This module provides a concise summary of selected Canadian economic events, as well as international and financial market developments by calendar month. It is intended to provide contextual information only to support users of the economic data published by Statistics Canada. In identifying major events or developments, Statistics Canada is not suggesting that these have a material impact on the published economic data in a particular reference month.
All information presented here is obtained from publicly available news and information sources, and does not reflect any protected information provided to Statistics Canada by survey respondents.
Wildfires
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced on August 5th that a province-wide fire ban was in effect and that ban would be in place until at least September 7th.
- The Government of Canada announced on August 7th that it had approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, including aircraft, personnel, Type 3 firefighters, transportation of essential people and goods, and additional humanitarian workforce capacity.
- The Government of Nova Scotia announced on August 5th it was restricting travel and activities in the woods across the province until October 15th due to continued hot, dry conditions that have greatly increased the risk of wildfires.
- The Government of New Brunswick announced on August 7th that a provincewide burn ban was in place.
- The Government of New Brunswick announced on August 10th that all Crown land in the province will be closed due to wildfire hazards.
- The Government of New Brunswick announced on August 25th that most restrictions on Crown land will be lifted.
- The Government of Manitoba announced on August 7th that the provincewide state of emergency under the Emergency Measures Act would be extended to August 22nd due to ongoing wildfires. The Government said the state of emergency was declared on July 10th and remained in effect for 30 days.
- The Government of Manitoba ends state of emergency on August 22. The state of emergency was first declared on July 10th.
- Hudbay Minerals Inc resumes Snow Lake operations on August 27th after wildfire evacuation order lifted by the Manitoba Government.
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador lifted the evacuation order issued on August 12th for a portion of the Town of Paradise on August 15th.
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador lifted the evacuation order issued on August 9th for the Areas of Burnt Point-Gull Island and a Portion of Northern Bay on August 23rd.
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador lifted the evacuation order issued on August 7th for Salmon Cove on August 23rd.
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador lifted the evacuation order issued on August 5th for Perry's Cove on August 24th.
- The Government of Prince Edward Island announced a fire ban for the province on August 11th.
- The Government of Prince Edward Island extended the fire ban in the province until September 8th or further notice on August 25th.
Canada's Internal Trade
- The Governments of Prince Edward Island and Manitoba announced they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve internal trade and support the free movement of workers and businesses between the two provinces. The governments said the MOU encourages the recognition of equivalent standards and certifications, streamlines regulatory processes, and supports practical collaboration to help workers and businesses operate more freely between the provinces.
Tariffs
- Prime Minister Carney announced new measures to help the softwood lumber sector on August 5th. These measures include up to $700 million in loan guarantees and $500 million in investments in product and market diversification.
- Prime Minister Carney announced on August 22nd that the Canadian government will now match the United States by removing all of Canada's tariffs on U.S. goods specifically covered under CUSMA. This decision will take effect on September 1, 2025. Canada will retain tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.
- China announced a preliminary anti-dumping duty on imports of canola seed from Canada of 75.8%, which entered into force on August 14th.
Other news
- The Ontario government announced an additional $1.6 billion investment to the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program on August 18th.
- Montreal-based Air Canada said it will gradually restart its operations on August 19th after reaching a mediated agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Mediation discussions were begun on the basis that the union commit to have the airline's 10,000 flight attendants immediately return to work, allowing the airline to resume the operations of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, which have been grounded since August 16th.
- A new gold mine in Guysborough Country, Nova Scotia, which is expected to create 725 new jobs and contribute $2.1 billion to Nova Scotia's gross domestic product, received its industrial approval on August 27th. Work on the Goldboro gold mine, owned by NexGold Mining Corp., is expected to start in 2026.
- Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc. announced on August 22nd that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MEG Energy in a cash and stock transaction valued at $7.9 billion, inclusive of assumed debt.
- Diageo plc announced on August 28th that it will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstberg, Ontario by 2026. Diageo will continue with its operations in the Greater Toronto Area and other bottling and distillation facilities in Gimli, Manitoba and Valleyfield, Quebec.
- Illinois-based Claire's Holdings LLC announced it had commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States and that its Canadian affiliate operating stores across Canada also intends to commence proceedings in Canada under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Claire's said its retail stores in North America would remain open and continue to serve customers while the Company continues to explore all strategic alternatives.
- Houston-based Crescent Energy Company and Vital Energy, Inc announced on August 25th that they have entered into a definitive agreement to which Crescent will acquire Vital in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.1 billion.
- Massachusetts-based Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peet's announced on August 25th they had entered into a definitive agreement under which Keurig Dr Pepper will acquire JDE Peet's in an all-cash transition, representing a total equity consideration of 15.7 billion Euros.
United States and other international news
- The US Department of Commerce announced the addition of 407 product categories to the list of "derivative" steel and aluminum products covered by Section 232 sectoral tariffs. As a result, the steel and aluminium content of these products will be subject to a duty rate of 50%. These tariffs cover wind turbines and their parts and components, mobile cranes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, railcards, furniture, compressors and pumps, and hundreds of other products.
- President Trump signed an executive order on August 11th that prevents high U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from snapping back into effect for another 90 days.
- On August 22nd, Intel Corporation announced an agreement with the Trump Administration to make an $8.9 billion investment in Intel common stock to advance national priorities in expanding the domestic semiconductor industry.
- The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to reduce the Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 4.0%. The last change in the Bank Rate was a 25 basis points cut in May 2025.
- The Norge Bank's Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.25 percent at its meeting on August 13th. The last rate change was a 25 basis points cut in June 2025.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia Board decided to lower the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 3.60 percent on August 12th.
- Sweden's Riksbank keeps policy rate unchanged at 2 per cent on August 20th.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand voted to decrease the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to 3 percent on August 20th.
- The eight participating OPEC+ countries - Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman - which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023, announced they would implement a production adjustment of 547 thousand barrels per day, equivalent to four monthly increments, in September 2025 from August 2025 required production level.
Financial market news
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $64.01 per barrel on August 29th, down from a closing value of USD $69.26 at the end of July. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $49.00 to $54.00 per barrel range throughout August. The Canadian dollar closed at 72.77 cents U.S. on August 29th, up from 72.23 cents U.S. at the end of July. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 28,564.45 on August 29th, up from 27,259.78 at the end of July.