Canada has an ambitious plan to double the pace of homebuilding within a decade but the first big challenge is finding enough skilled workers, as the country grapples with the tightest labor market on record and with construction already at a multi-year high, Reuters reported. Building more homes is a key peg of the C$9.5 billion ($7.5 billion) in housing spending outlined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government in their budget on Thursday.
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Canada's dollar will strengthen over the coming year as the Bank of Canada potentially hikes interest rates aggressively but gains could be capped by the economy's dependence on the housing market, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast in the poll was for the Canadian dollar to edge 0.4% higher to 1.25 per U.S. dollar, or 80 U.S. cents, in three months' time, matching last month's forecast. It was then expected to climb to 1.23 in a year's time.
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An Ontario court cleared the way for a receiver to wind up bankrupt lender Bridging Finance Inc., rejecting an attempt by investors to stall the liquidation, Bloomberg News reported. A group of Bridging unitholders had asked the Ontario Superior Court to allow more time to consider proposals to sell or reorganize the funds. But Justice Geoffrey Morawetz turned down their request and said PriceWaterhouseCoopers can cease its attempts to find a buyer, according to court documents posted Tuesday.
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John Aquino, the former president of a major and now bankrupt Ontario construction contractor, plans to appeal a provincial court ruling that puts him and his associates on the hook for $33 million drained from the company, according to his attorney, the Engineering News-Record reported. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld on March 10 a previous court decision that ordered Aquino, former president of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd.
A work stoppage at Canadian Pacific (CP) Rail has started, and the timing is unfortunate, says one employer group, HRReporter.com reported. “The timing could not be worse for our members,” say Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president of national affairs, and Jasmin Guenette, vice-president for national affairs, at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
A prominent Ottawa business expert is predicting a wave of bankruptcies in the coming months as surging prices at gas pumps and grocery stores prompt Canada’s central bank to further raise its benchmark interest rate in a bid to put the brakes on inflation, the Ottawa Business Journal reported. Ian Lee, an associate professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, expects the Bank of Canada to impose “multiple” interest rate hikes this year as it tries to rein in an annual inflation rate that climbed to 5.7 percent in February, its highest level since August 1991.
A commodities rally sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine will push Canadian inflation higher for longer, with the headline rate now seen peaking at or above 6%, forcing the central bank to raise interest rates more aggressively, economists told Reuters. Canada's inflation rate has already surged well above the 5.1% that the Bank of Canada forecast for the first quarter in January, highlighting the tough road ahead to get price growth back down to the 2% target.
A group of five banks led by Royal Bank of Canada is stuck holding $1.7 billion of loans for software company SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. after falling debt prices forced the postponement of the offering to investors on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. The deal was pulled because of market conditions, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The banks canceled a planned call with lenders — the official start of the marketing process — prior to its scheduled 10 a.m. start in New York.
An Alberta, Canada, trucking company specializing in fluid transportation for the oil sector is seeking credit protection as it faces over CA$3 million ($2.3 million) in debt to dozens of companies and the country’s tax authority, FreightWaves reported. Prairie Tech Oilfield Service, based in Elk Point, filed a notice in the Court of Queens Bench of Alberta on Feb. 22 that the company is insolvent and intends to make a proposal to its creditors under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.