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Canada’s six biggest banks are working together to develop tokenized deposits as part of an initiative meant to keep pace with global developments in digital money.

Tokenized deposits are digital representations of traditional bank deposits, recorded on a blockchain or a distributed ledger.

Royal Bank of Canada RY-T -1.23%decrease, Toronto-Dominion Bank TD-T -1.42%decrease, Bank of Nova Scotia BNS-T -1.07%decrease, Bank of Montreal BMO-T -1.20%decrease, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM-T -1.70%decrease and National Bank of Canada NA-T -1.48%decrease announced the initiative in a joint press release Tuesday.

The announcement follows the passing of Canada’s Stablecoin Act, which received royal assent in March and created the necessary regulatory framework, and similar developments south of the border. The largest U.S. banks are working to launch a tokenized deposit network next year, and JPMorgan Chase JPM-N -0.69%decrease has started offering a deposit token called JPM Coin to its institutional clients.

The Canadian government has been pushing to strengthen the country’s economic sovereignty in response to escalating tensions with its largest trading partner, the United States.

The first phase of the joint project announced Tuesday will involve moving tokenized deposits denominated in Canadian dollars between financial institutions. Experts said the technology can speed up bank-to-bank settlements by using a shared blockchain.

“It’s an efficient way for the banks to settle amongst themselves,” said Todd Roberts, senior partner of national payments and market infrastructure at Deloitte Canada.

Opinion: Why Canada needs a digital dollar

The lenders said their longer term goal is to “connect with other emerging digital assets initiatives,” but did not specify which ones.

BMO, RBC, CIBC, TD Bank and Scotiabank all declined to comment further on the project, while National did not respond to a request for comment.

Canada’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, said in a statement earlier this month that tokenized deposits are “not legally distinct from traditional deposits.”

“The underlying technology of a financial product or service does not determine its legal nature. To be clear, we focus on what the product or service is, not how it is built or delivered,” the statement said.

Cristián Bravo, professor and Canada Research Chair in Banking and Insurance Analytics at Western University, said tokenized deposits differ from stablecoins, which are virtual currencies pegged to more stable assets like the U.S. dollar.

“A tokenized deposit is a bank deposit, so it’s protected by all the legislation that supports what banks can do with deposits,” Prof. Bravo said.

The key difference between a tokenized deposit and a regular deposit is that “there will be a blockchain tied to that deposit that will be able to settle automatically,” he noted.

Prof. Bravo said tokenized deposits could serve as an alternative to Canada’s Real-Time Rail payment system, a network thatwill send and receive payments instantly, which has faced delays.

Canadian financial institutions have onlystarted to dabble in digital assets recently.

Opinion: The era of blind pursuit of stability over growth in Canadian banking is finally ending

In May, BMO announced that it hired Imran Ibrahim, the former head of cross-border payment products and new initiatives at CIBC, to a newly created role leading its digital assets and tokenization strategy.

And Wealthsimple Financial Corp. and Visa Canada V-N +0.33%increase recently experimented with using stablecoin to settle payments more quickly.

“There is a bit of an arms race to ensure that major currencies are present in digital tokenized form,” Deloitte’s Mr. Roberts said.

He believes that having a tokenized form of the Canadian dollar is important for the country’s monetary sovereignty. Otherwise, demand for tokenized deposits will go elsewhere – for instance, to U.S.-dollar digital assets.

“The ability to have an interchangeable digital fiat within Canada, and over time looking at exchanging our digital fiat with other nations’ digital fiat, is an important part of how we reinforce our sovereignty,” he said.

The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 rose on Tuesday, with the former hitting a fresh all-time intraday high, as oil prices eased for another day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was last up 0.4%, supported by a 7% gain in shares of Sandisk following a bullish call from Rosenblatt. The S&P 500 traded up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 47 points, or 0.1%.

Oil prices moved lower after Iran reportedly offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. To be sure, the reports have not been independently verified by CNBC. Saudi Arabia is also reportedly planning to restart its East-West pipeline as early as this week.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures were last down 1% at roughly $98 per barrel. U.S. crude futures traded 1% lower at around $94 a barrel. Oil prices were pacing for their fifth straight day of losses.

