Canada’s Department of Finance has proposed a total ban on Bitcoin and crypto ATMs, describing the measure as a way to protect seniors and vulnerable people, Decrypt.com reported. In an economic update released on Wednesday, the country’s government described machines that let customers exchange cash for digital assets as “a primary method” for scammers set on bilking a growing number of Canadians out of their hard-earned cash.

The Bank of Canada likely will keep its main interest rate unchanged Wednesday, but there is growing doubt that officials can hold rates steady the longer energy prices remain elevated, economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal say. The conflict in the Middle East has effectively closed oil-tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a sizable jump in crude oil prices and what drivers pay to fill up their tanks. The energy-price shock has sharply lifted near-term inflation expectations, according to a recent Bank of Canada survey.

Canada is developing a government-owned investment fund, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday, the Associated Press reported. Carney said that the fund would invest in major Canadian industrial projects, in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. It will begin at 25 billion Canadian dollars ($18 billion). The prime minister said that the federal government will provide funds alongside private investors. The money will help finance projects that Carney's government is focused on building, as Canada seeks to diversify away from the United States. U.S.

More than a year after the parent company of New Brunswick nuclear technology developer Moltex Energy Canada Inc. entered into a British insolvency proceeding, “advanced” negotiations with a potential buyer are progressing, according to an insolvency practitioner supervising the sale, The Globe and Mail reported. The parent company, Manchester-based Moltex Energy Ltd., began the proceedings in March, 2025, with the objective of rescuing itself as a going concern.

Retail sales rose 0.7 per cent to $72.1 billion in February as sales at new and used car dealers climbed, Statistics Canada said Friday, the Canadian Press reported. TD Bank economist Maria Solovieva said consumers delivered another solid month in February, with early indications pointing to continued strength in March. Looking ahead, Statistics Canada said its advance estimate of overall retail sales for March pointed to a gain of 0.6 per cent, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.

A downturn in Canadian housing starts helped push wholesale distributor Coast Appliances into court-ordered protection to fend off insolvency, and economic forecasts cloud the likelihood that the business will emerge from the process intact, the Vancouver Sun reported. The large Vancouver-based distributor of home and kitchen appliances filed for protection from its creditors citing rising inflation, poor consumer confidence, and a downturn in new housing starts, a core market for the company’s sales. On April 17, B.C.

After securing a majority government in Canada last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney faces his biggest challenge: redefining trade with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, Reuters reported. Canada, the U.S. and Mexico must agree by July 1 ​to keep the deal as is, insulating most Canadian goods from U.S. tariffs, renegotiate it, or hold annual reviews until its 2036 expiry. Carney, under U.S. pressure for concessions, will push ‌for a revised deal this year that addresses tariffs against Canadian steel, aluminum and autos.

President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. was considering offering financial support to the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich ally that has been contending with economic fallout from the war in Iran, the New York Times reported. The war has damaged oil and gas infrastructure throughout the Middle East, dealing a blow to economies that rely on the Strait of Hormuz to transport crude around the world. The U.A.E. is an unlikely recipient of economic support, and the fact that it has inquired about assistance demonstrates the cascading effects of the conflict.

Canada’s inflation rate surged to 2.4% in March as the Iran war triggered a record increase in gasoline prices, though it came in slightly lower than economists expected, Bloomberg News reported. Headline inflation was projected to quicken to 2.6% last month, up from 1.8% in February. Excluding gasoline, the consumer price index was up 2.2% from a year earlier. Monday’s inflation data provides the first glimpse into the impact on prices in Canada of the conflict in the Middle East. The Bank of Canada has signaled that it plans to look through the short-term impact of the oil shock.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that ‌Mexico is interested in reaching an ‌agreement, prior to completing the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada ​trade pact, regarding the exchange of steel, aluminum and automobiles, Reuters reported. Sheinbaum spoke at a morning press conference as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer ‌visits Mexico for ⁠talks. "Obviously, we care a great deal about steel, aluminum, and automobiles," Sheinbaum ⁠said.