HEADLINES
Carney Vows to Backstop Economy as U.S. Trade Row Escalates
Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will "do whatever it takes" to backstop regions and industrial sectors targeted by U.S. tariffs as the trade conflict between the neighboring and closely-integrated economies enters a precarious stage.
In an address posted on YouTube, Carney said retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion in U.S. goods that kicked in on Tuesday were necessary to protect domestic sectors and workers. "I don't believe in escalating the conflict," said Carney. "The harsh reality is that the American tariffs will hurt some Canadians or others, and that was by design."
As a result, "we will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to bridge those people" in affected sectors "to a better future," he said. Carney added that his Liberal government would in the meantime pursue policies that reduce dependence on trade with the U.S. to power growth, although warning this would present economic turbulence.
Bombardier Shares Slide as Trump Threatens U.S. Ban
Bombardier shares fell after President Trump threatened to block U.S. sales of its aircraft unless it shifts manufacturing south of the border, despite Bombardier's existing large U.S. footprint.
Shares declined 1.5% to settle at C$307.13.
The threat comes despite Bombardier's substantial footprint in the U.S., where the company said it spends more than $2.5 billion with suppliers each year. Trump's rhetoric marks an escalation in cross-border tensions, arriving just hours after Canada's $27.6 billion in retaliatory counter-tariffs officially took effect following the collapse of bilateral trade talks.
In a Labor Day post on Monday, President Trump on Truth Social accused the company of treating the U.S. like a "piggybank," while taking advantage of U.S. buyers, airports, and infrastructure.
Rubellite Energy Selling Alberta Natural Gas Asset Stake
Rubellite Energy said it is selling its 50% stake in its East Edson natural gas assets in West Central Alberta to the third-party operator for C$67 million.
Shares gained 5.9% to settle at C$4.46.
The Canadian energy company said total consideration for its nonoperated working interest will be paid by the purchaser in about 2.1 million common shares of Topaz Energy, another Canadian energy company.
Tourmaline Oil Sells Portion of Topaz Energy Stake
Enbridge Appoints Michele Harradence as Next CEO
Enbridge has appointed Michele Harradence as its next chief executive, effective at the start of 2027.
Harradence has led the Calgary, Alberta-based energy infrastructure and pipeline company's gas utilities since 2022, including guiding the integration of U.S. utility businesses. Before that, she was Enbridge's Gas Transmission and Midstream business' chief operating officer, based out of Houston.
She joined Enbridge in 2014 after having previously served in senior leadership roles with Shell Canada, the company said.
Tamarack Valley to Merge With Headwater Exploration in Over $7 Billion Deal
Tamarack Valley Energy agreed to merge with Headwater Exploration in an all-stock deal that the companies say would create Canada's largest pure-play oil producer focused on the Clearwater Formation.
Under the deal, valued at C$10 billion, Headwater shareholders will receive one Tamarack common share per each Headwater share held, the companies said. Tamarack will issue 237.8 million common to acquire all of Headwater's issued and outstanding common shares.
Tamarack shareholders will own 66.5% of the combined entity, which will be led by Tamarack's current management team. Headwater shareholders will own the remaining stake.
TALKING POINT
How Shopify's Push into AI Is Working Out
By Asa Fitch
Want to know whether going all-in on AI works for a large business? Watch Shopify.
Most established companies have come at AI with a dip-your-toes-in-the-water approach. They fear being disrupted by AI-infused competitors. But they are also wary of changing IT systems and business philosophies that have worked for decades.
Shopify and its chief, Tobias Lütke, have instead plunged in.
Shopify was quick to develop AI tools for customers, announcing an AI assistant called Sidekick in 2023. But the company has also looked inward at its use of AI. Early last year, Lütke wrote a memo to employees that explicitly made using AI a "baseline expectation" at the company, which makes software that helps retailers set up websites, process transactions and analyze their businesses.
That meant a few things. Employees' performance evaluations would include questions about their use of AI. The prototyping phases of new projects would be dominated by AI-aided exploration. And before hiring new employees, teams would have to demonstrate that they couldn't get the job done with AI instead.
Those moves may sound unremarkable now, but they were controversial at the time. The prevailing wisdom had been that companies should provide employees with AI tools to experiment with. Integrating AI deeply into daily work largely hadn't been a strict requirement.
