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Teck Resources Ltd. reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago due in part to its reduced ownership in its steelmaking coal business as well as lower copper and zinc prices and higher costs.

The Vancouver-based mining company says it earned a profit attributable to shareholders of $343 million or 65 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31. The result compared with a profit of $1.14 billion or $2.18 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $3.99 billion, up from $3.79 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

On an adjusted basis, Teck says it earned 75 cents per diluted share from continuing operations, down from $1.78 per diluted share a year earlier.

Teck closed the sale of a minority stake in its steelmaking coal business, Elk Valley Resources, to Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. and South Korean steelmaker Posco in January.

The deals are part of a broader plan that will see Glencore acquire the remaining 77 per cent stake in Elk Valley Resources. The Glencore transaction remains subject to regulatory review and is expected to close later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.

Canada’s economic output on a per capita basis has slipped to 7 per cent below its long-term trend, amounting to a decline of roughly $4,200 a person, according to a report published Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

To return to trend over the next decade, real gross domestic product per capita would need to grow at an average annual rate of 1.7 per cent – similar to the robust expansion in the United States in recent years. The trend for per capita output is based on figures from 1981 through 2023, then extrapolated to 2033.

“Per capita growth of this magnitude is ambitious and a marked departure from recent trends,” wrote Carter McCormack and Weimin Wang, the authors of the report.

Canada’s moribund economic performance on a per person basis has become a flashpoint of discussion over the past couple of years. In a speech last month, Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said the country is facing an “emergency” of weak labour productivity and tepid levels of business investment.

The recent numbers paint a grim picture. Real GDP per capita has fallen to levels seen in 2017. Workers in places with higher per capita output tend to earn higher wages and live longer, making this a popular – if imperfect – measure of a country’s living standards.

The Canadian economy was walloped by COVID-19 in 2020, and more recently, higher interest rates have weighed on growth. At a time of challenging economic conditions, the population is growing at the fastest rates in decades – almost entirely through immigration – which is boosting the denominator in the per capita calculation.

Still, many analysts have said that weaker results aren’t merely a function of the business cycle.

For decades, Canada has struggled with lacklustre capital investment. A Statscan report published in February noted that investment per worker in 2021 was 20 per cent lower than in 2006. During that period, there was a sharp decline in firm entry rates, resulting in weaker competition between companies – and thus, less incentive for them to invest.

Business investment is a critical ingredient for boosting labour productivity, or output per hour worked. In practice, this means workers have more tools at their disposal to help them work more efficiently.

Productivity is the bedrock of per capita growth. Over the four decades leading up to the pandemic, increases in productivity accounted for 93 per cent of the improvement in real GDP per capita, Wednesday’s report said. (Economies can also boost per capita output via higher employment rates and the average employee working longer hours, although these have played a small role in Canada’s long-term gains.)

The trouble for Canada is that labour productivity has faltered of late: While it nudged higher over the final three months of 2023, that followed six consecutive quarters of decline.

“Higher productivity should be everyone’s goal because it’s how we build a better economy for everyone,” Ms. Rogers said in her speech in March. “When a business gives workers better tools and better training, those workers can produce more. That, in turn, means more revenue for the business, which allows it to absorb rising costs, including higher wages, without having to raise prices.”

In its recent budget, the federal government pushed back on some of the pessimism regarding the decline in per capita output. Because newcomers typically earn less than the average Canadian, the government said that the recent influx of people is weighing on average income and productivity. “This should not be misinterpreted to imply that those already in the country are becoming worse off,” the budget read.

Still, the government is now trying to curtail migration to the country, related to concerns over how effectively Canada is absorbing newcomers in key areas, such as housing.

In its latest projections, the Bank of Canada said it expects GDP per capita to decline in the first half of 2024, before picking up in the second half of the year and into early 2025. The central bank said the improvement would be driven by easing financial conditions – the bank is widely expected to lower its policy interest rate around the middle of the year – and rising confidence among consumers and businesses.

Since 1981, real GDP per capita has risen by an average annual rate of 1.1 per cent, the Statscan report said. To return to the long-term trend by 2033, Canada will need to experience a decade of above-average growth.

Strong expansions are not unheard of. From 1991 to 2001, Canada’s real GDP per capita rose at an average annual rate of 2.2 per cent, the Statscan paper said. The implementation of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the adoption of digital technologies helped to spur gains in productivity in the 1990s.

The Statscan authors said it’s an open question of whether emerging technologies will usher in a new era of stronger productivity.

“The ability of Canadian companies to harness the benefits of new competitive technologies related to artificial intelligence, robotics and digitalization will be critical to the link between investment and productivity in the coming years and potentially important contributors to changes in living standards,” they wrote.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago.

The railway says it earned net income attributable to controlling shareholders of $775 million or 83 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31.

That is down from a profit of $800 million or 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Canadian Pacific completed its acquisition of Kansas City Southern in December 2021, but had to wait to combine operations until April last year following regulatory approval of the deal.

CPKC says revenue for its most recent quarter totalled $3.52 billion, up from $2.27 billion in the same quarter last year before the railways combined operations.

