HEADLINES

Carney Says Alberta 'Essential' to Canada Amid Separatist Push

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she intends to hold a vote in October to determine whether residents want the oil-rich province to remain in Canada or whether her government should begin the process of holding a binding referendum on separation from Canada.

The vast majority of Albertans, according to polling, support remaining part of Canada. However, Smith's move reflects the political squeeze she faces, as a sizable wing of her governing right-leaning party are proponents of becoming a separate state from Canada due to what they claim is mistreatment from Ottawa.

Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to work with Alberta to improve the livelihood of its residents after Smith unveiled her plans.

"Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better. And we're working on making it better, and we're working with Alberta on making it better," Carney said in brief remarks in Ottawa's Library of Parliament. "We're renovating the country as we go. And Alberta being at the center of that is essential."

Producer Prices Rose a Fourth Straight Month in April

Prices for goods made in Canada rose again in April, heightening the risk increases will be passed along to consumers.

Statistics Canada's industrial product price index increased 2% in April from the month before, representing its fourth consecutive rise.

There was pressure on several commodities during the month as the conflict in the Middle East continued to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with prices for energy products, chemicals and unwrought aluminum up sharply.

Retail Sales Buoyed by Higher Gasoline Prices, Masking Softening Consumption

Canadians are paying more but buying less as the surge in gasoline prices eats up more of their spending, threatening to undercut household consumption that helped power the economy in the early months of the year.

Retail sales in Canada are tracking toward a fourth straight monthly rise. Trade in March increased 0.9% from the previous month, while an advance tally of receipts indicates sales in April were up 0.6%, Statistics Canada said.

Details behind the advance for March, which was slightly stronger than the 0.6% growth expected by economists, were less flattering for the economy.

Trade for the month was driven largely by activity at gas stations and the jump in prices since tensions between the U.S., Israel and Iran escalated. In volume terms, retail sales for March were down 0.7%. And core sales, which strip out gas stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, dipped 0.1% from a month earlier.

Slate Grocery REIT Mulls Sale as Part of Strategic Review Following Unsolicited Proposal

Slate Grocery REIT has set up a special committee to consider strategic alternatives after receiving an unsolicited proposal from affiliates of Slate Asset Management, the company's external manager.

The U.S. grocery real estate-focused REIT said that the special committee will consider a broad range of strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the business.

Shares rose 5.9% to C$16.83.

NervGen Pharma Shares Continue Sliding on Size of $60 Million Share Sale

Shares of NervGen Pharma continued to decline after the company specified that it would offer $60 million worth of shares in an upcoming sale.

Nasdaq-listed shares sank 43.5% to $2.08 on Friday.

NervGen said it will sell 24 million shares and accompanying warrants to purchase an additional 24 million, at a price of $2.50 per share and warrant. The warrant has a $3.68 exercise price and expires after five years.

Sherritt International Hit With Cease-Trade Order After Missing First-Quarter Filing

Sherritt International has been issued a failure-to-file cease trade order after the company missed its deadline to file its first-quarter results.

The Canadian nickel and cobalt miner said that it couldn't file in time citing U.S. sanctions on Cuba, where it has certain operations, have destabilized its entire business structure.

The failure-to-file cease trade order effectively prevents the company's shares from trading until it files its first-quarter results, however Sherritt said that it doesn't know when it will be in a position to file them.

Air Canada, Customer Service Employees Union Reach Preliminary Deal for New Contract

Air Canada has reached a preliminary agreement with the union representing its customer service employees.

The Canadian flagship airline said that it has reached a tentative collective agreement with Unifor, which represents about 6,000 contact center, customer relations, concierge, airport in-terminal and customer journey management employees.

Air Canada noted that for the time being, the terms of the new agreement will remain confidential until the membership vote to ratify the agreement. It is expected to be completed over the next month, which will then also need approval by the Air Canada's board of directors.

Titan Mining CFO Resigns

Titan Mining chief financial officer Kevin Hart resigned for personal reasons.

