Bloc Québécois MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay is leaving his party’s caucus to run for the Parti Québécois in the fall provincial election. Savard-Tremblay officially left the Bloc today and is listed as an Independent on the House of Commons website. A source in the Parti Québécois who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Canadian Press that Savard-Tremblay will represent them in the Oct. 5 election. The news he is joining the PQ was first reported by Radio-Canada. The source says Savard-Tremblay will resign as a member of the House of Commons at the start of the summer break. The Parti Québécois communications office refused to officially confirm the information, but noted that leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will be in St-Hyacinthe, Que., on Friday to announce a candidate for the nomination in the riding.

The United States and Iran reached ​an agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Reuters, though U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve ‌it and Iranian state media said it had not been finalized. According to four sources familiar with the matter, the agreement would extend the truce for another 60 days and allow traffic to flow through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle difficult issues such as Iran's nuclear program. If approved by leadership in Washington and Tehran, it would amount to the biggest step towards peace since the conflict began on February 28. News of the possible agreement came after a round of tit-for-tat attacks between the two ​countries, the latest such incident since the ceasefire took effect in early April. Trump has not yet approved the deal, the sources said. Iran has yet to comment on news of the proposed ​deal, which was first reported by Axios.

L’organisme fédéral attribue principalement ce ralentissement à la hausse des importations d’or et à la faiblesse du secteur de l’extraction de ressources en mars. Le PIB réel a maintenant reculé pendant deux trimestres consécutifs – ce qui correspond à la définition d’une récession technique – bien qu’un examen attentif des données dresse un tableau plus contrasté de l’économie. Le PIB réel avait déjà diminué en octobre et en mars, mais la croissance était restée stable ou positive au cours des quatre mois intermédiaires. Sur une base trimestrielle, Statistique Canada indique que la croissance est demeurée pratiquement inchangée, mais que les faibles variations des chiffres trimestriels sont amplifiées lorsqu’elles sont annualisées.

Ousted BP Chairman Albert Manifold met with activist shareholder Elliott Management during his tenure without telling fellow board members directly, two sources ​with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. BP dismissed Manifold this week after less than eight months as chairman, sending BP's shares ‌plunging and dealing a blow to the leadership's attempt to prove that it had steadied the ship. BP cited governance and conduct issues when it ousted Manifold. BP hired Manifold last year to oversee its efforts to rebuild investor confidence after years of strategy and leadership changes and high debt. He replaced Helge Lund, whose shareholder support sagged before his ​exit.

Toms Capital Investment Management, an activist U.S. hedge fund, has built a ‌significant stake in McCormick & Co, according to sources familiar with the matter, at a time the U.S. food company is working on a prominent takeover deal. Run by Benjamin Pass, Toms Capital invested in McCormick during the second ​quarter after the spice company announced its planned acquisition of Unilever's food business, said ​the sources who were not permitted to discuss the matter publicly. The size of ⁠its stake and what Toms Capital intends to push for at McCormick could not immediately ​be learned. Unlike some activist investors, Toms Capital prefers to stay in the background and push for ​changes out of the limelight, rather than launching public and noisy campaigns.

Quebec political parties may not see eye-to-eye about a third referendum on independence, but Prime Minister Mark Carney has given them something they can agree on. In Quebec City on Wednesday, politicians of all stripes denounced Mr. Carney’s comments about what it would take to win a referendum. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said 50 per cent of votes plus one would not constitute a clear majority in a vote on separation. Those are fighting words in Quebec, where there is broad agreement that a simple majority is enough to declare victory in a sovereignty referendum. While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to hold a vote on whether her province should remain in Canada has so far earned a muted response in Quebec, Mr. Carney’s comments have provoked a reaction.

