EDMONTON - Hobbled by more than just low oil prices, Alberta's NDP finance minister limped into the legislature in a cast to deliver a devastating budget. It was 2017, and Joe Ceci had injured his leg competing for face time with a busy premier on an early morning jog. He was Rachel Notley's right hand man in cabinet, and the only New Democrat finance minister in the history of the province. "He ran himself into almost snapping his Achilles, which to be clear, most people never recover [Read more]

OTTAWA - High oil and gasoline prices are expected to push inflation higher when Statistics Canada reports its consumer price index for May on Monday. But the devil will be in the details as economists look for any signs that the cost at the gas pump is causing inflation to heat up elsewhere in the economy. TD Bank senior economist Andrew Hencic says gasoline prices rose in May, so that will push inflation higher for the month, but oil prices have since come off their highs in recent [Read more]

EDMONTON - Albertans who apply for $100 payments from the province could see the money land in their bank accounts within two weeks of applying. Premier Danielle Smith has said her government is doling out the affordability payments instead of reducing its tax on gasoline at the pumps. Smith says cuts to gas taxes don't always get passed on to consumers, so the payments are the best way to help Albertans with the high cost of living. The U.S.-Iran military conflict sent fuel prices [Read more]

CALGARY - A senior portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners is expecting an US$80 floor price for oil even after the eventual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Eric Nuttall says in his firm's mid-year outlook report that global inventories will have to be restocked after nearly four months of fighting in the Middle East, creating sustained demand for crude. The strait, a narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's crude supply normally transits by tanker, has been [Read more]

TORONTO - Canadian and U.S. stock markets rallied after the U.S. and Iran reached a tentative deal to extend their ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to get the global flow of crude going again. Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth, said news of the tentative deal spurred optimism in the market, which is currently driven by headlines and geopolitics. “As long as this market believes this war is coming to an end, you're going to see positive days (and) positive [Read more]

FREDERICTON - The CEO of New Brunswick's electricity utility says its proposal for a natural gas-powered generating station remains the best option for avoiding blackouts within the next two years. Lori Clark told a legislative committee this morning that the project was fast-tracked with customers' best interests in mind. She says the Crown corporation changed its regular approval methods to speed up the project. Clark's comments come after the province's auditor general issued a [Read more]

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady for a fifth consecutive decision on Wednesday as it tries to support a turbulent economy without letting prices rise unchecked. The central bank’s policy rate remains at 2.25 per cent after the hold, which was widely expected by economists. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said in prepared remarks that the economy was weaker than expected in the first quarter of the year as U.S. trade policy and the war in Iran spur [Read more]