Canada prepared possible reprisals while the European Union reported progress in trade talks on Wednesday as new U.S. metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington, Reuters reported. President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports kicked in on Wednesday, the same day his administration sought "best offers" from trading partners to avoid other punishing import levies from taking effect in July. The move will hit the closest U.S. trading partners - Canada and Mexico - especially hard.

The Bank of Canada left its main interest rate unchanged, at 2.75%, saying the economy has softened but not deteriorated, and inflation has picked up steam, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem said officials expect second-quarter economic growth to be “much weaker” after a surprise 2.2% annualized increase in the first quarter that was buoyed by exports and inventories as companies rushed to purchase goods to avoid tariffs.

The Bank of Canada is expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged this week as policymakers set aside signs of distress in the labor market and domestic demand to focus on accelerating core inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Eleven of 13 economists surveyed last week by the Bank of Canada told The Wall Street Journal that they anticipate the central bank would keep the target for the overnight rate at 2.75%.

Fantasy werewolves are set to haunt Shiver — the much-anticipated film based on the first novel in the Wolves of Mercy Falls romantasy series which wrapped filming in Vancouver late last year. But the financial wolves at the doors of the movie's producers have put Shiver on ice — forcing the production company formed to make the film into insolvency and leaving hundreds of Canadian creditors out millions of dollars, CBC.ca reported. A British Columbia Supreme Court judge placed Mercy Falls B.C.

Canada's largest bank increased its provisions for credit losses more than 50% in its most recent quarter, as executives prepared for a potentially tariff-hobbled economy, American Banker reported. In the three months that ended April 30, net income for the Royal Bank of Canada was 4.39 billion Canadian dollars ($3.17 billion), short of analysts' average estimate of CA$4.54 billion according to S&P. Diluted earnings per share were CA$3.02, below S&P estimates of CA$3.09.

Canada Post on Wednesday reported a $611 million pre-tax loss in 2024 and simultaneously presented a “best and final” contract offer to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers with operational reforms it says are needed to stabilize finances and improve mail service, Freight Waves reported. The annual report underscored the financial pressures weighing on Canada Post and the need for restructuring, but sharp union criticism of the latest counteroffer foreshadows a potential escalation of the current labor action that could further hurt the bottom line.

A Canadian aluminum trader that had been struggling to restructure its debt has filed bankruptcy in the US and Canada, saying the American trade war helped push the company over the edge, Bloomberg Law reported. Sinobec Group Inc. arranges deals between sellers and buyers of aluminum ingots, as well as finished items like building products, shower doors and fences, the company said in court papers filed in federal court in Illinois on Tuesday.

Canada's Hudson's Bay Company plans to lay off 8,347 employees, or 89% of its workforce, by Sunday when it will conclude its liquidation sale and shut all stores, according to documents published late on Monday. Hudson's Bay, Canada's oldest retail chain, has been part of the country's landscape and identity for 355 years, anchoring malls from coast to coast. Founded in 1670, the Bay's brick-and-mortar department stores are following similar retail businesses struggling with declining foot traffic and competing with online commerce. The layoffs follow rising joblessness in Canada.

A Quebec Superior Court judge has approved the sale of vehicle-maker Lion Electric Co. to a group of Quebec investors, giving the struggling manufacturer a new lease on life, the Canadian Press reported. During a hearing on Thursday, Justice Michel Pinsonnault said the deal is the only option that ensures the company can keep operating. “This is the only potential transaction that makes sense,” he said. “There are no others.” The decision comes five months after Lion Electric sought protection from its creditors in December.

Canada's big banks are expected to have shored up loan loss reserves in the second quarter, with four of the big six banks putting aside over C$1 billion to shield against potential loan defaults in a time of trade uncertainty, Reuters reported. Large loan loss provisions take away from earning potential, a problem the banks have faced in the past few years as a high interest rate environment made it increasingly more difficult for consumers and businesses to repay loans and borrow money.