An oilfield pumpjack produces crude, canola crops bloom nearby and wind turbines produce green energy near Trochu, Alta.Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of The Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis on the biggest headlines, stock tips, personal finance strategies and more.
Carney rules out using energy as leverage in U.S. trade talks
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Red Deer, Alta., on Wednesday that he didn’t 'see the value' of putting energy exports on the table in trade talks.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney has ruled out restricting Canada’s oil and gas supply to the U.S. as a bargaining chip in trade talks. The move marks a reversal from last week, when he said “everything is on the table” as Ottawa decides how to respond to U.S. tariffs set to take effect on Aug. 19.
The federal government is also planning to scrap a tax on online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the latest in a series of concessions to U.S. trade demands for which Canada has not received anything in return.
Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc was in Washington this week to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and attend a social event co-sponsored by the Canadian government and major U.S. tech companies. Meanwhile, two major American private-sector unions – representing hundreds of thousands of manufacturing workers – are calling for a return to a “stable” relationship with Canada.
Ottawa approves nickel mine construction in Crawford
The approval of the Canada Nickel mine near Timmins, Ont., was formally announced on Friday.Canada Nickel
The federal government has given Canada Nickel Co. Inc. the go-ahead to build a new nickel mine in northern Ontario. The Crawford mine will be located about 40 kilometres north of Timmins and is expected to be the biggest nickel mine in the Western world once it is built.
The mine is part of Canada’s efforts to build major resource projects and counter the economic pain from Donald Trump’s trade war. Ottawa last November referred the mine to its Major Projects Office for regulatory fast-tracking.
Ongoing consultation with Indigenous communities during construction is stipulated in Federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin’s decision document. First production from the Crawford mine is expected in 2029. It is expected to employ around 3,000 people during its construction, and when it is in operation roughly 1,000 will work at the site.
Allied Gold’s planned $5.5-billion sale to China’s Zijin collapses
Canadian gold miner Allied Gold Corp. has called off its $5.5-billion takeover deal with Zijin Gold International Co. after China’s foreign investment regulator failed to approve the transaction on time. It was originally supposed to close by May 29, but the target date was later pushed back to July 29.
Peter Marrone, the chief executive of Allied, told The Globe and Mail on Tuesday the revised deadline wasn’t going to be met, in part because China had not yet approved the transaction. Allied, he added, was also dealing with a host of other issues important to the close, including settling tax matters, as well as finalizing streaming, lending and security arrangements.
On Wednesday, Allied Gold shares plunged more than 18 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange to close at $24 apiece.
Apotex emerges as only supplier of generic Ozempic in Canada for now
Apotex is currently the only supplier of generic semaglutide in Canada.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Apotex Health Corp. is now the only maker of generic Ozempic for Canadians – at least for the next few months. A manufacturing issue at an Indian plant has sidelined at least two competitors: India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. and South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd.
Earlier this month, Dr. Reddy’s disclosed to Indian investors that it discovered problems at a facility it was upgrading to produce more semaglutide to meet growing global demand for the drug. The manufacturing issue has also left Aspen in the lurch; it had been authorized to sell semaglutide through a licensing deal with Dr. Reddy’s.
How St. John’s has become an unlikely hub for tech startups
On Water Street, the main business district in the heart of St John's, N.L., historic buildings are interspersed with sleek glass offices. Across the city there is evidence that tech entrepreneurs have made a home here.GREG LOCKE
St. John’s may seem like an unlikely place for a tech boom. Originally a fishing outpost, Newfoundland feels cut off from the rest of the world, and in a way, it is. But a visit to St. John’s yields plenty of evidence that tech entrepreneurs have made a home here.
It is home to a thriving ecosystem of tech startups, as graduates eschew Silicon Valley in favour of Newfoundland’s rugged coastlines, laid-back lifestyle and lower cost of living. Newfoundland and Labrador tech companies raised close to $300-million last year, comprising 78 per cent of Atlantic Canadian startup funding, according to data firm Entrevestor, despite making up less than a quarter of the region’s population.
Some credit a St. John’s-based financial crime-fighting technology company then called Verafin Inc. with emboldening a new generation of founders in the province who are bucking a broader trend of Canadian entrepreneurs leaving for foreign tech hubs.
Alexandra Posadzki and Sean Silcoff report on the unlikely tech hub – and how Newfoundland’s success story holds lessons for the rest of Canada.
Take our business quiz for this week
a. Mr. Sutskever, OpenAI’s former chief scientist, has launched Safe Superintelligence, a company devoted to developing machines that can think better than humans. This week, the giant chip maker Nvidia agreed to make a US$5-billion equity investment in his fledgling company. It is an impressive vote of confidence in Mr. Sutskever, who grew up in Canada and earned a PhD in computer science from the University of Toronto.
Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.