So what have the results been?
Shopify's stock hasn't done well lately-it is down more than 15% this year, including a 7% fall in midday trading Tuesday amid a broader software selloff. And it is pricey, trading at around 57 times forward earnings.
From a business perspective, though, there have been gains. When AI began to take off in 2023, Shopify brought in about $7 billion of revenue. Analysts project revenue will reach more than $15 billion this year as the company grows its footprint in the U.S. and internationally. Shopify has also reduced its workforce over that time, from around 11,600 at the end of 2022 to 7,600 at the end of last year.
These days, Lütke is looking further into the future, preparing for a shift toward so-called "agentic commerce" where AI agents instead of humans search for and recommend products. Shopify is positioning itself at the center of that shift by offering a catalog of products offered by its merchants that OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI developers can easily tap in to for recommendations.
While it is still early days, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said on an analyst call last month that AI-driven traffic and orders to Shopify stores had tripled year-over-year in the second quarter.
Lütke said in a post on X in April that his memo a year earlier on embracing AI was evident in the company's products and how fast they were moving. "Everyone has agents as exoskeletons for their own creativity now and knows how to use them," he said.
Whether Lütke's all-in approach continues to work looks like a good barometer of AI's business-transforming potential.
Write to Asa Fitch at asa.fitch@wsj.com
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
06:00/JPN: Aug Preliminary Machine Tool Orders
06:45/FRA: Jul Industrial production index
11:00/US: 09/04 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
12:30/CAN: Jul Stocks of Canadian grain at July 31
12:55/US: 09/05 Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index
14:00/US: Aug Online Help Wanted Index
14:00/US: 2Q Quarterly Services
20:30/US: API Weekly Statistical Bulletin
23:01/UK: Aug RICS Residential Market Survey
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Wednesday Academy Sports & Outdoors Inc $(ASO)$ is expected to report $2.02 for 2Q.
AeroVironment Inc (AVAV) is expected to report $-0.48 for 1Q.
American Eagle Outfitters Inc $(AEO)$ is expected to report $0.22 for 2Q.
BMTC Group Inc (GBT.T) is expected to report for 2Q.
Bio-Path Holdings Inc $(BPTH)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Caleres Inc $(CAL)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Chewy Inc $(CHWY)$ is expected to report $0.18 for 2Q.
Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT) is expected to report $-0.03 for 2Q.
Cooper Cos $(COO)$ is expected to report for 3Q.
Core & Main Inc $(CNM)$ is expected to report $0.76 for 2Q.
Culp Inc $(CULP)$ is expected to report $0.23 for 1Q.
Destination XL Group Inc (DXLG) is expected to report $-0.04 for 2Q.
JJill Inc $(JILL)$ is expected to report $0.58 for 2Q.
Kewaunee Scientific Corp $(KEQU)$ is expected to report for 1Q.
Korn Ferry $(KFY)$ is expected to report $1.35 for 1Q.
Lakeland Industries Inc (LAKE) is expected to report $-0.06 for 2Q.
Limoneira Co (LMNR) is expected to report $0.18 for 3Q.
National Beverage Corp (FIZZ) is expected to report $0.59 for 1Q.
Navan Inc $(NAVN)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
NioCorp Developments Ltd (NB,NBD-T) is expected to report $-0.04 for 4Q.
North West Co Inc (NWC.T) is expected to report for 2Q.
ODDITY Tech Ltd $(ODD)$ is expected to report $0.03 for 2Q.
Obsidian Therapeutics Inc (OBX) is expected to report for 2Q.
Optical Cable Corp $(OCC)$ is expected to report for 3Q.
Perma-Pipe International Holdings Inc $(PPIH)$ is expected to report $0.55 for 2Q.
SailPoint Inc $(SAIL)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Silver Bull Resources Inc (SVB.T) is expected to report for 3Q.
Skillsoft Corp $(SKIL)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Transcontinental Inc - Class A (TCL.A.T,TCL.B.T,TCLAF) is expected to report $0.37 for 3Q.
Wealthfront Corp $(WLTH)$ is expected to report for 2Q.
Powered by Factset and Dow Jones.
We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https:\\newsplus.wsj.com/ subscriptions.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
Comments