Business

Published: October 16, 2026 at 2:34p.m. EDTJohn Ing, CEO of Maison Placements Canada, joins BNN Bloomberg to assess the risk of rising yields and deficit. The U. S. budget deficit rose by US$217 billion to $1.99 trillion in the 2026 fiscal year, fuelled in part by tariff refunds and record spending to service the nation’s more-than $40 trillion in debt, marking the largest budget shortfall in five years, Treasury Department figures reported on Friday showed. The results for the year ended September 30, the first full budget year of U. S. President Donald Trump’s second term, compared to a $1.78 trillion deficit in fiscal 2025. It was the largest shortfall since fiscal 2021’s $2.77 trillion budget gap, then fueled by COVID-19 pandemic relief spending, and is the third- largest annual deficit ever. Latest updates on international news hereTotal receipts for fiscal 2026 were a record $5.40 trillion, up $169 billion, or three per cent, from the $5.24 trillion in fiscal 2025. Fiscal 2026 outlays also were a record at $7.40 trillion, up $386 billion, or six per cent, from the $7.01 trillion in the prior fiscal year.

As Canada continues to slug it out with the U. S. on a trade and tariff dispute and more economic fallout looms, London just took a ringside seat. Hitachi Energy, a subsidiary of the Japanese industrial giant, will build a $479-million manufacturing plant in London to make parts to build transformers and feed the national electrical grid.

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On Saturday, Oct. 17, The Beer Store is encouraging Ontario consumers to attempt a Guinness World Records title for most container deposit return transactions in 24 hours for multiple venues. To celebrate this historic effort and encourage participation across Ontario, the Beer Store will provide customers with +20 per cent more value on their empty alcohol container returns and consumers can earn an extra +10 per cent on their empty returns through The Beer Store App on Saturday, Oct. 17 only, a news release said.

AtlanticNova ScotiaNew BrunswickPrince Edward Island Newfoundland and LabradorCalgaryLethbridgeKitchenerGuelphNorthern OntarioSudburyNorth BaySault Ste. MarieTimminsOttawaKingstonBrockvillePembrokeReginaYorktonSaskatoonPrince AlbertTorontoWatchWeatherPeelHamiltonDurhamYorkHaltonNiagaraQueen's ParkToronto City HallIn PicturesVancouverVancouver IslandCanadaLocal SpotlightRoyal FamilyPoliticsNanosPower PlayQuestion PeriodFederal Election 2025WorldMideast ConflictRussia-Ukraine WarWatchLatestCaptured on CameraPoliticsLifestyleConsumerHealthExplainedEntertainmentTechnologyDeception DecodedAutosEnvironmentBusinessInflationReal EstateAutos

Melanie Joly says government’s timeline to resolve Stelco conflict ‘a question of days’ WATCH: Joly spoke on the ongoing situation between the federal government and steel manufacturer Stelco after the company breached its commitments with Canada in the face of U. S. tariffs.

Hitachi Energy and the federal and Ontario governments have announced a $479-million plan to build a new transformer insulation factory to help meet skyrocketing demand from data centres, green energy and industrial development. “All those investments are creating more demand for components, and transformers are a major element in the customer energy chain,” Bruno Melles, chief executive of Hitachi’s transformers business unit, said in an interview ahead of Friday’s announcement in London, Ont. “Because in every place where there is power generation and in every place where there is a connection, there is a transformer.”The 21,000-square-metre facility would be the first in Canada to produce pressboard — a material made from paper pulp that’s key to keeping transformers cool — and the first Hitachi would establish in the Americas. Currently in Canada that material sourced from Europe, Melles said. Story continues below advertisement

Hitachi Energy, along with the federal and Ontario governments, have announced a $479-million plan to build a new transformer insulation factory Hitachi Energy and the federal and Ontario governments have announced a $479-million plan to build a new transformer insulation factory to help meet skyrocketing demand from data centres, green energy and industrial development. “All those investments are creating more demand for components, and transformers are a major element in the customer energy chain,” Bruno Melles, chief executive of Hitachi’s transformers business unit, said in an interview ahead of Friday’s announcement in London, Ont. “Because in every place where there is power generation and in every place where there is a connection, there is a transformer.”The 21,000-square-metre facility would be the first in Canada to produce pressboard — a material made from paper pulp that’s key to keeping transformers cool — and the first Hitachi would establish in the Americas. Currently in Canada that material sourced from Europe, Melles said.

