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.

Canada's annual inflation rate fell to 1.7% in April due to a drop in energy prices, but analysts said a rise in closely watched core measures would make life hard for the Bank of Canada as it ponders its next rate move, Reuters reported. The overall inflation rate fell from 2.3% in March after the removal of a federal consumer carbon tax, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. Analysts had forecast the annual rate would ease to 1.6% while the Bank of Canada last month predicted it would fall to about 1.5%, mainly due to the removal of the carbon tax and lower crude prices.

Toronto-based lithium battery recycling firm Li-Cycle said on Wednesday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and expects to start a formal sale for its business or assets, Reuters reported. The firm's U.S. units have also commenced proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Li-Cycle has entered into a $10.5 million debtor-in-possession financing and a stalking-horse credit bid for at least $40 million with London-listed Glencore, its largest secured creditor.

Hudson’s Bay is due to return to an Ontario court today for the first time in roughly two weeks to seek a reprieve from the hundreds of businesses it owes money, the Canadian Press reported. The department store is expected to use the Tuesday morning appearance to ask Judge Peter Osborne to stretch the period of time it is protected from its creditors to July 31 rather than ending May 15. The extension request comes as the business, which holds the title of Canada’s oldest company, appears to be hurtling toward a new future.