Top News Today/Canada: Manufacturing Sales Rose For Fifth Straight Month in June

HEADLINES

Manufacturing Sales Rose For Fifth Straight Month in June

Factory sales in Canada climbed in June for a fifth straight month-over-month gain, adding to momentum that could deliver second-quarter growth well above the Bank of Canada's original estimate.

Manufacturing shipments rose 0.1% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted C$78.82 billion, Statistics Canada said. Traders anticipated a 0.1% decline, according to economists at Bank of Nova Scotia. On a volume, or price-adjusted, basis, factory sales rose 1.2%.

On a 12-month basis, sales climbed 14.5%.

Statistics Canada also revised its May data to indicate shipments rose by a faster 1.6%, versus the earlier estimate of a 1.3% gain.

Core Wholesale Trade Rose 2.8% in June

Saputo Sells U.K. Dairy Unit to France's Lactalis in GBP988 Million Deal

Canadian dairy products company Saputo is exiting the U.K. market entirely, striking a deal to sell its dairy operations to French dairy conglomerate Lactalis for an enterprise value of about 988 million British pounds.

The divestment includes five U.K. manufacturing facilities as well as a slate of household brands, including Cathedral City, Wensleydale, Davidstow, Clover and Country Life.

Together, the brands generated roughly C$1.2 billion in revenues over the last four quarters, Saputo said, which represents about 7% of the company's total.

Canada Union Says Stellantis Eyeing Sale of Toronto-Area Plant

The union representing Canada's auto workers says Stellantis has disclosed its intention to sell a Toronto-area factory that's been the focus of a dispute between Ottawa and the auto maker.

Lana Payne, president of Unifor, said Stellantis informed the union this week it is considering closing the factory and selling the plant. The facility in Brampton, Ontario has been closed since 2024 for retooling, to prepare for the production of a next-generation Jeep Compass starting in early 2026. Governments in Canada contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to Stellantis to help modernize its factories in Brampton and Windsor, Ontario.

Stellantis last year said it would shift manufacturing to Illinois, as pressure mounted from President Trump for car companies to shift operations to the U.S.

CPP Investment Board Net Assets Surpass C$800 Billion Mark

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said its net assets under management exceeded the C$800 billion threshold in the first quarter of FY2027, buoyed by a strong performance from its equities portfolio.

Canada's biggest pension fund, and one of the world's largest, said it now has C$863 billion in net assets under management, an increase from C$793.3 billion in the previous quarter. CPPIB said the results are as of June 30, or first quarter of its FY2027.

In the first quarter, CPPIB recorded a net return of 7.5%, which CEO John Graham said was one of the best quarterly performances in over a decade.

Americas Gold & Silver Second-Quarter Loss Narrows, Revenue Rises

Americas Gold & Silver's second-quarter loss narrowed as revenue rose, while shutdowns at its Idaho operations dragged on production.

Shares rose nearly 3% to C$7.27.

The Toronto-based silver miner reported a net loss of $5 million, or two cents a share, compared with a loss of $15 million, or six cents a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

The company said higher foreign-exchange losses, as well as higher loss on derivatives and increased taxes in the quarter, offset the rise in revenue and gain on fair value of metals contract liabilities.

Dynacor Group Shares Fall as Second-Quarter Profit Falls on Gold Slump, Tax Dispute

Dynacor Group shares fell after a sharp drop in gold prices paired with an impending tax dispute in Peru triggered a decline in net income in the second quarter.

Shares fell 9.2% to C$6.00.

The Montreal-based ore processing company late Thursday said the combination of gold's sustained decline coupled with an inventory build-up led to a longer inventory turnover, which affected its performance in the quarter.

High Liner Shares Rise as Higher Pricing, Demand Growth Drive Second-Quarter Beat

High Liner Foods shares advanced after the company reported second-quarter sales growth as price increases and expanding government contracts helped offset a warehouse fire that dragged on profit.

Shares trading in Toronto rose 7.5% to C$15.42.

The Lunenburg, Nova Scotia-based frozen seafood processor and distributor late Thursday reported a 12% increase in sales to $269.3 million, topping analyst forecasts of $262.8 million, according to FactSet.

