Author: Consultant

Canada’s Big Six banks hold roughly 85 per cent of all deposits in the country. Add Desjardins, the seventh-largest player, and that share climbs to 91 per cent. The rest, including over 100 credit unions and more than 20 other banks, hold just 9 per cent.

That concentration would make sense if the big banks offered better service or rates than everyone else. But do they?

Based on an estimate from WOWA.io, a provider of financial data services, more than 65 per cent of bank deposits in Canada are in either notice deposits, such as savings accounts requiring advance notice, or term deposits, such as most GICs. For this portion, and even for many regular savings accounts, rate matters most, since customers don’t need frequent access.

So are the Big Six banks offering Canadians the best rates? The surprising answer is no: Their term deposit rates are among the lowest in the country.

Consider one-year and five-year fixed GICs, two of the most popular terms. For a one-year GIC, the best rate among Big Six banks plus Desjardins is 2.75 per cent as of July 27, 2026.

Among the more than 40 other lenders WOWA tracks daily, only two offer less, while more than 30 offer more. Pathwise Credit Union in Ontario offers 3.70 per cent, while MCAN Financial, available nationwide outside Quebec, offers 3.65 per cent.

For a five-year GIC, the best rate among the Big Six banks plus Desjardins is 3.35 per cent, while the best rate nationally is 4.10 per cent from WealthOne, followed by 4.05 per cent from both Achieva Financial and MCAN Financial.

Savings accounts tell a similar story. The Big Six typically advertise promotional rates that drop sharply after three or four months. Excluding those, their best ongoing rate for balances under $10,000 is just 0.55 per cent, while many other institutions offer 2 per cent or more. Manulife Bank offers 3 per cent on a non-registered savings account, and WealthOne offers 3 per cent on RRSPs.

Some may argue their money is safer with the Big Six, but all banks carry CDIC insurance that covers up to $100,000 per deposit category, and credit unions typically match or exceed that. For example, B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba guarantee credit union deposits in full, with no cap.

The Big Six do have some advantages, such as wider branch access. But savers who stay purely out of habit are paying a real cost for that convenience.

As Grant Armstrong, chief growth officer of WealthOne, put it: “Canadians often prioritize trust, familiarity, and convenience over yield, even when higher rates are available elsewhere.”

With more than 100 financial institutions in Canada competing for deposits, almost all with access to the same deposit insurance as the Big Six, or stronger, comparing rates before renewing a GIC or opening a savings account costs nothing and can meaningfully change the return.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. CP-N -3.99%decrease says profits dipped in its latest quarter even as revenues shot up on the back of a bumper grain crop.

The Calgary-based railway says net income nudged down nearly two per cent to $1.02-billion in the three months ended June 30 compared with $1.23-billion in the same period a year earlier.

Second-quarter revenues rose 13 per cent year-over-year to $4.16-billion from $3.70-billion.

CPKC says diluted earnings per share fell to $1.15 from $1.33 per share a year earlier.

Revenues from grain – the railway’s largest segment – rose by nearly a quarter from the year before while container revenues jumped 11 per cent.

Chief executive Keith Creel says leveraging the company’s status as the only freight railway to span all three countries in North America is paying off.

In a separate release, the company announced the retirement of board chair Isabelle Courville, who took the helm in May 2019 to become the first woman to chair a major North American freight railway, effective today.

Pipeline operator TC Energy TRP-T -0.23%decrease beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by strength in its North American operations.

Pipeline operators across North America are seeing support from growing natural gas consumption, including demand from power generation and industrial users, reinforcing the appeal of energy infrastructure assets.

Adjusted core profit from TC Energy’s U.S. natural gas pipelines, the company’s largest segment, rose to $1.22-billion in the second quarter from $1.09-billion a year ago.

The Calgary-based company reported adjusted core earnings of $961-million from its Canadian natural gas pipelines for the three months ended June 30, up from $923-million a year ago.

Quarterly adjusted core profit from its Mexican natural gas pipelines business rose to $409-million, compared with $319-million a year ago.

TC Energy earned 94 cents per share on an adjusted basis in the second quarter, compared with analysts’ average expectation of 83 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

• President Donald Trump told Fox News that the U.S. will hit Iran hard in retaliation for an attempted surprise attack on American forces.
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at U.S. forces, Central Command said. The missiles were successfully intercepted, Centcom said.
• The escalating tensions come after a brief pause in fighting that sent oil prices lower on hopes that the ceasefire would resume.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/29/oil-prices-today-brent-wti-iran-us-hormuz.html

Cenovus Energy Inc. raised its production forecast for the year as it reported a second-quarter profit of $2.87 billion, up from $851 million a year ago.

That amounted to $1.53 per diluted share, up from 45 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $17.4 billion, up from $12.3 billion a year earlier.

Total upstream production was 970,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 765,900 boepd in the second quarter of 2025.

Cenovus says it now expects upstream production in the range of 970,000 to 1,010,000 boepd for 2026, an increase of 25,000 boepd, reflecting a strong performance in the oilsands and optimization of turnaround activity at Foster Creek and Christina Lake.

Downstream crude throughput was 451,500 barrels per day, down from 665,800 a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.

Waste Connections Inc. (WCN) on Wednesday reported second-quarter earnings of $296.4 million.

The Ontario, Ontario-based company said it had profit of $1.17 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.50 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.35 per share.

The solid waste services provider posted revenue of $2.56 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.53 billion.

Waste Connections expects full-year revenue in the range of $10.02 billion to $10.05 billion.

Highlights:

• Generated second quarter cash from operating activities of $1.6 billion, Non-GAAP Cash Flow of approximately $1.3 billion and Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow of $682 million after capital expenditures of $574 million
• Produced average second quarter volumes of 615 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (“MBOE/d”), including oil and condensate volumes of 206 thousand barrels per day (“Mbbls/d”), above the high end of company guidance, along with 82 Mbbls/d of other NGLs (C2 to C4) and 1,959 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/d”) of natural gas
• Closed the sale of the Company’s Anadarko assets for total cash proceeds of approximately $2.82 billion after preliminary closing adjustments and transaction costs
• Net Debt of $2.995 billion as of June 30, 2026, Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA of 0.6x
• Returned approximately 63% of second quarter Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow to shareholders via share repurchases of approximately $345 million (6.1 million shares) and dividend payments of $84 million
• Full year 2026 shareholder returns expected to exceed 60% of Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow, up from 45% year-to-date
• Revised full year 2026 guidance to reflect higher expected oil and condensate production for the same capital investment; representing 4% production per share growth

 FirstService Corp. (FSV) on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $45.3 million.

The Toronto-based company said it had net income of $1 per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and stock option expense, came to $1.75 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.71 per share.

The property services provider posted revenue of $1.45 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.49 billion.

Canadian National Railway Co. reported that its second-quarter profit and revenue both rose compared with a year ago, and it raised its guidance for the full year.

The railway says it earned $1.25 billion or $2.06 per diluted share for the quarter that ended June 30, up from $1.17 billion or $1.87 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $4.75 billion, up from $4.27 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, CN says it earned $2.08 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.87 per diluted share a year ago.

In raising its guidance, CN says it now expects to deliver low single-digit growth in revenue ton miles (RTM) in 2026 compared with expectations in January for “flattish growth.”

The company also says it now expects adjusted diluted earnings per share growth in the mid-to-high single-digit range compared with earlier guidance for growth slightly exceeding its RTM growth.