Here are five things you need to know this morning
And they’re off: The next federal campaign is now underway, after Mark Carney visited Governor General Mary Simon to ask that she issue the writs of election. “We’ve done a lot in the nine days to put in place many of the foundations,” Carney said from outside Rideau Hall Sunday. “But what’s important is that the government has a mandate from the Canadian people to finish the job, to finish the job of building the Canadian economy, to finish the job of diversifying our trading partners, and to have a strong mandate to stand up to (U.S. President) Donald Trump and the Americans and negotiate the best deal for Canadians.” Canadians will head to the polls on April 28, making it a five-week campaign. While voters will weigh a number of issues, the primary deciding point seems to be which leader will best be able to address U.S. threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty.
Tariff hope: Meanwhile, stock futures were indicating a positive opening for North American equity markets amid optimism that U.S. tariffs may be more targeted. There are indications that Trump’s announcement of universal, reciprocal trade tariffs on April 2 — a date he’s referred to as “liberation day” — will be narrower than initially expected. That’s helping temper some of the market’s fears about the impact on global trade and growth. Narrower tariffs may be good news for Canada specifically, but of course we will have to wait to see what is actually announced.
Lightspeed warns: Lightspeed Commerce will be a stock to watch today, after the Montreal-based provider of electronic payment systems cut its sales outlook for this year. Lightspeed says macroeconomic conditions have deteriorated, primarily due to heightened inflationary pressures, increased job insecurity, and weakened consumer confidence, impacting discretionary spending among consumers. The company says the shift has led to a decline in sales activity through February and March. Lightspeed CEO Dax Dasilva will tell us more when he appears on BNN Bloomberg today at 9:40 a.m. EDT.
Macmillan returns: One of the biggest names in Canadian media is returning to public markets. Michael Macmillan’s Blue Ant Media is going public via a reverse take-over of TSX-listed Boat Rocker Media. Blue Ant is a Toronto-based digital media company whose properties include Cottage Life and Love Nature. Boat Rocker produces a range of scripted and unscripted content for a variety of platforms. Macmillan was previously the executive chairman of Alliance Atlantis films. He will become CEO of the combined company.
23andMe fails its test: Personalized DNA testing company 23andMe has initiated bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. to help facilitate a sale. Co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, who made multiple failed attempts to rescue the company, also resigned. The Chapter 11 plan is the latest development in the saga of the company that was valued at US$3.5 billion when it went public in 2021. It has been struggling with the fallout of a data breach and a drop off in demand for its ancestry testing kits.