Canopy Growth Secures EU GMP Recertification for Ontario Facility

Canopy Growth has renewed its European Union certification for its main cultivation facility in Ontario, a key supply link to its expanding European medical cannabis market.

The cannabis company said that it has successfully renewed its EU Good Manufacturing Practice Certification, or EU GMP, for the Kincardine facility.

Kincardine is the anchor asset of Canopy Growth's complete end-to-end EU GMP flower supply chain, which links its Canadian cultivated flower to the European distribution network through the company's facility in Sankt Leon-Rot in Germany.

TALKING POINT

Canada and U.S. Discuss Critical Minerals and Defense in Trade Talks, Sources Say

By Adrian Morrow of The Globe and Mail

Canada and the U.S. have discussed critical minerals and defense in their continuing trade talks, and progress on those areas is expected to influence a trade deal the two sides are aiming to close next week, according to three Canadian and one U.S. source with knowledge of the negotiations.

The plan is still to conclude a "phase one" deal in which Canada would receive reductions in President Donald Trump's tariffs in exchange for conceding on a list of U.S. trade demands, before later dealing in detail with critical minerals and defense.

But Canada's willingness to work with the U.S. on those areas, and potentially offer tacit agreement on some of its demands, could influence the contours of the first-phase deal, the sources said. Ottawa is hoping to conclude the agreement before Trump's latest threatened round of tariffs begins on Aug. 19, in the hopes of preventing their imposition.

The U.S. is demanding a right of first refusal on Canadian critical minerals, that Canada complete its purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets, that Ottawa buy U.S. tech such as radar planes as part of joining Trump's planned Golden Dome missile defense system, and that Washington receive some guarantee on future supplies of oil and gas, one Canadian and one U.S. source said.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the closed-door talks.

Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, and Janice Charette, Canada's chief trade negotiator, remained in Washington on Friday. They were scheduled to brief provincial and territorial trade ministers and the federal government's Canada-U.S. relations advisory committee in the afternoon, LeBlanc's office said.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who met with LeBlanc and Charette for 90 minutes at his office near the White House on Thursday, spent the day at the Iowa State Fair.

Speaking with reporters there, he said he'd had "very detailed discussions" with his Canadian counterparts.

"We're having what I call constructive negotiations with the Canadians. At the end of the day, President Trump, the United States, we're going to do what is best for America," he said, adding that "for decades, we've had major trade issues with Canada."

One of the Canadian sources said the Thursday meeting went well and there was optimism for a deal. The source said that it did not appear, however, that Trump was being apprised of every development at the negotiating table, which left the possibility that he would scupper an agreement or make additional demands.

The deal under discussion would see Trump lower - but not fully get rid of - his tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and forest products, as well as refrain from hitting more products with tariffs on Aug. 19.

In exchange, Canada would eliminate its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. autos, agree to Washington's interpretation of how dairy quotas should be allocated, and have provincial governments stop their Buy Canadian programs and boycotts of American alcohol, among other things.

U.S. demands for "phase two" of the talks have loomed over the negotiations, the sources said.

The U.S. source said one possibility is Canada making a quiet, informal pledge to complete the F-35 purchase with the formal announcement held back until a second-phase deal. One Canadian source said Ottawa might bargain its willingness to fulfill U.S. demands on critical minerals in a future deal for lower tariff numbers in this agreement.

Another Canadian source said Ottawa's officials had discussed making a pitch on critical minerals and defense as part of a closing offer to get the deal over the finish line.

Prime Minister Mark Carney last year promised to seek a grand bargain with Trump covering trade, defense and border security. His original hope was to entirely get rid of U.S. tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

But Trump walked away from talks last October over an Ontario government antitariff ad. Negotiations resumed in the spring but made little headway.

Only last month, when Trump announced 50% tariffs on US$20 billion worth of Canadian electronics, dairy, alcohol and other products, using Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Act, did talks begin in earnest.

LeBlanc and Charette have met with Greer four times in the past three weeks and have teams of negotiators and experts staying in Washington as long as talks continue.

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August 14, 2026 16:26 ET (20:26 GMT)