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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
U.S. copper tariffs threat adds to Manitoba minerals global push
Europe and Asia are in the sightline of Manitoba's mining industry as the United States threatens further tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he'd slap a 50 per cent tariff on all copper imports. He didn't announce a start date. Manitoba was Canada's fourth-largest producer of copper in 2023. The keystone province accounted for 2.4 per cent of production, or 12,000 tonnes, Natural Resources Canada data show. Data on Manitoba's recent copper exports to the United States wasn't available by print deadline. Across Canada, copper and copper-based exports were valued at $9.4 billion in 2023. 'All tariffs are inherently harmful,' said John Morris, co-director of the Mining Association of Manitoba (MAMI). He forecasts the new tax — and its related cost increase — will hurt Manitoba exports and U.S. manufacturers. Companies use copper to make electronics and appliances, among other things. Should the tariff last, mining companies will look to sell in other regions, Morris predicted. Manitoba holds at least two copper mines: Hudbay's Snow Lake operation and Vale's plant near Thompson. Copper isn't the sole focus of either hub. The Snow Lake mine produces gold and zinc; it has a daily mill capacity of 5,300 tonnes. Vale oversees, primarily, a nickel mine. Neither company answered questions about production and exports by print deadline. 'Critical minerals are a commodity with a global demand,' Morris said. 'The issue is, we have established linkages to the United States economy.' MAMI is creating a campaign to market Manitoba minerals globally. New tariffs didn't spark the plan; the association received $1.5 million from the provincial government, and another $100,000 through the provincially-funded Manitoba Mineral Development Fund, this spring. Targeted advertisements via social and traditional media should appear in the fall, Morris said. Europe and Asia will be the ads' recipients. Nineteen European ambassadors and high commissioners visited Manitoba in April. They showed interest in local minerals. Germany's ambassador to Canada listed zinc, lithium and nickel as exports the country was eyeing. 'We're working very close with the Manitoba government to ensure that we'll have success going forward, with respect to exporting of our products,' Morris said. The provincial government created a contingency for tariff relief in its most recent budget. It highlighted up to $300 million for businesses and farmers affected by tariffs, should 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs materialize. The funds haven't been tapped; an across-the-board fee hasn't appeared. Still, copper is the latest export poised for a U.S. tariff. Levies on steel, aluminum and items outside the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade have been in place since March. Canada placed 25 per cent tariffs on $59.8 billion worth of U.S. imports in retaliation, not including non-CUSMA compliant U.S.-made vehicles. — with files from The Canadian Press Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Hudson's Bay lenders file motion to terminate Ruby Liu lease deal
Some of Hudson's Bay Co.'s senior lenders are asking the court to terminate a contentious deal to sell off store leases to B.C. billionaire Weihong (Ruby) Liu, arguing that landlord opposition means the deal is unlikely to succeed and is wasting cash that should be used to repay the company's debts. The new court documents, filed on Tuesday, are also seeking a 'super monitor' to take over the operations of the failed retailer, saying Hudson's Bay has mismanaged the wind-down of the business to the detriment of its lenders. ReStore Capital LLC, the agent for a syndicate of senior lenders to Hudson's Bay, filed the motion seeking a court hearing next week into the matter. ReStore is an investment firm whose parent, Hilco Global, also owns the company that ran Hudson's Bay liquidation sales. On behalf of the syndicate of lenders, ReStore closed a $151-million term loan with Hudson's Bay last December, to assist with the company's 'urgent working capital needs' and to enable its parent company, HBC LP, to close its acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group in the U.S. As part of that transaction, Canada's oldest retailer was hived off from a new entity, Saks Global, which owns Neiman Marcus as well as Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off Fifth and Bergdorf Goodman. Ruby Liu gets keys to former Hudson's Bay-owned store as she looks to acquire more leases Opinion: Hudson's Bay was a 'zombie firm.' Canada is full of them and they all need to die Some of that loan to Hudson's Bay has already been repaid. For example, $27.7-million in proceeds from the $30-million deal to sell Hudson's Bay's intellectual property to Canadian Tire went to the syndicate of lenders, according to the court filing. But ReStore argued that Hudson's Bay has incurred unnecessary costs as it winds down its business, and 'frittered away' the pool of cash available to make further payments on its debts. Hudson's Bay, faced with mounting losses and $1.1-billion in total debt, filed for court protection from its creditors on March 7. Since then, failing to find a plan to rescue some of its stores, Hudson's Bay closed all of its locations across the country last month. ReStore cites as an example of mismanagement the deal that Hudson's Bay struck with Ms. Liu, a B.C. mall owner, in late May to assign her up to 28 of its store leases. The court has approved the assignment of three of those leases, which are owned by her company, Central Walk. But the majority of landlords for the remaining leases have opposed the deal. As a result of the impasse, Hudson's Bay is continuing to pay rent and professional fees related to the deal, 'in a seemingly futile effort to obtain the consent of the landlords,' according to an affidavit sworn by ReStore chief executive officer Ian Fredericks on Tuesday. So far, those costs have included roughly $2.5-million in rent to keep control over the empty stores involved in the deal. Hudson's Bay has projected that it will pay another $7.5-million in rent between June 30 and Aug. 15 as it pursues the transaction, according to the affidavit, and millions more in feeds. The lease deal is 'uneconomical and imprudent,' says the motion filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. 