The railway says its core adjusted combined diluted earnings per share amounted to 93 cents in its latest quarter, up from 90 cents a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 202

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. FM-T +0.58%increase says it lost US$159 million in its first quarter, down from profits of US$75 million a year earlier.

However, it’s a shallower loss than the US$1.45 billion First Quantum reported in the previous quarter.

CEO Tristan Pascall says the successful completion of a comprehensive refinancing package during the quarter has strengthened First Quantum’s balance sheet significantly.

Last quarter, the company said its ability to continue operating would be in doubt if it could not shore up its balance sheet in light of the shutdown of its Cobre Panama mine.

Revenues for the latest quarter were US$1.04 billion, down from US$1.56 billion a year earlier.

Loss per diluted share was 21 cents US, compared with earnings of 11 cents for the same quarter last year.

Metro Inc. MRU-T +1.69%increase reported a 14.5-per-cent decline in profits in its second quarter, as the company continues to face higher-than-usual expenses related to investments in its supply chain.

The Montreal-based grocer also announced on Wednesday that it is terminating its partnership with Air Miles this coming fall, as it plans to expand its own MOI loyalty program to cover all 275 of its Metro and Food Basics stores in Ontario.

MOI launched in Quebec last May, and currently has 2.5 million active members in that province. Air Miles can still be collected and redeemed at stores until the launch, according to the company.

The company recorded a $20.8-million impairment charge related to the decision, saying the impairment of assets represents the carrying value of the loyalty program.

The company reported net earnings fell to $187.1-million or 83 cents per share in the second quarter ended March 16, compared to $218.8-million or 93 cents per share in the same period the prior year. Adjusting for the loss on impairment of the loyalty program as well as other items, adjusted net earnings declined by 8.4 per cent, to $206.4-million or 91 cents per share compared to $225.4-million or 96 cents per share in the same period the prior year.

Metro had previously forecast that this fiscal year would see net earnings slip as the company makes investments in improving its supply chain operations. That includes a transition to a new automated distribution centre for fresh and frozen products in Terrebonne, Que., which is now completed, and to another automated facility for fresh food in Toronto, which will enter its final phase this summer. Last November, executives forecast that on a full-year basis, adjusted net earnings per share would fall within a range of flat-to-down by 10 cents per share.

Canada’s major grocers have faced intense scrutiny over food inflation, which peaked at more than 11 per cent in late 2022 and early 2023, but has been slowing in recent months. The latest data from Statistics Canada showed that prices for food purchased from stores increased by 1.9 per cent in March on a year-over-year basis, down from 2.4 per cent in February.

Metro’s own internal measure of food basket inflation was roughly 3 per cent in the second quarter, down from 4 per cent in the first quarter. (The number is not directly comparable with the rate of food inflation measured by Statistics Canada’s consumer price index, because it is based on prices for a basket of goods that are frequently purchased at its stores.)

Metro’s total sales in the quarter increased by 2.2 per cent compared to the prior year, to nearly $4.7-billion.

Same-store sales – an important metric that tracks sales growth not attributable to new store openings – were roughly flat, growing just 0.2 per cent at Metro’s grocery stores. Sales were affected by a timing shift in the quarter, which began closer to Christmas than the same period in 2022 – meaning that the prior period included more of the busy pre-Christmas period. Adjusting for that shift, food same-store sales were up 2.7 per cent, according to Metro. Same-store sales at pharmacies, including the company’s Jean Coutu drugstore chain, increased by 5.9 per cent.

Canadian National Railway Co. CNR-T -3.16%decrease says earnings slid last quarter amid higher labour costs and lower revenue from container shipments.

The country’s largest railroad operator is reporting that net income fell nearly 10 per cent to $1.10-billion in the three months ended March 31 compared with $1.22-billion in the same period a year earlier.

The Montreal-based company says first-quarter revenue dipped by about one per cent to $4.25-billion from $4.31-billion the previous year.

CN says diluted earnings fell more than 5 per cent to $1.72 a share from $1.82 a share, roughly on par with analysts’ expectations of $1.73 a share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

Chief executive Tracy Robinson says the company’s growth opportunities are taking shape as the economy starts to ramp back up.

CN also says its board approved a second-quarter dividend of 84.5 cents a share that will be paid on June 28.

Statistics Canada says retail sales fell 0.1 per cent to $66.7 billion in February, weighed down by lower sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors.

The agency says sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors fell 2.2 per cent in February, while sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers gained 0.5 per cent.

Core retail sales – which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers – were unchanged in February.

Sales at general merchandise retailers rose 1.1 per cent, while health and personal care retailers gained 0.4 per cent. Sales at furniture, home furnishings, electronics and appliances retailers fell 1.5 per cent.

In volume terms, overall retail sales fell 0.3 per cent in February.

Statistics Canada says its advance estimate suggests retail sales were unchanged in March, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.

 West Fraser Timber Co. says it earned US$35 million in its first quarter, up from a loss of US$42 million a year earlier.

Earnings per diluted share were 42 cents US, compared with a loss of 52 cents during the same quarter last year.

The Vancouver-based company says sales totalled US$1.63 billion, unchanged from a year earlier.