The company named Ashley Kates as interim CFO. Kates previously served in senior finance roles at Ernst & Young, Atlantic Gold Corporation and Pure Gold Mining.

The company also appointed Matthew Melnyk as vice president of geology and exploration. Melnyk was previously manager of project evaluations for Agnico Eagle's southern business unit, where he identified opportunities across Latin America.

TALKING POINT

IMAX Might Be Exploring a Sale. Who Could Be Buying.

By Angela Palumbo

IMAX stock soared Friday after a report said the high-end-movie screen company is exploring a sale, leaving Wall Street to guess what companies could be potential buyers.

Shares jumped 15.5% to $39.12.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that IMAX is exploring a sale and has approached entertainment companies as potential buyers, citing people familiar with the matter. The report added that the sale process is in early stages and might not result in any deal.

IMAX didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. However, at an investor day in December, CEO Richard Gelfond said that IMAX could become "an incredibly valuable player, either as a wholly differentiated publicly-traded company or as part of a larger company with the keys to unlock even greater value and our strong business worldwide."

IMAX theaters have larger screens, higher resolution images, and more immersive sound systems than traditional theaters. People spend extra on IMAX tickets than regular tickets to get access to that more immersive experience. The question now is which company would want to purchase IMAX to have more exclusive access to the movie tech company's offerings.

Seaport analyst David Joyce wrote in a note on Friday that streaming giant Netflix could be a "logical partner."

"The company frequently vocalizes its desire to only focus on 'eventized' programming (such as non-regular-season sporting event rights), or holding rights to films that may be released exclusively on IMAX screens for two weeks before being made available on its own platform," Joyce wrote. He rates IMAX as a Buy with a $45 price target.

Netflix didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Netflix's upcoming Cliff Booth film with Brad Pitt will be in IMAX theaters globally for an exclusive two-week run starting Nov. 25, before going to Netflix on Dec. 23. Another Netflix movie, Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, will release in IMAX on Feb. 12, 2027, and on its streaming platform on April 2, 2027.

Netflix also backed out of the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year, potentially opening it up to other merger opportunities.

Amazon.com and Apple could also be interested parties, he added.

Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey raised his price target on IMAX to $60 from $44 on Friday following the Journal's report. Hickey points to a more unique potential interested buyer of IMAX: Sphere Entertainment, the live entertainment company that owns the massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas.

"We view Sphere as particularly compelling given its focus on immersive premium entertainment experiences, where IMAX's global network, filmmaker ecosystem, and premium brand could materially expand Sphere's strategic positioning," he wrote.

Another potential buyer is Walt Disney, he added. However, last month Disney announced the launch of Infinity Vision, a direct competitor to IMAX. Disney said in its news release that it is a new certification for premium large format theaters and "will signify to audiences which auditoriums offer the biggest, brightest, and most immersive cinematic experiences."

IMAX shares fell 5.4% after Disney's Infinity Vision announcement. IMAX CFO Natasha Fernandes said on the company's first-quarter earnings call on April 30 that Infinity Vision is "a pure marketing play to try and offset the fact that they don't have an IMAX platform or brand for Avengers: Doomsday."

Regardless if an IMAX sale is in the works or not, Wall Street is broadly optimistic about the future of the stock. Of the 12 analysts surveyed by FactSet, 11 say the stock is a Buy, and one says it's a Hold.

Rosenblatt Securities analyst Steve Frankel rates the stock as a Buy with a $47 price target. He wrote that he's confident in "the strength of the film slate, the company's active management of its film portfolio to maximize box office and the inherent leverage in the model that is driving margins to record levels."

Write to Angela Palumbo at [angela.palumbo@dowjones.com]

Expected Major Events for Monday

05:30/JPN: Apr Nationwide department store sales

08:59/JPN: Apr Tokyo area department store sales

12:30/CAN: 1Q Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises

23:01/UK: May Shop Price Monitor

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Expected Earnings for Monday

Lyra Therapeutics Inc $(LYRA)$ is expected to report for 1Q.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 22, 2026 16:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

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