Canada's main stock index suffered its worst day of the year on Thursday, May 23, 2019, as trade uncertainty and a big drop in oil prices weighed heavily on the energy sector.
Suncor Energy Inc. is reporting first-quarter net income that beat analyst expectations thanks to higher oil prices, record downstream results, more oilsands production and a $264-million insurance gain on its assets in Libya.
Alberta's two main political leaders used the only election debate to drill in on trust, with Jason Kenney saying Rachel Notley can't run the economy and Notley saying Kenney's moral compass needs a major readjustment.
A third-quarter update from the Alberta government forecasts a budget deficit almost $2 billion lower than originally forecast due in part to higher than expected bitumen royalties.
The head of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. has voiced his discomfort at the idea of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley's recent production curtailments, designed to draw down a glut of trapped crude oil and decrease the differential between western Canadian and U.S. benchmark oil prices.
Alberta is asking for private companies to put forward expressions of interest in building new refining capacity in the oil-producing province, one of several steps to deal with what Premier Rachel Notley called "an extraordinary and punishing oil price crisis."
Quebec's finance minister brushed off complaints from Alberta on Monday, December 10, 2018, about his province's share of the federal equalization-funding pie, calling them pre-election posturing in the Prairie province.
Canada's main stock index began the week higher as Alberta production cuts helped to lift oil prices to their largest gain since June, while investors felt relief from a preliminary trade truce between the U.S. and China.
President Donald Trump says Saudi Arabia's king "might not be there for two weeks" without U.S. military support, further increasing his pressure on one of America's closest Mideast allies over rising oil prices.
Rising oil prices that encouraged more spending by small and intermediate oil and gas companies in Western Canada in the first six months of 2018 are expected to lead drilling budgets to grow even further this fall.