This module provides a concise summary of selected Canadian economic events, as well as international and financial market developments by calendar month. It is intended to provide contextual information only to support users of the economic data published by Statistics Canada. In identifying major events or developments, Statistics Canada is not suggesting that these have a material impact on the published economic data in a particular reference month.
All information presented here is obtained from publicly available news and information sources, and does not reflect any protected information provided to Statistics Canada by survey respondents.
Resources
- Calgary-based TC Energy Corporation announced on December 29, 2022 that it had proceeded with a controlled restart of the Cushing Extension of the Keystone Pipeline and that the pipeline was now operational to all delivery points.
- Calgary-based Imperial Oil Limited announced it was investing about $720 million to move forward with construction of its Strathcona renewable diesel refinery near Edmonton. Imperial said that site preparation and initial construction are underway, and that renewable diesel production is expected to start in 2025.
- Vancouver-based Canfor Corporation announced an extension of sawmill curtailments in British Columbia due to ongoing weak market conditions and the lack of available fibre. Canfor said the production capacity will be reduced through two-week curtailment extensions in January at select solid wood facilities in B.C. and that this will remove approximately 21 million board feet in addition to the 150 million board feet announced in December 2022.
- Canfor Corporation later announced it was restructuring its B.C. operations by permanently closing its Chetwynd sawmill and pellet plant and temporarily closing its Houston sawmill for an extended period to facilitate a major redevelopment on the site. Canfor said both facilities will be closed following an orderly wind down of operations that is expected to conclude early in the second quarter of 2023 and will remove approximately 750 million board feet of annual production capacity.
- Vancouver-based Canfor Pulp Products Inc. announced it will permanently close the pulp line at its Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill, which the company said will result in a reduction of 280,000 tonnes of market kraft pulp annually. Canfor said the pulp line is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and is anticipated to impact approximately 300 positions across the organization by the end of the year.
- Burnaby, British Columbia-based Interfor Corporation announced it plans to reduce its lumber production output in the first quarter of 2023 by at least 100 million board feet as economic conditions and market uncertainty continue to impact lumber demand. Interfor said it expects to resume its normal operating schedule in April 2023.
- Vancouver-based West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced it would indefinitely curtail its Perry Sawmill in Florida later this month as a result of high fibre costs and softening lumber markets. West Fraser said the curtailment will reduce its U.S. lumber production by 100 million board feet.
- Vancouver-based Western Forest Products Inc. announced it will not restart its Alberni-Pacific Division facility in its current configuration and will explore potential viable industrial manufacturing solutions for the facility. The company said the mill has been curtailed since fall 2022.
- The Government of Canada announced on January 16th that, based on an Environmental Assessment Report, it had determined that the James Bay Lithium Mine Project's environmental mitigation measures provide a sustainable path for the project to proceed, subject to 271 conditions.
Financial
- TD Canada Trust, RBC Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), BMO Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Scotiabank, and Laurentian Bank of Canada announced they were increasing their prime lending rates from 6.45% to 6.70%, effective January 26th.
Other news
- The Bank of Canada increased its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4.50%. The last change in the target for the overnight rate was a 50 basis points increase in December 2022. The bank also said that if economic developments evolve broadly in line with its outlook, Governing Council expects to hold the policy rate at its current level while it assesses the impact of the cumulative interest rate increases.
- The Government of Canada announced on December 31st that in response to the surge of COVID-19 in the People's Republic of China, all air travellers arriving on flights originating from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, or Macao, would need to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result to the airline prior to boarding. The Government said these health measures would apply to air travellers, regardless of nationality and vaccination status, and that they would be in place for 30 days.
- The Government of British Columbia announced that the homebuyer protection period took effect on January 3, 2023, which creates a mandatory three-business-day period to give homebuyers more time to secure financing or arrange home inspections and will help buyers fully consider whether a purchase is right for them under any market conditions.
- The Government of Prince Edward Island announced on January 3rd it was launching a Rental Unit Property Tax Subsidy to provide relief of provincial property taxes payable in 2023 which would decrease landlord property tax costs during the 2023 rental freeze.
- Prince Edward Island's minimum wage increased from $13.70 to $14.50 per hour on January 1st.
- The Government of Yukon announced on January 16th it had lifted the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Government said it had declared a public health emergency due to COVID-19 on March 18, 2020.
- The Government of the United States announced it was establishing a dispute settlement panel under the United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement regarding Canada's dairy tariff-rate quota allocation measures.
- Montreal-based Nuvei Corporation, a fintech company, and Paya Holdings Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, a provider of integrated payment and commerce solutions in the U.S., announced they had entered into a definitive agreement whereby Nuvei will acquire Paya in an all-cash transaction for total consideration of approximately USD $1.3 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2023, subject to shareholder approval, the expiration or termination of the antitrust waiting period, and other customary conditions.
- Montreal-based Lightspeed Commerce Inc. announced a reorganization to streamline its operating model, including the reduction of approximately 300 roles representing about 10% of its headcount-related operating expenditures, with half of the cost reduction coming from management layers.
- Waterloo-based Magnet Forensics Inc., a developer of digital investigations solutions, announced it had entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to be acquired by Morpheus Purchaser Inc., a newly created corporation controlled by Thoma Bravo of San Francisco, for an aggregate equity value of approximately $1.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of 2023, subject to shareholder and other customary approvals.
- Vancouver-based Lithium Americas Corp. and General Motors Co. (GM) of Michigan announced they will jointly invest to develop the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, and that under the agreement GM will make a USD $650 million equity investment in Lithium Americas. The companies said that production at Thacker Pass is projected to begin in the second half of 2026 and is expected to create 1,000 jobs in construction and 500 in operations.
United States and other international news
- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced it will apply a negative interest rate of -0.1% to the Policy-Rate Balances in current accounts held by financial institutions at the BoJ and that it will purchase a necessary amount of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent.
- The Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee of Norway's Norges Bank left the policy rate unchanged at 2.75%. The last change in the policy rate was a 25 basis points increase in December 2022.
- New York-based Genesis Global Holdco, LLC, a digital currency prime brokerage, announced that it and two of its lending business subsidiaries, Genesis Global Capital, LLC and Genesis Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. had filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including a Chapter 11 plan that would enable the business to emerge under new ownership.
- Rhode Island-based Hasbro, Inc. announced leadership and organizational changes, including the elimination of approximately 1,000 global full-time positions, or 15% of its global workforce, in 2023. Hasbro said the reductions will start to take effect within the next several weeks.
Financial market news
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $78.87 per barrel on January 31st, down from a closing value of USD $80.26 at the end of December. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $51 to $61 per barrel range throughout January. The Canadian dollar closed at 74.91 cents U.S. on January 31st, up from 73.83 cents U.S. at the end of December. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 20,767.38 on January 31st, up from 19,384.92 at the end of December.