TransCanada Corp. reported first-quarter results that were largely in line with analyst expectations. It said it benefited in the quarter from higher volumes on its Keystone system and a U.S. extension project that came into service last year.

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. reported a net loss in the first quarter and further cut its 2015 capital-spending plan to cope with a sharp drop in crude-oil prices. Read More »

The yuan is catching on in Canada.

Payments firm Swift said Thursday that the value of renminbi-denominated payments in Canada increased by 213% between March 2013 and March 2015. The renminbi is now the second most active currency used by Canada for payments with China and Hong Kong, after the Canadian Dollar. Read More »

Suncor Energy Inc. reported a first-quarter loss and a 90% decline in operating profit as a recent slump in global oil prices offset the company’s effort to cut costs and boost production.

Goldcorp Inc. swung to a loss in the first quarter and missed analyst expectations as lower gold prices and higher cash costs outweighed increased gold production.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported a lower-than-expected profit and cut its earnings guidance for the year, citing higher potash taxes in its home province and an expected easing in prices for the key fertilizer nutrient. Read More »

Cenovus Energy Inc. posted a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss and a 45% drop in cash flow as slumping oil prices far outweighed increased oil-sands production and lower operating costs.

CGI Group Inc. said second-quarter earnings improved to 78 Canadian cents a share from 73 Canadian cents, while revenue fell to C$2.60 billion from C$2.70 billion.

Open Text Corp. raised its quarterly dividend 16% as third-quarter revenue edged higher but earnings fell. The software company said its financial results “did not meet our full financial objectives,” noting it was hurt by currency headwinds and by customers transitioning to cloud-based services. Read More »

Despite a drastic decline in oil prices, Canadian crude-oil exports hit an all-time high in January, according to Canada’s national energy regulator.

The rise in exports of Canadian crude comes as oil prices continue to face pressure from growing crude stockpiles and declining U.S. production. The U.S. oil price has skidded about 26% over the past six months and around 46% since last summer.

Canada exported 3.11 millions of barrels of oil a day in January, 12.8% higher than the same year-ago month and 80% higher than five years ago, according to figures from Canada’s National Energy Board. Read More »

Canada’s top central bankers attempted on Tuesday to assure Canadian lawmakers that the country’s real-estate market wasn’t caught in bubble territory.

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and the central bank’s senior deputy governor, Carolyn Wilkins, fielded three separate questions from a committee of Canadian lawmakers about housing and the risk of a significant correction being in the offing.

Ms. Wilkins said the central bank believed Canada’s housing market was headed for a so-called soft landing, with the exception of Toronto and Vancouver where real-estate activity continues to grow robustly.

Mr. Poloz was more direct. “”We don’t believe we are in a bubble,” he said. Read More »

A small but vocal contingent of economists doesn’t see enough evidence to support Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz’s optimism about Canada’s growth prospects.

Mr. Poloz reaffirmed in parliamentary testimony Tuesday that he believes the damage inflicted on the Canadian economy by lower oil prices will be intense, but short-lived. He told a Canadian parliamentary committee he’s “very optimistic we have all the ingredients” for a recovery by mid-year.

The key driver of that recovery will be growth in the U.S., which will enable Canada’s battered export sector to rev up and businesses to spend more, taking the burden of growth off the shoulders of heavily indebted consumers.

There are many economists who are in broad agreement with the Bank. Read More »

Canada’s big oil and gas producers start reporting their quarterly earnings this week and thanks to the steep drop in oil prices since last year, the results won’t be pretty. BMO Capital Markets said in an April 20 report that it expected earnings for the integrated oil producers as a group to be down 91% versus a year earlier, and down 66% sequentially. Companies reporting this week include Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc. on Wednesday, and Imperial Oil Ltd. and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. on Thursday. Here are a few things to watch: Read More »

Barrick Gold Corp.  posted lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings as revenue at the world’s largest gold company fell amid a continued slump in the gold industry. It also announced plans to sell a stake in the Zaldivar copper mine in Chile.

PrairieSky Royalty Ltd., which generates revenue from petroleum and natural gas produced from its properties, posted a first-quarter profit of 11 Canadian cents a share, below the Thomson Reuters mean estimate of 17 Canadian cents. Read More »

Having hometown teams in the National Hockey League playoffs might prove to be the kind of power play Canada’s faltering economy needs.

“[The] anticipated increased spending on travel, restaurants and bars will be a nice boost for several metro area economies,” Moody’s Analytics, the economic analysis arm of bond rating firm Moody’s Investor Services, said in a recent report.

Having five teams, as Canada did in the middle of last week, would be even better, but “c’est la vie,” as fans of the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets are having to concede after each team was eliminated in the first round.

Before those teams were out, Moody’s was estimating the boost to consumer spending from the NHL playoffs could amount to 100 million Canadian dollars ($82.2 million) or more. But reaching that level now depends on a Canadian team making it to the finals, said Alexander Lowy, an economist with Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames are the only two still in contention. Read More »