West Fraser president and CEO Sean McLaren says the company is already seeing early financial benefits from the recent closures of some of its higher-cost lumber mills.

Earlier this year, West Fraser announced it was permanently closing a sawmill in Fraser Lake, B.C., closing another in Maxville, Fla., and indefinitely curtailing operations at its Huttig, Ark., sawmill.

More recently, at the beginning of April, West Fraser announced it and Mercer International Inc. were dissolving their joint venture in Cariboo Pulp and Paper, with West Fraser to be the sole owner and operator.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2024.

The federal government and Ontario are set to announce this week a multibillion-dollar deal with HMC-N +1.20%increase that will see the company build a comprehensive electric-vehicle chain in the province.

The deal with Honda includes a stand-alone battery-manufacturing plant, a retooled car-assembly plant, as well as facilities for both cathode materials and separator components, according to three sources familiar with the project.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources, who are not authorized to speak publicly about internal matters.

The battery and assembly plants will be in Alliston, Ont., where the company already manufactures vehicles, and will be built by Honda itself. The other two plants will both be in Ontario, despite Honda also having been negotiating directly with Quebec’s government around possible sites in that province. Those facilities will be joint ventures with other companies.

The financial specifics of the deal have not yet been confirmed. But speaking at a First Nations conference in Toronto on Monday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the size of the investment will surpass other electric-vehicle deals in the province, by a big margin.

“This week, we’ve landed a new deal. It’ll be the largest deal in Canadian history. It’ll be double the size of Volkswagen. So stay tuned, we’ll be announcing it this week,” he said. Volkswagen’s EV battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont., is expected to be worth $7-billion in capital costs.

Both the scope of Honda’s investment and the way that governments will back it mark a pivot in Canada’s strategy to establish itself a major player in the global race to build EV supply chains, as the auto sector shifts away from making vehicles powered by fossil fuels.

To date, federal and provincial governments have committed as much as $33-billion in production subsidies to land three EV battery factories – up to $15-billion for Stellantis (in partnership with LG Energy Solution), up to $13.2-billion for Volkswagen in Ontario and up to $4.6-billion for Northvolt AB in Quebec. (Those maximum totals would only be reached if the factories began full-capacity production of batteries at the earliest possible date, because the subsidies are time-limited.)

The governments have also announced approximately $5-billion to support the capital costs of those three projects combined. Additional billions have cumulatively been promised to land separate commitments by automakers to retool their vehicle-assembly lines, and to attract investments in battery materials higher up the supply chain.

Since striking those deals, Ottawa has indicated that while it wants to keep courting such investments, it doesn’t have the fiscal firepower to keep matching the U.S. production subsidies for battery plants alone the same way.

The new investment from Honda marks a shift in direction partly because – with the new vehicle-assembly, cathode and separator facilities – it will go much further across the supply chain than those of the other companies.

The structure of the governments’ deal with Honda will also differ significantly from the ones with Volkswagen and Stellantis. Unlike with those companies, the governments will not involve matching production subsidies being offered in the United States, which are projected to cumulatively cost well over $10-billion each once the plants are operational.

Instead, it will revolve around federal investment tax credits (ITCs) that will help cover Honda’s capital costs. That includes a 30-per-cent manufacturing ITC, which is nearing federal implementation. And last week’s federal budget included a new tax credit that would provide companies with a 10-per-cent rebate on the costs of constructing new buildings to be used in the electric-vehicle supply chain, which was widely perceived within the auto sector to be geared primarily at Honda.

Although Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has been Ottawa’s point person for landing EV-related investments, the shift in federal funding strategy saw Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland take the lead in the final stages of the Honda negotiations.

Speaking at an unrelated event in Montreal on Monday, Ms. Freeland did not answer a reporter’s question about a potential EV deal with Honda. But she broadly highlighted Ottawa’s tax credits to support low-carbon energy transition, which she said are making Canada “one of the world’s most attractive investment destinations.” In the first nine months of 2023, Ms. Freeland said, the country attracted more foreign direct investment per capita than any other G7 country, and total investment in Canada was the third highest in the G20.

The involvement of Ontario’s government – which is also expected to provide financial support for the project – extends back years.

In March, 2022, Honda announced the retooling of its Alliston plant to manufacture the company’s next-generation models, including hybrids, and that summer, Ontario officials met with Honda to discuss a potential investment in battery electric-vehicle production, according to sources.

Since 2022, Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and his team travelled to Japan three times, and Japanese Honda executives came to Toronto three times. The province also sent two formal letters to Honda Canada to signal Ontario’s support for an investment in battery electric-vehicle production in Alliston, as well as the province’s willingness to consider an incentive package for Honda’s EV and EV battery investment.

According to sources, the deal was solidified at a Dec. 15 meeting with Mr. Ford and his team. Mr. Fedeli travelled to Tokyo as recently as April 4.

Honda is the only automaker that has recently been in advanced talks with the federal and provincial governments for an EV-related commitment of this scale. However, there have also been more preliminary discussions with TOYOF +0.96%increase, which after the Honda announcement will be the only one of the five global automakers with an established manufacturing presence in Canada not to have made major EV-related commitments here.