'The current level of spending by HBC cannot be justified, and it is imperative that the costs of HBC's wind down be more effectively managed by the Monitor,' Mr. Fredericks's affidavit stated. The lenders are asking the court to expand the powers of the court-appointed monitor overseeing the creditor-protection process, to allow for the management of the wind-down. 'Hudson's Bay continues to manage the monetization of its assets and the wind-up of its affairs in a responsible and diligent manner, appropriately balancing the interests of various stakeholders in compliance with CCAA court orders and under the supervision of the court-appointed monitor,' company spokesperson Tiffany Bourré said. 'The first lien secured creditor has filed court materials to advance its own interests and Hudson's Bay will fully respond in due course.' Other objections raised by ReStore include $18-million in unnecessary spending by Hudson's Bay to remove signage at its shuttered stores, according to the court documents. While Hudson's Bay's liquidation sales generated significant interest among Canadians, and resulted in $54-million more than expected in net recoveries from those sales, the lenders' projected collateral shortfall has expanded, the documents state. That means the amount the lenders could expect to be repaid has fallen by at least $29-million, the motion says. Mr. Fredericks's affidavit calls the increase of costs on Hudson's Bay's part 'shocking.' If the court does not approve the 'super-monitor,' ReStore is asking for the appointment of a receiver to take control of the process. In the affidavit, Mr. Fredericks argued that 'there is no further alignment of interest between HBC's management and board of directors and the interests of creditors.'
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Immigration caps are contributing to lower asking rents in Canada, CMHC says
Canada's caps on foreign students and new residents have contributed to reduced demand for rental housing and lower average asking rents in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax, according to a new study from the national housing agency. Over the past year, the average asking monthly rent fell between 2 per cent and 8 per cent in condos and rental-only apartments – also known as purpose-built rentals – said the report released Tuesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC). The drop was due to a surge in new condos and apartment buildings hitting the market along with limits on temporary foreign residents such as students and new permanent residents. As of April, temporary residents accounted for 7.1 per cent of the country's total population, according to Statistics Canada. That compared with the peak of 7.4 per cent in October of last year. 'It is quite evident on the demand side that there have been signs of weakening,' said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC's deputy chief economist, adding that there were stronger rental declines in regions with slower population growth. The average asking monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was $3,001 in the first quarter of this year, a 4.9-per-cent drop from the same period in 2024. In comparison, the average asking rent increased 4.5 per cent from 2023 to 2024, according to the study. Opinion: Why have a target for cutting temporary immigration if Canada can't meet it? In Calgary, the average asking rent was $1,872 in the first quarter of this year, a 3.5-per-cent decline from the same period in 2024. That compared with a 17-per-cent rise in the previous year. In Toronto, the average asking rent was $2,522 in the first quarter of this year, a 3.7-per-cent drop over the same period in 2024. That compared with a 3.8-per-cent increase in the previous year. And in Halifax, the average asking rent was $2,171, a decline of 4.2 per cent from 2024 compared with an 8.7-per-cent increase in the previous year. For rental condos, which are typically owned by individual investors, the average asking monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit in Vancouver fell 4.8 per cent this year compared with an increase of 1.2 per cent in the previous year. In Calgary, the asking rent declined 3.6 per cent this year compared with a 10.7-per-cent rise in the previous year. In Toronto, the asking rent fell 1.7 per cent this year after a 0.5-per-cent decline in the previous year. And in Halifax, the decline was 8.3 per cent this year compared with an 11.7-per-cent rise in the previous year. Inside the race to convert vacant offices into rental homes The study said the cap on international students is influencing rental demand in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. However, CMHC did not provide data for cities with a large proportion of post-secondary students such as London, Kingston and Kitchener in Ontario. The study builds on a recent quarterly report from the housing agency and Statistics Canada that surveys average asking rents across the country and is designed to reflect current rental rates. The government's other rental reports include rates for housing units that are already occupied, which skews the current state of the rental market.
