HEADLINES

Brookfield is Raising $10 Billion for New AI Infrastructure Fund

Brookfield Asset Management is launching a new strategy aimed at investing in infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence, executives told The Wall Street Journal.

Chip maker Nvidia and sovereign-wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority plan to invest in the firm's inaugural fund as founding partners.

Brookfield is targeting $10 billion in equity for its new AI infrastructure fund and has already raised $5 billion of that from investors including Nvidia, KIA and Brookfield's own balance sheet.

Metro Quarterly Earnings Squeezed by Frozen-Food Distribution Center Shutdown

Metro's food and pharmaceutical sales rose in latest quarter, but the Canadian grocer's earnings were dented troubles at a frozen-food distribution center.

Metro's fourth-quarter income slipped to C$217 million, or C$1 a share, from C$219.9 million, or C$0.98, a year earlier.

The company absorbed a C$22.5 million after-tax hit during the period after a refrigeration problem at a distribution center in Toronto meant the frozen-food operation was halted in mid-September.

Canada Caught In a 'Vicious Circle' of Weak Productivity, Bank of Canada Official Says

Canada is caught in a "vicious circle" of weak productivity that won't be broken without a regulatory overhaul to make the economy more conducive to business investment, a senior Bank of Canada official said.

Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent is the latest senior central bank policymaker to sound the alarm on the need to reverse Canada's decades-long productivity slump, which he said is holding back wage growth and making the economy less resilient to shocks, like the abrupt shift in U.S. trade policy. He also made the link between improved productivity and keeping a lid on inflation.

"If we want to make things more affordable, we need to raise our income, " Vincent said on Wednesday, according to prepared remarks set for delivery in Quebec City. "And the way to grow our income is by increasing productivity."

Carney to Woo Foreign Investment During Trip to United Arab Emirates

Mark Carney will be hunting big game during his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates later this week, seeking to build relationships with massive investment funds and deep-pocketed companies as Canada looks beyond the United States for economic growth, The Globe and Mail reported.

The Prime Minister hopes wealthy Gulf investors will see new value in Canada now that Ottawa is pledging to speed up approvals for major resource and infrastructure projects.

The Gulf region, with its trillions of investment capital, is one of several priority regions for Canada, along with Europe and Asia, as it seeks to diversify trade away from the increasingly unreliable U.S. under President Donald Trump, and attract foreign investment in energy, infrastructure, artificial intelligence and resources.

Air Canada and Emirates to Extend Partnership with Multi-Year Expansion Agreement

Air Canada is expanding and extending its partnership with Emirates Airline, offering connections for passengers of the two carriers as well as increased cooperation on cargo shipments.

The Canadian airline said a memorandum of understanding has been signed to extend the reciprocal codeshare and loyalty-program alliance until the end of 2032.

The commitment by the airlines builds on a three-year-old agreement, which since its launch has connected travellers on 56 codeshare routes linking Canada, the U.S., Dubai and other destinations.

Ottawa, Alberta Close to Deal That Includes Oil Pipeline to B.C. Coast, Sources Say

Ottawa and Alberta appear close to striking an energy accord long sought by Premier Danielle Smith to boost her province's oil and natural gas sector, with Privy Council Clerk Michael Sabia playing a key role in the negotiations, two sources told The Globe and Mail.

Two federal insiders said the broad outlines of the agreement, which would take the form of a memorandum of understanding, involve an oil pipeline running from Alberta to the northwest coast of British Columbia.

On the table to support it would be a limited exemption to the current ban on oil tankers on the B.C. coast, a plan to move ahead with changes to industrial carbon pricing in support of scaling up carbon capture technology, and a lowering or removal of the industrial emissions cap.

Choice Properties Renews Unit Buyback Program

Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has the go-ahead from the Toronto Stock Exchange for a program to buy back up to about 10% of the trust's units over a 12-month period.

The Canadian real estate investment trust said Wednesday the exchange accepted its plans for a normal course issuer bid, allowing it to buy as many as 24.4 million trust units through Nov. 20, 2026.

