HEADLINES

Inflation Cools Slightly to 2.3% in January

There was a little less heat in Canadian consumer inflation to start the year than anticipated thanks to a sharp drop in prices at the pump.

The consumer-price index was unchanged during January, leaving annual inflation running at 2.3%, Statistics Canada said. Economists had been expecting the year-over-year pace to hold steady after accelerating to 2.4% in December.

Headline inflation has been inside the Bank of Canada's 1% to 3% target for the last two years, and January showed further evidence of a deceleration in core measures closely tracked by policymakers. The central bank has signalled there is a high bar to any further move on interest rates, and the latest data isn't expected to shift its thinking, but does suggest it would have room to act if needed.

Canaccord Genuity's Profit, Revenue Rise

Canaccord Genuity said active metals and mining markets in Australia helped life revenue and profit in the fiscal third quarter.

Shares gained 10.2% to settle at C$13.28.

The company late on Friday, the last trading day before the Family Day long weekend, posted earnings of C$0.36 a share, up from C$0.17 a share the year prior, beating forecasts of $0.28 a share according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 37% to C$616.1 million, topping analyst expectations of C$518.1 million.

Trilogy Metals Posts Widened 2025 Loss While Permitting Process Continues

Trilogy Metals reported a widened loss in 2025 as it continues to advance the permitting of its project in Alaska.

Shares dropped 11.8%, settling at C$5.03.

The mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing large copper-rich deposits in northwestern Alaska logged a loss of $42.2 million, compared with a loss of $8.6 million a year ago.

On a per-share basis, this was a loss of 26 cents compared with a loss of 5 cents.

The widened loss is largely due to a noncash hit tied to how the company has to account for the U.S. government's investment deal.

Wholesale Sales Climb 2% in December

Canadian wholesale trade rebounded in the final month of 2025 with a recovery in motor vehicle sales, capping a solid year for the industry.

Wholesale sales rose 2.0% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted C$86.14 billion, Statistics Canada said. This was broadly in line with the data agency's advance estimate for a 2.1% jump following the November's 1.8% slump in sales.

The strong finish to the year brought the value of wholesale trade over 2025 to C$1.024 trillion, a 2.9% increase over the prior year, thanks in part to gains by the food industry on the back of increased sales volumes and prices.

Sherritt International Shares Fall as Cuban Fuel Shortage Forces Operations Pause

Sherritt International shares fell sharply after it said it will halt operations in Cuba due to a nationwide fuel shortage.

Shares slid 15.9%, ending at C$0.17.

The Canadian mining company said its joint venture in Moa, Cuba, won't be receiving scheduled fuel deliveries and doesn't know when they will start back up again.

Sherritt plans to pause all mining operations there and place its processing plant on standby within the next week but said it will use the downtime to perform maintenance activities

Kits Eyecare Shares Rise on Rosy Guidance

Kits Eyecare shares rose after the company guided for first-quarter organic growth, topping expectations on the back of recurring demand.

Shares added 3% to settle at C$19.52.

The Canadian digital eyewear retailer guided for revenue in the range of C$58 million and C$60 million, ahead of C$55.6 million forecasted by analysts.

Kits said it has seen increasing repeat customer behavior as well as more customers choosing premium lenses, while on the operations-side, it has seen strong customer-acquisition efficiency.

Foreigners Reduce Canada Holdings in December on Bond Retirements

Foreigners in December shed Canadian securities from their portfolios after six straight months of acquisitions. Meanwhile, Canadian investors added to their foreign holdings, led by shares in large U.S. technology companies.

As a result, Statistics Canada reports that international transactions in securities generated a net outflow of funds from the Canadian economy of C$18.6 billion. That brings the total outflow of funds for 2025 to C$17.4 billion.

Nonresidents reduced their holdings of Canadian securities in December by C$5.57 billion, after adding about C$16 billion in Canadian holdings in the prior month.

Health Canada Approves Merck's Subcutaneous Version of Keytruda Cancer Drug

Canada's health regulator has approved Merck's new under-the-skin version of its cancer drug Keytruda, offering an alternative to the current intravenous infusion.

Health Canada has approved Keytruda SC, which is a new subcutaneous formulation of Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy called pembrolizumab.