Tuesday’s moves follow a strong session on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 posting its best day since Aug. 4 and the Nasdaq notching its first closing record since June.

A decline in oil prices fueled the stock market’s gains, while Treasury yields pulled back as well. Even prior to the Federal Reserve’s move to hike its key interest rate by a quarter point last week, Treasury yields have been trending higher as the economy contends with rising debt, elevated oil prices and stubborn inflation.

Traders’ attention will turn to this week’s summit in Washington, DC between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Artificial intelligence, the Iran war, tariffs and rare earth metals are expected to be among the key topics covered in the meeting. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent convened with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng prior to Xi’s visit to the U.S.

Heading into Tuesday, traders will watch for the Richmond Fed’s manufacturing survey, as well as speeches from New York Fed President John Williams and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin.

Cameco Corp. CCO-T +1.39%increase shareholders are expected to share in the company’s massive win on an investment in Westinghouse Electric Co., with the Saskatoon-based uranium miner poised to boost dividends after a planned Westinghouse initial public offering.

Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse, one of the world’s leading nuclear reactor manufacturers, is moving forward on an IPO this fall that analysts estimate will value the company at between US$30-billion and US$50-billion.

Westinghouse is going public as global demand for nuclear power soars. In July, the company reported utilities around the world have ordered up to 91 of its flagship Advanced Passive 1000 reactors, known as the AP1000, for delivery over the next two decades.

The stock market debut and premium valuation will mean major gains for joint owners Brookfield Renewable Partners and Cameco, which acquired Westinghouse in 2023 for US$8.3-billion, including assumed debt.

Chris Cassin: Nuclear reactors produce one byproduct that is key to our future. Canada must stockpile it

In late July, the two owners announced plans to list Westinghouse on a U.S. stock exchange. The company hired at least five investment banks to lead the offering, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Brookfield Renewable, a subsidiary of Brookfield Corp., owns a 51-per-cent stake in Westinghouse and Cameco holds 49 per cent.

Westinghouse had filed for bankruptcy before Brookfield’s private equity arm bought the company from Toshiba Corp. for US$4.6-billion in 2018.

If Westinghouse does go public, analysts say Cameco is expected to return part of the proceeds from any sale of its stake to shareholders, by raising its common stock dividend.

Cameco doubled its common stock dividend between 2023 and 2025,boosting the payout from 12 cents per share to 24 cents. The increase came a year ahead of the company’s target.

Cameco’s board of directors said it raised dividends in part because Westinghouse made its first cash payment to its owners in 2025, with the miner receiving US$220.5-million. Early this year, Westinghouse handed an additional US$49-million to Cameco.

“We anticipate further improvements to dividends ahead,” said analyst Orest Wowkodaw at Bank of Nova Scotia in a recent report. He projected Westinghouse’s reactor sales and Cameco’s rising uranium production will result in a fivefold increase in the mining company’s free cash flow, to $1.3-billion in 2028.

Brookfield Renewable is also expected to benefit from Westinghouse’s public market debut. In a report, analyst Nelson Ng at RBC Capital Markets said the company will “benefit from growing demand for carbon-free baseload generation and potential valuation uplift from an IPO.”

Westinghouse is going public with orders for 22 AP1000 reactors from U.S. clients, including two units earmarked for the restart of the V.C. Summer power plant in South Carolina, a Brookfield-led project. The company has also sold seven of the reactors to customers in Poland, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

“Timelines and valuation remain uncertain at this point, but we do recognize the potential for a significant valuation should the stated new build pipeline materialize in the 2030s,” mining analyst Katie Lachapelle at Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets said in a report. She predicted an “uplift” in Cameco’s stock price as more details emerge on Westinghouse’s IPO plans.

Westinghouse is also rolling out new power plant technology, including small modular reactors and micro reactors. In a report on Cameco, analyst Andrew Wong at RBC Capital Markets said the development costs on these projects are “relatively moderate” at roughly US$1.2-billion.

