The Bank of Canada reduced its key policy rate to a three-year low of 2.5% on Wednesday, the first cut in six months, citing a weak jobs market and less concern about underlying pressures on inflation, Reuters reported. The 25-basis-point cut had been widely expected by markets. The central bank paused its easing campaign in March after reducing rates by a total of 225 basis points in nine months, starting in June last year. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said the damaging effect of U.S. tariffs meant considerable uncertainty remained.

The end of a duty exemption for small shipments to the United States was the last straw for Canadian luxury fashion retailer Ssense, according to a court filing in the company’s bankruptcy-protection case, Bloomberg News reported. A group of creditors led by Bank of Montreal were seeking repayment from Ssense under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and force a sale of the company. Both sides reached an agreement instead to have Ssense file the application for creditor protection, Justice Andres C. Garin of the Quebec Superior Court said in an order.

Complaints about debt advisers have soared more than 170 per cent, according to the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, which cites more awareness efforts alongside rising insolvencies for the increase, the Globe and Mail reported. Data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy provided showed that as of March 31, the number of complaints it received involving debt advisers has grown roughly 174 per cent, from 42 complaints in the fiscal year 2023-2024 to 115 in 2024-2025.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’ll announce Thursday the first wave of major projects to be fast-tracked under a new law passed by his government, Bloomberg News reported. The law aims to speed up regulatory reviews for projects deemed to be in the national interest, with the goal of permitting them within two years. Carney wants to expand Canada’s infrastructure, such as ports and rail lines, to allow exporters to reach new trading partners and reduce their reliance on the US.

Canada will pause its electric-vehicle sales mandate that was set to take effect next year to ease the financial squeeze the domestic auto sector faces from hefty Trump administration tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Prime Minister Mark Carney added Friday that officials would review the EV sales policy, implemented by his predecessor Justin Trudeau, alongside a broader review of how the Canadian economy can remain competitive while reducing greenhouse gases.

A Quebec Superior Court judge has declared the North American branch of battery manufacturer Northvolt insolvent as the provincial government seeks to recover $260 million owed to it, CBC.ca reported. Justice Janet Michelin on Friday placed Northvolt Batteries North America under creditor protection following a request earlier in the week from the province.

The last group of people, companies and others owed money by Laurentian University when it declared insolvency four-and-a-half years ago are finally getting at least some of what they're owed, CBC.ca. The plan to pay back Laurentian's final creditors is in the works with last week's completion of a real estate deal between Infrastructure Ontario and Laurentian University. Back in September of 2022, a plan was put before the unsecured creditors for a vote.

Prime Minister Mark Carney rolled out billions of dollars in relief for Canadian businesses and workers battered by tariff wars with the country’s two largest trading partners, Bloomberg News reported. Carney unveiled the aid package on Friday, hours after jobs data revealed that Canada’s unemployment rate jumped to a four-year high. The plan targets companies hit by US and Chinese levies, and its centerpieces are a C$5 billion ($3.6 billion) fund for businesses to adapt and a “Buy Canadian” federal procurement program.

Canada unexpectedly shed jobs for a second month running in August, extending a soggy summer for a labor market that is showing signs of weakness broadening beyond areas directly hit by tariffs and trade worries, the Wall Street Journal reported. Employers in the country cut a net 65,500 jobs last month, the steepest decline since the start of 2022 when another Covid-19 variant forced widespread lockdowns, Statistics Canada said Friday. That builds on the 40,800 jobs shed in July to leave the unemployment rate 0.2 percentage point higher, at 7.1%.