Canadian burger chain A+W cites “poor winter weather” in most regions and “economic challenges” in its Alberta and Saskatchewan markets for flat sales in its first quarter. The Vancouver-based burger and root beer chain on Tuesday booked total sales of $245.16 million for the quarter ending March 26, up 0.6 per cent from $243.8 million […] Read more
Weather, ‘economic challenges’ drag on A+W sales
Pacific trade pact nations meet to discuss future without U.S.
Ottawa | Reuters — Negotiators from the remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) gathered in Canada on Tuesday seeking ways to boost free trade in the region after the U.S. pulled out of the 12-nation pact. The withdrawal killed off years of negotiations and left the region looking for ways to deepen economic ties […] Read more
Ontario budget seeks tax flexibility for on-farm processing
The Ontario government has balanced its budget for the first time in since 2008 — but Thursday’s budget contained little news for agriculture and rural Ontario. Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s budget mostly highlighted agriculture programs that had already been announced, and maintains $100 million in funding for the provincial Risk Management Program, which helps offsets […] Read more
Trump tells Canada, Mexico he won’t terminate NAFTA treaty yet
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, a White House said. The announcement came after White House officials disclosed that Trump and his advisers […] Read more
White House readies order to quit NAFTA
Washington | Reuters — The White House is considering a draft executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday. It was unclear whether the order would be enacted by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to pull out from the U.S./Mexico/Canada trade […] Read more
Subway says it shut hundreds of U.S. restaurants last year
Reuters — U.S. sandwich chain Subway Restaurants said on Thursday it shut 359 restaurants in the U.S. last year, amid stiff competition in a highly fragmented fast-food industry. Subway, owned by Doctor’s Associates, is the world’s largest fast-food chain by number of restaurants. It had 26,744 locations operating in the U.S. at the end of […] Read more
Bird flu redirects trade flow of U.S. chicken, eggs, grains
Chicago | Reuters –– Global outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have altered the flow of U.S. chicken meat, eggs and grain around the world, adding to challenges faced by domestic exporters and giving a leg up to Brazil, which has so far escaped the disease. Different strains of avian flu have been detected across […] Read more
FCC sees increase in Canadian farmland values slowing
Farmland values in Canada, on average, appreciated in 2016 — and while it was less of an increase than the year before, the gain easily beat a bank GIC. Land prices here in Manitoba, which have been rising steadily since 1992, on average gained 12 per cent in both 2015 and 2014. But after four […] Read more
Talks wrap on new Canadian internal trade deal
Farm groups across Canada expect a new interprovincial trade agreement to clear paths for more trade in Canadian-grown agrifood and other farmed products within the country, reducing the need for imports. Federal, provincial and territorial ministers on Friday announced they’ve concluded talks on a new Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), which on July 1 will […] Read more
Wireless providers ordered to set up alert system
Canada’s wireless providers have until April 2018 to set up wireless public alerting systems on LTE networks. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Thursday issued a directive to that effect to all wireless service providers. The alert system would allow emergency management officials to warn Canadians via mobile devices of “dangers to life […] Read more