The approval allows Merck to market the under-the-skin version of Keytruda in Canada, though the company said its rollout will depend on provincial and territorial reimbursement decisions.

TALKING POINT

Canada Has a Secessionist Movement on Its Hands. Its Supporters Thank Trump.

By James T. Areddy

VAUXHALL, Alberta-In much of Canada, President Trump's provocations like making the country a 51st state are deeply unpopular. In this conservative, oil-rich province, Trump presents an opportunity.

Alberta is poised to hold a referendum on seceding from Canada later this year, and supporters of independence credit Trump's disruptive energy for adding fuel to their movement. Alberta secessionists view Trump as a powerful ally in their quest to rattle Canada's liberal politics and supercharge oil production-and no obstacle to their independence, even if statehood is unlikely.

Albertan independence is a remote but chilling prospect for Canada. The western province is a resources powerhouse that holds most of Canada's crude oil. Only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have bigger reserves of crude.

Trump administration officials have repeatedly welcomed Alberta's independence leaders to visit Washington for discussions on energy and trade. Allies of Trump, including Steve Bannon, have fanned Alberta independence talk, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently affirmed the movement by saying, "People want sovereignty."

Even before Trump's inauguration last year, the president had shown interest in Alberta. Over two days in Florida last January, the then-president-elect discussed energy cooperation with Alberta's conservative leader, Premier Danielle Smith, who later opened the door to a referendum.

Mitch Sylvestre, who launched the referendum effort, explained his takeaway after meeting U.S. State Department officials: "I believe that they would welcome a free and independent Alberta."

Rather than making Alberta a state, he said talks are aimed at ensuring a declaration of independence wouldn't interrupt its sizable trade with the U.S. "We're trying to make sure there's an open dialogue," Sylvestre said.

Trump himself hasn't commented on Alberta secession. In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, a White House official said that "administration officials meet with a number of civil-society groups. No support or commitments were conveyed."

Alberta, known as the Texas of Canada, is roughly the same size as the Lone Star State, borders Montana and features rich prairieland along with Rocky Mountain skiing at Banff. It stretches northward into desolate permafrost regions flush with "oil sands" that produce about nine times as much crude as Alaska.

After more than a decade of liberal Canadian prime ministers, politically conservative Alberta is fed up with its minority status in Ottawa and sending money east to population centers like Toronto and Montreal that are more ideologically tuned to the U.S.'s bluest cities. Secessionists tap Albertans' deep sense of taxation without representation.

Polls in Alberta weren't even closed when Prime Minister Mark Carney's liberals were declared victors in last April's election, reinforcing a sense of political powerlessness in the province. The next day, Smith, the Alberta premier, charged the federal government with taking "hostile actions against Alberta" in the form of regulations on oil production and set in motion a rule change to halve the number of signatures needed to force a referendum.

Carney, who grew up in Alberta but hasn't publicly engaged on the secessionist movement, later gave ground, softening some regulations Smith opposed, which she welcomed. Still, the premier's position on independence remains inscrutable: "I believe in Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada."

Vauxhall, 150 miles southeast of Calgary, calls itself the "Potato Capital of the West," but its spud fields whiff of petroleum because they also sprout oil derricks.

On a recent Wednesday evening, 60ish farmers wearing trucker hats joined colleagues in their 20s sporting piercings in Vauxhall's community center to sign Sylvestre's petition for a referendum. His town hall was a big enough deal, they said, to miss the final game in a "Battle of Alberta" series between the province's National Hockey League rivals, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. (The Flames won, 4-3, to clinch the series.)

"Can anyone remember a time when the government passed a law that made you richer?" Sylvestre asked, while running through a lengthy list of grievances with Ottawa over taxes, energy, elections, immigration and gun control that, in his telling, would evaporate with independence. "Canada is run by Alberta money," he said.

Write to James T. Areddy at [James.Areddy@wsj.com]

Expected Major Events for Wednesday

07:00/UK: Jan UK producer prices

07:00/UK: Jan CPI

07:45/FRA: Jan CPI

09:30/UK: Dec UK House Price Index

12:00/US: 02/13 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

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February 17, 2026 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

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