Latest news with #NicolaWealth
Vancouver Sun
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Vancouver city councillors look to reinstate funding for school meal programs
Article content Councillors Peter Fry and Rebecca Bligh have introduced a motion asking the City of Vancouver to reinstate its funding for meal programs in the school district. Article content Article content Since 2014, the city has provided $320,000 from its annual operating budget to support 3,500 meals each weekday through various programs, including the Food4Schools lunch program, which subsidizes meals to 258 students across 17 schools. Article content Article content Earlier this month, the city announced a reduction in its funding from $320,000 in 2024 to just $162,500 in 2025, citing 'significant budget pressures' and anticipation of 'substantive funding' from the province. Article content Article content However, Fry said, 'It has become apparent that the province is not providing the level of funding that was expected.' Article content In March 2025, the B.C. Government entered into an agreement with the Government of Canada through the National School Food Program (NSFP), which provides approximately $39 million over three years in additional school food program funding. But Fry and Bligh are concerned that the way the province is allocating the money will leave gaps impacting kids in Vancouver. Article content 'There was an expectation that this new funding from the feds was to be distributed by the province and replace the funding the city of Vancouver was providing, but the province had a different funding model in mind.' Article content Fry said that the funding will be allocated using a provincial formula socioeconomic status index for each school within the district. Article content Article content The 'needs assessment' model 'can inadvertently exclude some individuals who may not meet strict eligibility criteria but still experience food insecurity,' said Fry. Article content Article content Shortly after the city announced their cuts to the Vancouver School District meals programs, the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and Nicola Wealth announced a joint donation of $170,000 to make up the shortfall and support the continuation of the Food4Schools program. Article content 'We are very grateful that Nicola Wealth and the Food Bank are doing this,' said Fry, but he said it's important to ensure the city's funding is reinstated, and continues on a long-term basis. Article content Article content 'We would like to reinstate the funding so kids don't go hungry,' said Fry. 'I see a lot of hungry kids in my neighbourhood Strathcona, and that contributes to kids struggling in school. It's about concentration and focus on schoolwork, and when you are hungry, it's a lot harder.'
Reuters
13-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Canadian investors add gold, uranium stocks as trade war risk grows
TORONTO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - As the threat of a trade war grows, Canadian investors are seeking protection in gold and in shares of companies producing goods with few substitutes, such as uranium, while looking to take advantage of a weaker loonie and expected volatility. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to implement a 25% tariff on most Canadian imports in March, with steel and aluminum facing even stiffer levies after new orders signed by the president on Monday. Canada sends 75% of its exports to the United States and tariffs are a major risk to the Canadian economy. Financial, telecom, real estate, energy and materials shares account for roughly two-thirds of Canada's main stock market index, the S&P/TSX Composite (.GSPTSE), opens new tab, and those sectors would likely escape the direct impact of tariffs or benefit from carve-outs. But analysts say there could be an indirect hit to earnings if the Canadian economy slips into recession. Shares of trade-sensitive companies have already fared badly since Trump was elected on Nov. 5, with planemaker Bombardier Inc ( opens new tab down about 19% along with declines for auto parts, steel, lumber and dairy product stocks. "All this uncertainty around trade and geopolitical tensions has definitely gotten gold back on the front burner," said Greg Taylor, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments. "Across our multi-asset funds we have been adding gold in the real asset sleeve as an area to try and offer some protection but also some absolute return," Taylor said. The Toronto market's materials sector (.GSPTTMT), opens new tab, which includes metal mining shares, is up nearly 15% this year, including a gain of 26.5% for the shares of heavily weighted Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd ( opens new tab, as safe-haven demand helped drive the price of gold to a record high. Together with strong gains for technology shares, stocks linked to metals have helped keep the TSX within reach of the record high it posted in January despite the tariff threats. "Tariffs are going to hurt all parties quite a bit but if you're going to spare some industries, you probably spare industries that you don't have a substitute for and are currently reliant on," said Ben Jang, a portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth, noting U.S. dependence on Canadian oil, critical minerals and uranium. Major producers of uranium include TSX-listed Cameco Corp ( opens new tab, shares of which Nicola Wealth owns. Cameco has pulled back from an all-time high in December but has still managed to advance roughly 46% since early September. "The U.S has a concern over energy security and has talked about a focus on energy independence. In our view, nuclear power is part of that solution," Jang said. The Canadian dollar has been hit hard by trade uncertainty, touching a 22-year low last week of 1.4793 per U.S. dollar, or 67.60 U.S. cents. "We had a modest TSX allocation going into this and are now looking to increase our exposure to oil & gas and materials," said Victor Kuntzevitsky, a portfolio manager at Stonehaven Private Counsel, part of Wellington-Altus Private Counsel. "Many oil and gas and materials firms generate revenue in USD while incurring costs in CAD, creating an inherent currency advantage," Kuntzevitsky said. The Bank of Canada's interest-rate cutting campaign has also weighed on the loonie but could help support the economy. Government spending on impacted sectors could also lend support, analysts say. "There's a lot of talk around this (trade war) and it's creating some volatility, which is probably going to create some opportunity at the end of the day," Taylor said.
Reuters
08-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
TSX posts weekly decline as BCE shares tumble
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Friday, led by declines for the communication services sector, as the risk of a wider trade war spooked investors and after stronger-than-expected jobs data tempered expectations for Bank of Canada interest rate cuts. The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), opens new tab ended down 91.58 points, or 0.36%, at 25,442.91. For the week, the index was down 0.35%, after three straight weekly gains. Wall Street also lost ground after U.S. President Donald Trump said he might impose reciprocal tariffs on several countries next week. On Monday, Trump suspended his threat of steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada, agreeing to a 30-day pause. "President Trump looking to have retaliatory tariffs against unnamed countries continues to prove that this is top of mind for him," said Ben Jang, a portfolio manager at Nicola Wealth. "The strengthening overall of the Canadian labour market just gives the Bank of Canada some flexibility (to deal) with the unknowns of tariffs." Canada's economy added 76,000 jobs in January, eclipsing expectations for a gain of 25,000, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 6.6%. Investors see a 62% chance that the Bank of Canada will cut its benchmark interest rate by a further 25 basis points in March, down from 64% before the data. The communication services sector lost 2%, with shares of BCE Inc ( opens new tab down 6.2%, their second straight day of sharp declines. "The market is now looking for (BCE) to cut their dividends to delever their balance sheet so that they can absorb short-term pain and refocus on being a stable dividend company as opposed to a growth name," Jang said. Shares of Canopy Growth Corp ( opens new tab tumbled 27.6% after the cannabis firm posted a bigger third-quarter loss. Nine of ten major sectors lost ground. The exception was energy, which added 0.5%, as the price of oil settled 0.6% higher at $71.00 a barrel.
