Paskwa fire (HWF030) as it burns near Fox Lake, Alberta, Canada May 16, 2023. Alberta Wildfire/Handout via REUTERSOTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Alberta officials on Thursday warned more wildfires could spread in next few hot and dry days, even as firefighters make progress in tackling widespread blazes that have slowed the outflow of natural gas from Canada into the United States, spiking prices. There were about 92 active wildfires and over 10,000 people out of their homes as of Thursday, Alberta officials told a daily briefing. "Firefighters can experience challenging conditions in hot, dry and windy weather, but progress has been made on many active wildfires," said Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire. "We are expecting and preparing for more active wildfire behavior today and over the next few days," she said.

☆ Canada has increased planned Stellantis battery factory support -minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OTTAWA, May 16 (Reuters) - Canada has increased its planned support to carmaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI) to build a battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, the industry minister said on Tuesday, but it wants the Ontario provincial government to help pay for it. To break the "stalemate," it is important that Ontario "pay its fair share," Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters at a news conference in Seoul. Stellantis on Monday stopped construction at a C$5 billion ($3.7 billion) electric-vehicle battery plant in Canada, which is being built in partnership with South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) (373220.KS). Canada has not delivered what it already promised and there are no new talks under way, Stellantis spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also making an official visit to South Korea this week before heading to the G7 in Japan.

☆ The Data That Explains LIV Golf vs. the PGA Tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Andrew Beaton | Louise Radnofsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Will and Matt Courchene are brothers who grew up outside Ottawa playing hockey during the long winters but during the short Canadian summers fell in love with another sport that would eventually become their living. The Courchenes are proud golf nerds. Their website is a must-read for anyone who enjoys geeking out about the game. And the appropriately named datagolf.com happens to be surprisingly essential amid a schism inside the sport between the PGA Tour and its upstart rival.

☆ Canada's annual inflation rate unexpectedly speeds up to 4.4% in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

OTTAWA, May 16 (Reuters) - Canada's annual inflation rate surprisingly ticked up to 4.4% in April, as higher shelter costs contributed to the first acceleration in the consumer price index in 10 months, Statistics Canada data showed on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the annual inflation rate to edge down to 4.1% from 4.3% in March. Higher rent and mortgage interest costs contributed the most to the annual inflation rate in April, Statscan said. The higher interest rate environment may have contributed to rising rents in April by stimulating higher rental demand, the agency said. The month-over-month inflation rate was driven by gasoline prices, which posted the largest monthly increase since October, following an announcement from OPEC+ to cut oil output, Statscan said.

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