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The United States and European Union on Friday released an action plan to coordinate trade policies and measures on critical minerals supply chains, with a view to concluding a binding plurilateral agreement at a future date. The plan does not specifically mention China but comes as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to work with Western allies to loosen China's grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing. China has used its chokehold on the processing of many minerals as geo-economic leverage, at times curbing exports, suppressing prices and undercutting other countries' ability to diversify sources of the materials used to make semiconductors, electric vehicles and advanced weapons.
Europe's "biggest, most important question" is whether the United States is ready to be a loyal NATO partner in case of a Russian attack, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told the Financial Times. He also called for the European Union to become a "real alliance" in protecting the continent, reflecting growing worries about U.S. President Donald Trump's unpredictable policies and threats towards his European partners."For the whole eastern flank, my neighbours... the question is if NATO is still an organisation ready, politically and also logistically, to react, for example against Russia if they try to attack," he said in an interview published in the British newspaper on Friday.
Des représentants américains se sont plaints cette semaine de la décision de provinces canadiennes de suspendre la vente d’alcool en provenance des États-Unis. Le négociateur américain, Jamieson Greer, a même menacé le Canada d’autres actions si la mesure de boycottage canadienne persiste, mercredi. Mais Mark Carney n’a pas l’intention de dire aux provinces quoi faire, a-t-il affirmé lorsqu’il a été questionné par les journalistes sur les doléances américaines. Le premier ministre a souligné que le Canada avait ses propres plaintes envers la Maison-Blanche. « Écoutez, vous savez ce qui est irritant ? Des tarifs de 50 % sur l’acier, de 50 % sur l’aluminium, de 25 % sur les automobiles. Tous les tarifs sur les produits forestiers. C’est plus que des irritants. Ce sont des violations de notre accord commercial », a-t-il lâché.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson says the government has approved Enbridge Inc.’s $4-billion Sunrise project in B.C. The plan will see an expansion of the company’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system. The project includes the addition of about 139 kilometres of new pipeline by constructing 11 pipeline looping segments, parallel to the existing line. It will add up to 300 million cubic feet per day of transportation capacity on B.C.’s major natural gas transmission system. The government says the increase will help ensure B.C. has enough gas supply as LNG export facilities like Woodfibre LNG come online. Construction is expected to begin this summer.
Netflix shareholders are set to vote on a number of proposals during the upcoming annual meeting of the Netflix Board of Directors. Including two that focus on subjects that are of great interest to politically conservative groups and critics of the company. The first proposal (proposal #5 on the agenda) asks for the issuance of an ESG ROI report. The proposal requests that the Board of Directors publish a report disclosing the extent to which the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investments identified in the 2024 ESG Report were authorized and are maintained based on Net Present Value (NPV) and Return on Investment (ROI) calculations. The proposal argues Netflix is devoting financial resources to ESG projects which don’t provide a reasonable rate of return.
Newly appointed directors at Monte dei Paschi di Siena were set on Thursday to hand all key board positions to supporters of reinstated Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio, a person close to the matter said. Investors in Monte dei Paschi (MPS) voted on April 15 to bring Lovaglio back at the helm, reversing a shock decision by the outgoing board of directors in March to oust him as CEO following a boardroom and shareholder clash over plans for Mediobanca, which MPS acquired last year. At the April 15 annual shareholder meeting, Lovaglio's supporters - led by small investor PLT Holding - got enough votes to secure eight board seats. Their opponents were awarded six on the 15-strong board.
Andy Higginson quit as chair of JD Sports this week after pushing for chief executive Régis Schultz to be ousted and failing to win unanimous backing for the move from the FTSE 100 retailer’s board. Higginson made representations to members of the board that Schultz should be replaced as JD chief after a three-and-a-half-year tenure in which the sportswear business has reported slowing sales and struggled in its key North American market, according to four people familiar with the matter. While some directors agreed with Higginson, it was not a unanimously held view, the people added.
Le jeu de chaises musicales est loin d’être fini au Port de Montréal. Après l’exode à la haute direction, plus de la moitié du conseil d’administration – l’organe responsable de choisir le prochain capitaine et de le surveiller – se prépare à quitter le navire. « Ce sont des remous importants, analyse Alexandra Langelier, vice-présidente exécutive de l’Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques (IGOPP). Il risque d’y avoir des courbes d’apprentissage pour beaucoup de personnes en même temps. »
Verra-t-on le jour où les actionnaires se prononceront annuellement sur les politiques environnementales des grandes sociétés cotées en Bourse ? Cette proposition du Mouvement d’éducation et de défense des actionnaires (MÉDAC) obtient l’appui de plusieurs investisseurs, mais elle ne fait pas l’unanimité. Le président-directeur général de l’Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques (IGOPP), François Dauphin, croit que le vote consultatif, qui a souvent un fort taux d’appui, n’est pas une bonne manière de mobiliser les entreprises sur un enjeu. « Une fois que les actionnaires se sont prononcés en faveur de la politique environnementale, il n’y a plus lieu de faire d’efforts supplémentaires », selon lui. Il donne l’exemple des votes consultatifs sur la rémunération, qui n’a pas eu de conséquences sur la rémunération des hauts dirigeants. « Ça n’a pas eu l’effet escompté de réduire ou de contraindre la rémunération des hauts dirigeants, juge-t-il. Au contraire, ça a continué de s’enflammer. » « On a peur que le même principe s’applique au climat », ajoute-t-il.