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States remained unchanged this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US staying at 603, up 55 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs fell by 3, to 459 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 41 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 to 133, which is 12 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs rose by 2 to 11. The latest EIA data showed that weekly U. S. crude oil production fell during week ending October 9. US crude oil production averaged 13.679 million bpd during the reporting period, down from 13.979 million bpd last week and up just 43,000 bpd from a year ago. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose again during the week ending October 9—the fifth gain in as many weeks, and up 7 crews from the week prior at 203. The number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin fell by 2 during the reporting period, to 272. This is 21 rigs above year-ago levels.

The Nova Scotia government has laid charges against two businesses accused of buying illegally caught lobsters in the province. Two firms in southwestern Nova Scotia, Independent Fisheries in Lockeport, N. S., and a numbered company in Shelburne County are facing charges under the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act. The Department of Natural Resources says these charges follow a two-year investigation into the lobster trade. Both companies face charges for buying, selling or processing fish that were caught without a valid licence. The numbered company, 3329874 Nova Scotia Ltd., faces the same charges and an additional charge for buying, selling or marketing fish in Nova Scotia without the required licence. Neither firm could be reached for comment on Friday afternoon.

Published: October 16, 2026 at 1:21p.m. EDTRichard Orrell, portfolio manager at RN Croft Financial Group, shares his outlook on ETFs. Richard Orrell, Portfolio Manager, RN Croft Financial GroupFocus: ETFsTop Picks: TD U. S. Equity Index ETF, Vanguard FTSE Developed ex North America High Dividend Yield Index ETF, Franklin Bissett Ultra Short Bond Fund MARKET OUTLOOK:In recent client conversations, we’ve discussed a familiar wall of worry: trade policy and tariffs, persistent inflation, elevated energy costs, upcoming U. S. midterm elections, Middle East geopolitical tensions, and the trajectory of interest rates. While no strategy buys every bottom or sells every top, we can control how we execute our plan when volatility creates opportunities. With both U. S. and Canadian markets sitting near all-time highs, now is an ideal time to review your target asset allocation. Has equity drift pushed your portfolio out of alignment? Disciplined rebalancing and asset allocation remain your best defense for long-term growth. Normal market pullbacks of five per cent are expected; we generally evaluate strategic portfolio shifts around a 15 per cent equity drawdown.

New BrunswickA Canadian company claims in a lawsuit that it was months into negotiations and had signed letters of intent and exclusivity with the Port of Belledune when the authority pulled out from a project to manufacture explosives and revive mining. BlackPoint Industries claims prospective deal would have also led to mine developments in southKatelin Belliveau · CBC News · Posted: Oct 16, 2026 1:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. A lawsuit brought by BlackPoint Industries Inc. claims the Belledune Port Authority pulled out of a prospective deal when it was nearing a final agreement. (Mike Heenan/CBC)A Canadian company vying to build an explosives factory in northern New Brunswick and revive mining operations is suing the Belledune Port Authority and its president. The lawsuit, brought by BlackPoint Industries Inc., claims the port authority and Denis Caron pulled out of a prospective deal last month for a multibillion-dollar project.

Businesses involved in the environmental sector gathered in the capital city to discuss the issues affecting them.econext hosted a conference in St. John’s yesterday focused on the state of the green economy, sustainable development, and finding further growth in the sector. Chair of the Atlantic Economic Panel, Don Mills was among the guest speakers. He says focus needs to be on lobbying government to cut red tape and work with the provinces as one economy. Don Mills (VOCM News)“Business people are looking to streamline the process of getting things done. Approvals for projects, of course, are notoriously slow in this region and very bureaucratic.”“The thing that is interesting about econext is that they promote economic development coexisting with sustainable development and that’s kind of what we’re suggesting in the report itself.”

While roughly half of the population will experience menopause, many women in Canada struggle to find resources that can help them through this phase, a new report has found. Around four in 10 (40 per cent) Canadian women reported that they do not know where to seek menopause care, a new report by health care and insurance organization GreenShield says. The barriers are particularly striking for racialized women in Canada, 45 per cent of whom say they are unaware of where to seek help for perimenopause or menopause symptoms. Only one-third of racialized women said they had discussed their symptoms with a health professional, compared to roughly half of women respondents overall. While some workplaces have supports available for menopause, nearly one in four said those supports at their workplace were not “culturally appropriate.”