Under the buyback program set to expire Thursday, Choice Properties has purchased 282,657 of the up-to 27.6 million units it was approved to buy.

TALKING POINT

Ottawa's Openness to Saab Fighter Jets Poses Test to U.S.-Canada Defense Partnership

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--The Canadian government's decision over whether to buy fighter jets from Sweden's Saab is shaping up as a test on how far Ottawa is willing to reorient its economic and security interests away from the U.S. to other like-minded allies in Europe.

Sweden is currently deploying the diplomatic equivalent of heavy artillery for its recent trade mission to persuade Ottawa to buy some of Saab's Gripen fighter jets, instead of going all in with a deal to buy up to 88 of Lockheed Martin's F-35s for the Canadian air force. The Swedish king and queen, deputy prime minister, defense minister and a phalanx of corporate dealmakers from the Nordic country have all descended on Canada for the cause.

Canada says the purchase of Gripen jets is under consideration, as Sweden is pledging to create jobs here and give a boost to companies such as Montreal's Bombardier. The ultimate decision could deepen a row with the U.S., whose officials have warned of repercussions should Ottawa walk back from its commitment to buy American-made fighter aircraft.

Canada's fighter jet consideration was reopened earlier this year, when Prime Minister Mark Carney, in one of his first acts in the role, ordered a review of a 2023 deal Ottawa reached with Lockheed Martin to purchase the F-35s. Carney cited changing geopolitics, driven by President Trump's trade policy, and a desire to have more defense manufacturing in Canada. Canada is set to take delivery of an initial 16 F-35s by 2028, with the rest coming by the end of 2032.

However, the episode raises some questions about the future of the U.S.-Canada security partnership.

"Carney has made some very definitive comments about the relationship with the U.S., and how the era of deeper economic and security cooperation is over," said David Perry, a military analyst and president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "If this review of the fighter-jet competition is part of that, then what other defense projects are being reviewed, because we are buying a lot of stuff from the U.S."

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia arrived in Ottawa on Tuesday for a trip that Sweden's foreign ministry said was aimed at promoting trade and investment. Canadian officials say they are keen about Saab's proposal to create 10,000 jobs in Canada's aerospace sector, so long as Ottawa buys some Gripen.

"We're really interested in seeing what can be done," said Melanie Joly, Canada's industry minister, on the Swedish pitch. She said the F-35 deal, as currently constructed, doesn't offer enough economic benefits for Canada.

"We think that we can use military procurement to get more," Joly said, "and that is why we're indeed looking at the Gripen, and we're having conversations with Saab."

She was part of the Liberal government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that concluded the F-35 deal, following a yearslong procurement process that military analysts say was rigorous.

A spokeswoman for Lockheed Martin said over 100 Canadian companies contribute goods and services toward the F-35's supply chain. She added that Lockheed Martin expects the building of F-35s to deliver about $11 billion in industrial benefits to Canada, on the condition Canada acquires 88 of the aircraft.

Spokespeople for Saab didn't respond to queries or a request for an interview. Chief Executive Micael Johansson spoke about Saab's Canadian proposal in interviews with Canadian media outlets. A spokesman for Bombardier said the company and Saab are in talks about a joint venture to build Gripen fighter jets in Canada.

Sweden's deputy prime minister, Ebba Busch, told Canada's CTV News on Tuesday that Saab "can match what is needed for the Canadian interest." Busch added that Sweden "stands here with open arms, with a truly competitive proposition on the table."

The pitch to Canada is part of a broader Saab effort to expand the market for its aircraft. Earlier this month, the company received an order for 17 Gripen fighter jets from Colombia in a deal valued at $3.6 billion.

Trump's chief envoy in Ottawa, Pete Hoekstra, has warned that mixing Saab Gripens with F-35s "might threaten" the future of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad. In previous remarks, he added that the uncertainty over Canada's F-35 purchase is posing hurdles toward a resolution on the U.S.-Canada trade row.