“We view Westinghouse as a unique asset with no direct publicly-traded peer which justifies a premium valuation,” Mr. Wong said. Since Mr. Wong published his report, RBC Capital Markets has placed Cameco on what is known as a restricted list and stopped releasing research reports, a common move when an investment bank is doing corporate finance work for a client, such as advising on an IPO.

Westinghouse selected Wall Street banks Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to lead its IPO, along with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the investment banking arms of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada, according to media reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States is working on a deal to buy potash from Belarus in a bid to reduce dependence on Canadian fertilizer.

In a social media post Monday morning, Trump said prices would be “substantially less” than American buyers pay to Canadian exporters.

The president touted the would-be agreement with the authoritarian state — a close Russian ally — as “very good news” for American farmers and ranchers.

Potash prices skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 but have came down since, though they remain above prewar levels.

America relies heavily on Canadian potash, with Saskatchewan-based producer Nutrien Ltd. saying Canada supplies more than 80 per cent of the potash used on U.S. farms. 

Natural Resources Canada says the United States imported $4.2 billion worth of potash in 2025, or nearly half of Canada’s potash exports.

Still exempt from U.S. tariffs, potash is a key component in fertilizers, and Canada produced about a third of the world’s supply in 2023, followed by Russia and Belarus.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026

Priority	Factor	Potential TSX impact
1	Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz	Further supply disruptions could lift WTI and support CNQ, SU and IMO, but intensify inflation and pressure consumer, transportation and industrial stocks.
2	WTI crude above US$100	Positive for energy earnings; negative for fuel-intensive businesses and consumer purchasing power. A sharp oil reversal would weaken the energy-heavy TSX.
3	U.S. interest-rate outlook	Markets will assess whether the Fed’s September rate increase begins a larger tightening cycle. Higher bond yields would pressure technology, utilities, REITs and highly leveraged companies.
4	U.S. inflation and growth data	PCE inflation, GDP revisions, durable-goods orders and weekly jobless claims could change rate expectations. Strong inflation would generally be negative for valuations.
5	U.S.–Canada tariffs	Watch for new exemptions, retaliation or negotiation developments. Greatest risk remains with autos, manufacturing, lumber and consumer goods; energy and potash remain relatively protected.
6	Canadian retail-sales data	Weak spending would pressure consumer discretionary and bank stocks; value retailers could remain comparatively resilient.
7	Global PMI reports	U.S., Canadian, European and Chinese activity indicators will influence expectations for copper, oil and industrial demand.
8	Gold and precious metals	Persistent geopolitical risk and inflation could support AEM, FNV, WPM and ABX. Higher real yields or a stronger U.S. dollar would be negative.
9	Canadian dollar	Further CAD weakness benefits companies earning U.S. dollars but raises imported costs for retailers and manufacturers.
10	Quarter-end positioning	Institutional portfolio adjustments ahead of September 30 may increase volatility, especially in recent winners such as energy, gold and technology.

Base case: A volatile, sector-divergent week—energy and gold supported, while consumer, real estate, utilities and technology remain sensitive to bond yields.

Main falsifier: De-escalation in the Middle East combined with falling oil prices and bond yields would reverse this pattern, weakening energy while supporting rate-sensitive sectors.

Monday September 21

Japan’s markets closed (through Wednesday)

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian construction investment for July.

(11:05 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks in Halifax.

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Tuesday September 22

Euro zone consumer confidence

(8:15 a.m. ET) U.S. ADP National Employment Report 4-week average change for Sept. 5.

Earnings include: AutoZone Inc.

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Wednesday September 23

Euro zone and United Kingdom PMI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s population estimates for Q2.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for September.

Earnings include: AGF Management Ltd.; Cintas Corp.; General Mills Inc.; Paychex Inc.

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Thursday September 24

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for July.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for July. The Street expects a month-over-month decline of 0.8 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s manufacturing sales for August.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Sept. 19. Estimate is 203,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. current account balance for Q2.

(10:00 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for August.

Also: Summit between Chinese President Xi & U.S. President Trump (in Washington)

Earnings include: BlackBerry Ltd.; Costco Wholesale Corp.

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Friday September 25

China’s markets closed

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for August.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. durable and core goods orders for August.

(10:00 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for September.

Also: Ottawa’s Fiscal Monitor for July.