The European Union formally approved on Thursday a 90-billion-euro ($105-billion) loan to Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia, ahead of an informal summit of the bloc's leaders in Cyprus which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend. The loan is set to cover two-thirds of Ukraine's needs for the next two years. Economists had said Ukraine would start to run out of money by June if the EU loan was not disbursed by then, requiring deep cuts to public services. "We are on our way to Cyprus with good news," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.
SpaceX is telling prospective investors its board will not need a majority of directors who are independent of the company, according to an excerpt of its IPO filing reviewed by Reuters, underscoring how founder Elon Musk is retaining control of the rocket and artificial intelligence maker. In a departure from the vast majority of public companies, SpaceX said it would maintain "controlled company status" after its $1.75 trillion IPO, expected this summer. That means it will not need a majority of it board to be independent, nor need independent compensation and nominating committees, the filing excerpt showed. It only must have an audit committee composed entirely of independent directors, the document stated.
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney warned that while he believes the province’s secessionist movement isn’t likely to succeed, national unity could soon face a serious stress test if frustration with Ottawa drives more people to reject federalism. Onstage at The Globe and Mail’s Intersect 2026 conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Mr. Kenney described Quebec’s five-decade-long sovereignty debate as a “sterile, pointless political civil war” that has devastated its economy. He said Alberta would likely march down the same path if independence gathers even minority support on a potential fall referendum ballot. “If they get enough of these frustrated federalists voting for leverage and you get, I don’t know, 20-, 30-, 35-per-cent yes, that creates a permanent divisive fact in our politics,” Mr. Kenney said in response to a question by Globe columnist Andrew Coyne.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says the government is closely following whether Canadian airlines will pass along savings to consumers from a gas tax suspension, but he could not guarantee they would. In response to volatile oil prices amid U.S.-Iran tensions, the federal government is suspending the federal fuel excise tax on gas and diesel until Labour Day. This means an excise tax of four cents per litre on aviation fuel and 10 cents per litre on unleaded aviation gasoline will be temporarily paused. Speaking to CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday, MacKinnon would not answer directly on whether the federal government secured any reassurances from airlines that any cost relief would be passed onto consumers.
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It took a few days to close thousands of Middle East oil wells early in the Iran war. The prolonged closure of the Persian Gulf means it will take months or even years for energy flows to recover. Traffic in and out of the Persian Gulf remains close to a standstill, with the U.S. and Iran locked in a tanker war and diplomatic efforts on ice. Brent crude prices shot back above $100 a barrel this week as oil-hungry sectors across the world came to grips with a closure that is lasting much longer than originally feared. Analysts and oil industry executives say prospects for a speedy resumption of Gulf crude supplies are worsening. Even if the strait opens tomorrow, the damage to the global economy will be long lasting.
Ottawa will restore the position of envoy for women, peace and security in the coming weeks, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Thursday, reversing a decision that allowed the position to expire more than a year ago. Speaking at the Ottawa Civic Space Summit, Anand said the role links Canada’s longtime support for sexual rights and combatting gender-based violence with a new focus on defence. “In the coming weeks I hope to announce a new women, peace and security ambassador for Canada,” Anand said. “This is an area where we’re able to combine the importance of women and girls in our foreign policy with defence and security.”
Canadian AI company Cohere has signed a deal with Germany’s Aleph Alpha in a bid to create an independent alternative artificial intelligence company. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available. The companies say it will function as a transatlantic AI powerhouse, anchored in both Canada and Germany. Aidan Gomez, Cohere’s co-founder and chief executive, says combining the strengths of Cohere and Aleph Alpha accelerates their global expansion and advances their mission to deliver sovereign AI to countries around the world. The companies aim to deliver a secure alternative for customized AI in highly regulated sectors.
BP faced a shareholder revolt as investors used its annual general meeting to express their frustration, rejecting two of the energy major’s resolutions. The oil major’s chairman, Albert Manifold, was elected Thursday with 81.8% of the vote at his first AGM, according to preliminary data. His election comes as BP is in the process of a strategic reset and is pouring money back into fossil-fuel exploration and production. At the meeting, investors expressed frustration over the company’s approach to climate disclosures and corporate governance, rejecting two of its proposals.