Iran targeted a U.S. ​air base in Kuwait on Thursday after the United States struck what Washington described as an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz and President Donald Trump rejected a ‌reported compromise deal with Tehran. The attacks, while limited, highlighted the fragility of negotiations to turn the tenuous early-April ceasefire into a lasting agreement to end the three-month-old war that has killed thousands, and reopen the vital shipping route. U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had shot down five Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a sixth. Kuwaiti forces had then intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the country, which hosts ​a large U.S. base.

Chinese online retailer Temu has been fined €200 million ($232 million) for not doing ​enough to stop the sale of illegal products, European Union tech regulators said on Thursday, ‌following the first part of a wide investigation. Further penalties could follow in the coming months as a result of a nearly two-year investigation under the Digital Services Act that requires large online companies to do more to tackle illegal and harmful ​content on their platforms. EU regulators investigated Temu following complaints by pan-European consumers' organisation BEUC and ​17 of its national members. The European Commission, the EU executive, said the company failed ⁠to diligently identify, analyse, and assess the systemic risks of illegal products sold on its platform and ​the resulting harm to consumers in the European Union.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called for “a new partnership” between Canada and the United States on Thursday, as Ottawa looks to get back to the negotiating table ahead of a crucial review of the continental trade agreement. In a high-profile speech at the Economic Club of New York, Mr. Carney spoke of the “mutual strength” that comes from the two countries’ integrated manufacturing supply chains and energy sectors. And he said Canada was open to more co-operation inside a “Fortress North America” on industries that are currently subject to hefty U.S. tariffs, including automobiles, steel and aluminum. “Canada strong will help make America great again,” he said. “Examples of where that’s true are legion, where we should work together and compete with the world together. And to those ends, we have made specific, practical proposals to the U.S. administration.”

Lors d’une conférence dans une colonie israélienne de Cisjordanie occupée et dont une vidéo a été transmise par une chaîne israélienne, le premier ministre a souligné que depuis l’entrée en vigueur du cessez-le-feu, « nous étions à 50 % [d’occupation du territoire]. Nous sommes passés à 60 %, ma directive est de passer à… ». Là-dessus, l’auditoire a lancé « 100 % ». Benyamin Nétanyahou a alors dit qu’il fallait y aller « dans l’ordre ». « D’abord 70 %. Commençons par ça, nous les tenons de tous les côtés. Nous nous occuperons du reste plus tard. » Le cessez-le-feu décrété le 10 octobre dernier à la grande fierté de Donald Trump apparaît plus fragile que jamais. Les attaques n’ont jamais cessé complètement depuis, Israël et le Hamas s’accusant mutuellement de violer la trêve.

A minority labour union at Samsung Electronics representing its consumer electronics workers will ask ​a South Korean court to suspend the implementation of ‌a pay deal that primarily benefits employees in the chip division, a lawyer said. Two other unions at the world's largest ​memory chip and TV maker, including its ​biggest union, voted to approve a pay deal this ⁠week that provides huge bonuses for workers in ​Samsung's memory chip division, which has seen profits soar ​amid the AI boom. The Samsung Electronics Co Union (SECU), which has about 13,000 members, mostly from the company's smartphone, TV and ​home appliances divisions, had initially filed an injunction ​to suspend the vote. The approval of the 11th-hour government-mediated agreement ‌averted ⁠a planned 18-day strike, but meant some employees outside the chip division did not fare as well.

Activist investor Voss Capital ​has urged Sempra to spin off its Oncor electricity unit, creating a high-growth Texas-focused utility unencumbered by the $60 ‌billion energy giant's predominant California business, according to sources familiar with the matter and a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday. The Houston-based hedge fund, which owns roughly 2 million shares, or less than 1%, of Sempra, argues that a newly independent Oncor Electric Delivery Company would be the highest-growth public transmission ​utility in the U.S., and could be worth as much as $78 billion by the end of 2028. Since Sempra controls ​around 80% of Oncor, its stake in the spinoff would be worth more than Sempra's current market ⁠value as a combined company, Voss said in the letter to its investors. It would make it easier for investors to understand Sempra, ​which Voss said is now unnecessarily complicated because it has three distinct businesses: its Southern California utility operations, Texas-based Oncor, and Sempra ​Infrastructure, which develops liquefied natural gas export facilities.