Earnings include: Firefly Metals Ltd.; Uranium Energy Corp.

Some of the world’s biggest infrastructure investors are clubbing up to take over GFL Environmental Inc. in what could be one of the largest leveraged buyouts of the year.

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KKR & Co., Energy Capital Partners and Blackstone Inc. are bidding together while Brookfield Asset Management and IFM Investors have teamed on a rival bid for the waste manager, according to people familiar with the matter. A decision could be made in the coming weeks, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the details are private.

GFL gained as much as 8.4 per cent to $62.29 in Toronto on Thursday, its highest price since April. The waste-management company is among the top performers on the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

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GFL’s special committee is expected to take time to evaluate the proposals and could ask bidders to improve their offers, the people said.

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No final decision has been made, the timing could change, other bidders could emerge or the consortiums could change, the people added.

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Representatives for Energy Capital, IFM and Blackstone declined to comment. Spokespeople for GFL, KKR and Brookfield didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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The field of suitors underscores how giant alternative asset managers are eager to put money to work in infrastructure, banking on steady, long-term growth in the sector. It also harkens back to the leveraged buyout boom of the early 2000s, when buyout shops partnered on major take-privates in retail, energy and healthcare.

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Club deals fell out of favour due to weak returns and difficulty exiting. Private equity fund investors also didn’t like them because of the concentrated risk. They’ve re-emerged in recent years in instances where buyout firms have gone after jumbo targets such as AES Corp.

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The GFL pursuit also illustrates the financial wherewithal necessary for a deal of this size. GFL has a market value of about US$19 billion, plus US$10 billion in debt. The takeover of AES, at about US$33 billion including debt, ranks as the largest announced North American LBO of 2026.

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GFL, with its bright-green trucks that collect household and business garbage, is one of the largest and most visible waste managers in North America, with 15,000 workers and operations throughout Canada and United States. Describing itself as the fourth-largest environmental services company on the continent, it also owns transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills.

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GFL announced in July that it had formed a special committee to oversee potential merger talks, after retaining advisers following preliminary takeover interest, Bloomberg News reported at the time.

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Chief executive Patrick Dovigi, who built GFL with the help of private equity backers before taking it public in Toronto in 2020, has said he would roll all of his ownership stake into any deal. Management maintaining a stake is a classic LBO structure.

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Dovigi told Bloomberg TV Wednesday that he’s open to taking the company private at a higher valuation than its current stock price.

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GFL, which has done scores of acquisitions, just completed its combination with Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp., expanding in western Canada and in industrial waste management and energy infrastructure.

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—With assistance from Ryan Gould, Amy Bainbridge and Stephanie Hughes.

Copper rallied as traders shrugged off hawkish messaging from the Federal Reserve chair, with signs of increased buying activity in China boosting sentiment.

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Prices advanced 1.8 per cent to settle at US$14,491.50 a metric ton in London, climbing alongside equities as investors were undeterred by a widely expected interest rate hike by the United States central bank on Wednesday.

Policymakers at the Federal Reserve pencilled in an additional increase for later this year — a potential headwind for metals demand in capital-intensive manufacturing and industrial sectors. Still, the Fed’s hawkish messaging and a decline in oil prices helped to support broader confidence across markets that the central bank can keep inflation under control.

Copper also got a boost on signs that China’s spot demand for copper is rising, with the premiums that importers pay above futures to secure cargoes in Shanghai’s Yangshan port climbing sharply over recent days.

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The metal is still consolidating after slumping from a record last week. Copper had rallied on bets that the U.S. would hit the refined metal with tariffs, with an ongoing surge in U.S. imports triggering concerns about a supply squeeze elsewhere.

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Yet so far the U.S. has held off on new trade measures, putting that rally in doubt. Expectations of high demand from data centres and renewable energy, as well as supply disruptions at key mines, are still providing support.

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“Reports of no U.S. copper tariffs unwound some of the physical market speculation,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Sam Crittenden said in a note. “Despite near-term price weakness, fundamentals remain constructive.”

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All other base metals moved higher, with zinc rising 1.8 per cent and aluminum climbing one per cent.