Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Canada's Ocean Playground votes: It could be a close call Tuesday night in Nova Scotia's provincial election. Both the governing Liberals and Progressive Conservatives have promised to cut taxes for small business and red tape (with the Tories vowing to cut two regulations for every new one introduced, ripping a page from Donald Trump). The NDP have painted themselves as the hero of the proletariat, committing to hiking the minimum wage to $15 and raising taxes on the province's wealthiest.

Closing out the big banks: The big bank earnings wrap up this week with Scotiabank's second-quarter results Tuesday, followed by National Bank of Canada the next day. The head honchos of BMO, CIBC, Royal Bank and TD have largely shrugged off nervousness about the housing market, pointing to strong loan books and early signs of cooling in Toronto.

Kinder Morgan awaits Wednesday: Kinder Morgan's IPO for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is set to close Wednesday. The company's goal is to raise $1.75 billion, which would make it one of the biggest IPOs on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Wednesday is also the deadline B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver has set for himself to decide whether to strike a deal with the Liberals or the NDP — a decision that could have ramifications on the project's fate.

Macroeconomics junkies, take note: Statistics Canada reports the GDP figures for the first quarter on Wednesday and on Friday come the trade figures for April. The GDP result is expected to show the economy kicked off this year with a bang after growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 came in at an annualized pace of 2.6 per cent, providing a welcome handoff to the start of this year.

There are no solitudes: So says CMHC president Evan Siddall, who is set to give a speech Thursday before the Canadian Club of Toronto entitled, "No Solitudes: A Canadian National Housing Strategy."

The Canadian Press

Share This:

---

More News Articles