International Flavors & Fragrances has agreed to sell its food-ingredients business to buyout firm CVC Capital Partners in a deal that values the division at $4.3 billion including debt. IFF said Friday that it will retain a 10% stake in the division, partly to ensure continued cooperation between the company and the food-ingredients business. The stake will also allow IFF shareholders to benefit from any increase in the division’s value under CVC’s ownership, the company said. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that IFF was close to a deal with CVC. New York-based IFF makes a variety of products, ranging from scents for perfumes to ingredients used in food that can help digestion. It has a market value of close to $20 billion. 

Canada’s largest market watchdog is trying to drive a square peg through a round role in its greenwashing case against Som Seif and Purpose Investments Inc., Mr. Seif’s lawyer argued Wednesday during the second day of hearings into what is expected to be a months-long legal battle. The Ontario Securities Commission alleges that Purpose and Mr. Seif, one of Canada’s best-known money managers, made 19 false or misleading statements about environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing over several years. Proceedings before the Capital Markets Tribunal, an independent division of the OSC, began Tuesday and are scheduled to continue through September. Veteran securities lawyer Joseph Groia of Groia & Company, who is representing Mr. Seif, accused the OSC of presenting information “in a selective manner to construct a narrative that simply is not true.”

Pension funds and other asset owners are far more likely to back shareholder-led resolutions than asset managers, according to new research that shows voting results at corporate annual meetings often fail to reflect investors’ objectives on climate, diversity and human rights. Internationally, asset owners support proposals on sustainability-related issues at about a third higher rate than the managers they retain to handle some or all of their of their portfolios. Divergence in voting presents market and reputational risks for the asset owners, says the report from the proxy voting consultancy OxProx and Vancouver-based Kaivalya Research. The trends extend to Canada, though the disconnect in voting intentions is less pronounced, the research shows.

En commission parlementaire, elle a été bombardée de questions par l’opposition concernant un autre bourbier informatique, le Système d’information en finances et en approvisionnement (SIFA) du réseau de la santé. Mme Duranceau a défendu le bilan de son gouvernement en faisant valoir qu’une minorité de projets dépassait les échéances et les budgets. Mais des zones d’ombre demeurent nombreuses concernant le SIFA, critiqué durement notamment par l’Autorité des marchés publics (AMP).  Le projet actuellement suspendu en raison entre autres de l’explosion des coûts a fait l’objet d’au moins trois avertissements au gouvernement, incluant un audit, a-t-on indiqué en commission. Néanmoins, « Santé Québec considère que le projet doit aller de l’avant », a précisé Mme Duranceau.

An EU plan to gradually reduce the number of free CO2 permits given ‌to industries has hit resistance from six governments that have demanded looser rules to help firms cope with the energy price impact of the Iran war, a document seen by Reuters showed. The European Commission proposed new rules this ​month on the number of free emissions permits industries will receive until 2030. With concerns ​mounting about the faltering competitiveness of the 27-member European Union, Brussels said ⁠the change would have the overall impact of lowering the carbon costs industry has to ​pay by €4 billion ($4.66 billion) by the end of the decade, by reducing the number of free ​allocations handed out more slowly than initially expected. But Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have asked the Commission to instead freeze the number of the CO2 permits given out for free at last ​year's levels.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is in New York City Thursday to meet with business leaders as the relationship between Canada and the United States remains rocky ahead of a review of the continental trade pact. The Prime Minister’s Office has not identified the CEOs, entrepreneurs, business leaders and money managers Carney is expected to meet with to pitch Canada as an investment destination. Carney is also set to deliver remarks at the Economic Club of New York outlining Canada’s new economic strategy and the progress made so far. The trip comes as Mexican and American officials meet this week for negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico-Agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA.