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.
Hurricane Fiona
- The Government of Canada announced that Hurricane Fiona, the post-tropical storm, made landfall in Nova Scotia on September 24th bringing damaging winds, flooding, and power outages to much of Atlantic Canada and parts of Quebec.
- On September 24th, the Government of Nova Scotia announced it had requested the support of the Canadian Armed Forces to assist in clean up and power restoration efforts after Hurricane Fiona. The Government also said it had made a request to the federal government for Federal Disaster Assistance Funding.
- The Government of Canada announced on September 25th that the Province of Prince Edward Island had requested support from the Canadian Armed Forces to assist in clean up and power restoration.
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced on September 25th that following the widespread impacts of Hurricane Fiona on residents, the Provincial Government was moving ahead with emergency response and recovery efforts. The Government said the scale of the storm was unprecedented in this province and the magnitude of the damage was severe, particularly on the southwest coast of the island. The Government of Canada also announced on September 25th that the Canadian Armed Forces was activating resources and personnel in the province to provide physical impact assessments and immediate on-the-ground support to local authorities.
- The Government of New Brunswick announced on September 25th that significant damage was reported in various communities in the province and that about 12,000 NB Power customers remain without power.
Resources
- Calgary-based Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Deltastream Energy Corporation, also of Calgary, for a total net consideration of $1.425 billion. Tamarack said the acquisition is expected to close prior to the end of October, subject to certain conditions and regulatory approvals.
- Calgary-based Imperial Oil Limited announced a long-term contract with Air Products Inc. of Pennsylvania to supply low-carbon hydrogen for Imperial's proposed renewable diesel complex at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton. Imperial said Air Products will provide pipeline supply from its hydrogen plant under construction in Edmonton and that Air Products is increasing overall investment in its Edmonton hydrogen facility to $1.6 billion to support the Imperial contract.
- Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. and 23 First Nation and Métis communities announced an agreement whereby the communities will acquire, collectively, an 11.57% non-operating interest in seven Enbridge-operated pipelines in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta for $1.12 billion. The parties said that a newly created entity, Athabasca Indigenous Investments, will steward this investment and that the closing of the transaction is expected to occur within the next month.
- UK-based Rio Tinto Group and Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. of Montreal announced they had reached an agreement in principle for Rio Tinto to acquire the approximately 49% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Turquoise Hill that Rio Tinto does not currently own for approximately USD $3.3 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to shareholder approval.
- Toronto-based Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Teck Resources Limited of Vancouver announced that Agnico Eagle had agreed to subscribe for a 50% interest in Minas de San Nicolás, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (MSN), a wholly owned Teck subsidiary which owns the San Nicolás copper-zinc development project located in Zacatecas, Mexico for USD $580 million of MSN shares, giving Agnico Eagle a 50% interest in MSN. Teck and Agnico Eagle said they anticipate that development capital costs could be in the range of USD $1.0 billion to USD $1.1 billion. The companies said the closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the first half of 2023, subject to customary conditions precedent, including receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.
- Teck Resources later announced that there had been a structural failure of the plant feed conveyor belt at its Elkview steelmaking coal operation in the Elk Valley of British Columbia and that production will be interrupted for 1-2 months. The company said it expects the impact on 2022 steelmaking coal production will be in the range of 1.5 million tonnes.
Transportation
- Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. announced an agreement with Boeing to purchase an additional 42 MAX aircraft, along with options for 22 more. WestJet said the order is in addition to its remaining 23 MAX orders.
- Mississauga-based Canada Jetlines Operations Ltd. announced on September 22nd it had commenced operations out of its travel hub at Toronto Pearson International Airport with its first scheduled route into Calgary International Airport. The company said it had commenced biweekly flights between Toronto and Calgary and that the frequency will increase to three flights per week in time for the holidays.
Manufacturing
- Toronto-based De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited announced that the site of its new aircraft manufacturing facility will be near Calgary and will consist of a new aircraft assembly facility, runway, parts manufacturing, and distribution centres. De Havilland said it anticipates that once in full operation, there will be up to 1,500 jobs located at De Havilland Field. The company also said it hopes to start construction as early as late 2023 and expects that the first buildings could be operational by 2025.
Other news
- The Government of Canada announced the removal of all COVID-19 entry restrictions, as well as testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements for anyone entering Canada, effective October 1, 2022. The Government said that on that day, all travellers, regardless of citizenship, will no longer have to:
- Submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website;
- Provide proof of vaccination;
- Undergo pre- or on-arrival testing;
- Carry out COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation;
- Monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving to Canada;
- Undergo health checks for travel on air and rail; or
- Wear masks on planes and trains.
- The Government of Canada announced on September 20th that it had introduced legislation that would make life more affordable for Canadians and that measures in these bills would:
- Double the Goods and Services Tax Credit for six months;
- Provide a Canada Dental Benefit to children under 12 who do not have access to dental insurance, starting this year; and
- Provide a one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit to deliver $500 to 1.8 million renters who are struggling with the cost of housing.
The Government said the support package totals more than $4.5 billion, of which $3.1 billion is in addition to funding previously allocated in Budget 2022.
- The Bank of Canada increased its target for the overnight rate by 75 basis points to 3.25%. The last change in the target for the overnight rate was a 100 basis points increase in July 2022.
- Mississauga-based Walmart Canada announced more than $100 million to build a new high-tech sortable fulfillment centre near Montreal in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, slated to open in 2024. The company said it also plans to update and remodel a record number of stores in a year as part of a multi-year $3.5 billion investment.
United States and other international news
- On September 29th U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Ian beginning on September 23, 2022 and continuing.
- On September 29th President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of South Carolina and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Ian beginning on September 25, 2022 and continuing.
- The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 3.00% to 3.25% and said it anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate. The last change in the target range was a 75 basis points increase in July 2022. The Committee also said it will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities.
- The European Central Bank (ECB) announced it had decided to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 75 basis points to 1.25% (main refinancing operations), 1.50% (marginal lending facility), and 0.75% (deposit facility). The last change in these rates was a 50 basis points increase in July 2022.
- The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to increase the Bank Rate by 50 basis points to 2.25%. The last change in the Bank Rate was a 50 basis points increase in August 2022. The Committee also voted to reduce the stock of purchased UK government bonds by £80 billion over the next twelve months, to a total of £758 billion.
- 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 Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) increased the target for the cash rate by 50 basis points to 2.35%. The last change in the target for the cash rate was a 50 basis points increase in August 2022.
- The Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee of Norway's Norges Bank raised the policy rate by 50 basis points to 2.25%. The last change in the policy rate was a 50 basis points increase in August 2022.
- The Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank raised the repo rate by 100 basis points to 1.75%. The last change in the repo rate was a 50 basis points increase in June 2022.
- OPEC and non-OPEC members announced they had decided to revert to the production level of August 2022 for the month of October 2022 and that the upward adjustment of 0.1 mb/d to the production level was only intended for the month of September 2022.
- California-based Adobe Inc. announced it had entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Figma, Inc., a collaborative design platform also of California, for approximately USD $20 billion. Adobe said the transaction is expected to close in 2023, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, including the approval of Figma's stockholders.
- Tennessee-based FedEx Corp. announced it expects to generate total cost savings of USD $2.2 billion to USD $2.7 billion in fiscal 2023 compared to the company's prior plan, by:
- Reducing flight frequencies and temporarily parking aircraft;
- Closing select sort operations, suspending certain Sunday operations, and other linehaul expense actions; and
- Reducing vendor utilization, deferring certain projects, and closing certain FedEx Office and corporate locations.
FedEx also said that effective January 1, 2023, rates will increase by an average of 6.9%.
- Illinois-based BP America Inc announced on September 21st that the bp-Husky Toledo Refinery was shut down following a fire at the facility.
- UK-based Cineworld Group plc announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries had commenced Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Cineworld said it had secured commitments for an approximate USD $1.94 billion in debtor-in-possession financing facility, that it expects to operate its global business and cinemas as usual without interruption, and that it anticipates emerging from Chapter 11 during the first quarter of 2023.
- Switzerland-based Nord Stream AG announced on September 27th that the significant pressure drop caused by the gas leak on both lines of the gas pipeline registered on September 26th leads to a strong assumption of the pipeline physical damage. Nord Stream said it had started mobilization of all necessary resources for a survey campaign to assess the damages in cooperation exchange with relevant local authorities and that it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure.
Financial market news
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $79.49 per barrel on September 30th, down from a closing value of USD $89.55 at the end of August. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $55 to $68 per barrel range throughout September. The Canadian dollar closed at 72.96 cents U.S. on September 29th, down from 76.27 cents U.S. at the end of August. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 18,444.22 on September 30th, down from 19,330.81 at the end of August.