Warner Bros Discovery shareholders on Thursday backed the company's proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, but cast an advisory vote against executive compensation plans tied to the deal. Under the pay packages proposed to executives, CEO David Zaslav could receive up to $887 million if the sale is completed. Proxy advisor ISS had said Zaslav's potential payout was "extremely large". "Management now faces a twofold challenge: securing (regulatory) approval for the deal and proving it can create long-term value without fuelling concerns around excessive pay," PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said. With shareholder approval secured, attention now turns to regulatory authorities, with both Washington and London expected to examine the merger's impact on competition.
What makes a good board director? At Swatch Group, the question has taken on fresh relevance. The Swiss-listed watchmaker sits at the centre of a governance debate amid a battle over board representation. The company owns some of the best-known names in the industry, from Omega and Longines to Breguet and Tissot. It helped rescue Swiss watchmaking in the 1980s and remains a symbol of industrial Switzerland. It also has been struggling. Its shares have fallen by more than 40 per cent in the past decade, although they are up about 6 per cent since the start of the year. Net profit plunged almost 90 per cent last year to just SFr25mn — on top of a 75 per cent drop in 2024. Morgan Stanley has estimated the company has lost market share in some areas — although the company has strongly disputed the bank’s figures.
The federal agency overseeing the Port of Montreal is set to undergo a major shakeup of its board of directors, causing further upheaval in the organization after the mysterious departure of its chief executive earlier this month. The process of finding a new CEO could be complicated by the board changes, said François Dauphin, president of Montreal’s Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations. That’s a lot of “institutional memory” leaving at one time, he said.
US asset manager Voya Financial is facing pressure from an activist investor to sell all or parts of its $1.1tn pension and insurance products empire, as a wave of consolidation sweeps the industry. Toms Capital Investment Management, a US-based hedge fund, has built a position in Voya encouraging the company to consider putting itself up for sale or offloading its underperforming health insurer arm, according to people familiar with the matter. The hedge fund believes Voya’s business insuring employers against health benefit claims is dragging down the wider company, the people said. The so-called stop-loss business ran a $10mn operating loss in the last quarter of 2025.
Britain's King Charles heads to the United States next week for the most high-profile trip of his reign so far, on a mission to shore up the future of the two allies' "special relationship" which the Iran war has plunged to its lowest point in 70 years. The state visit marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaration of independence from British rule, when the then 13 American colonies decided to split from King George III, Charles's five-times-great-grandfather. For Charles, it will be a moment to reflect on how Britain and the United States have come together since then to forge some of the world's closest security, military and economic ties, while for U.S. President Donald Trump it will be another chance to indulge his love of the British royals.
European Union leaders will discuss the bloc's mutual assistance clause at a summit in Cyprus on Thursday, as U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of traditional allies raises concerns over his commitment to NATO at a time of growing insecurity. The clause, contained in the treaty that underpins the EU, obliges countries to come to the aid of a fellow member if it comes under attack. But officials say there are currently no clear rules about how it should work in practice. Worries about Trump's criticism of NATO for failing to back the United States' war with Iran along with his threats earlier this year to seize Greenland from ally Denmark have created greater urgency to more clearly define the EU's mutual assistance provisions.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Wednesday that a Quebec law delaying the adoption of a new electoral map is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Richard Wagner announced the 7-2 ruling in the afternoon, after the top court heard the case in the morning. Quebec’s next provincial election is on Oct. 5. The Supreme Court will publish its reasons at a later date. The ruling upholds a judgment last December from the Quebec Court of Appeal. The case on the composition of Quebec’s 125 ridings and who has the final say on the boundaries illustrates the political tension over population declines in some regions and gains in others. Any changes must ensure all votes are accorded what a 1991 Supreme Court precedent called “effective representation.”
La flambée des prix du kérosène a contraint une nouvelle compagnie aérienne canadienne à réduire son programme de vols. Transat annonce qu’elle supprimera des centaines de vols prévus en raison des chocs énergétiques provoqués par la guerre au Moyen-Orient. L’entreprise montréalaise, propriétaire d’Air Transat, indique mercredi qu’elle réduira sa capacité de 6 % de mai à octobre, période qui couvre la saison estivale, cruciale pour le transport aérien. Transat prévoit de réduire la fréquence des vols sur certaines liaisons vers l’Europe et les Caraïbes et de prolonger la suspension de ses services vers Cuba jusqu’en octobre, dans le contexte du blocus énergétique américain imposé à l’île. Air Transat avait prévu 129 vols vers 4 destinations cubaines entre le 20 juin – date à laquelle la période de suspension devait initialement prendre fin – et la fin octobre.
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