Perry, the military analyst, said the air force would generally prefer one fighter-jet model as this avoids duplication in providing maintenance and purchasing parts. Perry said the time to secure further financial commitments was during the previous fighter-jet procurement process, which took years to conduct and was more onerous than most other countries that were looking to upgrade their air forces.

"I thought Canada's generally been unhappy with people taking legal agreements and deciding that the terms of them suddenly aren't favorable enough," Perry said.

Write to Paul Vieira at [paul.vieira@wsj.com]

Expected Major Events for Thursday

00:01/UK: BRC Consumer Sentiment Monitor

05:00/JPN: Oct Convenience Store Sales

07:00/GER: Oct PPI

11:00/UK: Oct Aluminium Production report

11:00/FRA: 3Q OECD Quarterly National Accounts: GDP growth

11:00/UK: Nov CBI Industrial Trends Survey

13:00/RUS: Weekly International Reserves

13:30/US: Sep U.S. Employment Report

13:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales

13:30/US: Nov Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey

13:30/CAN: Sep Employment Insurance

13:30/CAN: Oct Industrial product and raw materials price indexes

13:30/US: 11/15 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims

15:00/US: 3Q Advance Quarterly Services (No data during govt shutdown)

15:00/US: Oct Leading Indicators (No data during govt shutdown)

15:00/US: Oct Existing Home Sales

15:30/US: 11/14 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

16:00/US: Nov Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Survey of Tenth District Manufacturing

21:30/US: Foreign Central Bank Holdings

21:30/US: Federal Discount Window Borrowings

23:30/JPN: Oct CPI (Nation), CPI ex-food (Nation)

23:50/JPN: Oct Provisional Trade Statistics for the Month

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Thursday

Atkore Inc $(ATKR)$ is expected to report $1.02 for 4Q.

Bath & Body Works Inc $(BBWI)$ is expected to report $0.39 for 3Q.

Cato Corp - A Share $(CATO)$ is expected to report for 3Q.

Construction Partners Inc (ROAD) is expected to report $1.10 for 4Q.

Copart Inc $(CPRT)$ is expected to report $0.41 for 1Q.

ESCO Technologies Inc $(ESE)$ is expected to report $1.60 for 4Q.

Elastic NV $(ESTC)$ is expected to report $-0.11 for 2Q.

Gap Inc $(GAP)$ is expected to report $0.57 for 3Q.

Geospace Technologies Corp $(GEOS)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Intuit Inc $(INTU)$ is expected to report $1.25 for 1Q.

Jacobs Solutions Inc $(J)$ is expected to report $1.51 for 4Q.

Liquidity Services Inc (LQDT) is expected to report $0.20 for 4Q.

Magnera Corp $(MAGN)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Matthews International Corp - Class A $(MATW)$ is expected to report $-0.02 for 4Q.

Maximus Inc $(MMS)$ is expected to report $1.39 for 4Q.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc $(NGVC)$ is expected to report $0.01 for 4Q.

NetEase Inc - ADR (K3MD.SG,NTES) is expected to report $2.88 for 3Q.

New Fortress Energy LLC (NFE) is expected to report $-0.76 for 3Q.

Newcore Gold Ltd (NCAU.V) is expected to report for 3Q.

Post Holdings Inc (POST) is expected to report $1.84 for 4Q.

Real Matters Inc (REAL.T) is expected to report $0.00 for 4Q.

Ross Stores Inc $(ROST)$ is expected to report $1.41 for 3Q.

Shoe Carnival Inc (SCVL) is expected to report $0.92 for 3Q.

UGI Corp $(UGI)$ is expected to report $-0.38 for 4Q.

Veeva Systems Inc $(VEEV)$ is expected to report $1.34 for 3Q.

Walmart Inc $(WMT)$ is expected to report $0.60 for 3Q.

Warner Music Group Corp (WMG) is expected to report $0.31 for 4Q.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2025 16:39 ET (21:39 GMT)

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