Top News Today/Canada: Inflation Heats Up With Jump in Gas Prices

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Inflation Increased in September With Jump in Gas Prices

Canadian inflation ticked higher last month as prices at the pump jumped again, though underlying price pressures look to be holding steady.

The consumer-price index accelerated to 3.1% in September compared with a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Monday. That pushes the pace slightly above top end of the 1% to 3% window the Bank of Canada aims for, after inflation held steady at 3% in August.

Economists were expecting annual inflation of 3.2%.

The data offers a final inflation reading before the Bank of Canada's next policy meeting late this month. The central bank, which has left its policy interest rate unchanged seven times in a row, has so far been willing to look through elevated gasoline prices as the economy shows signs of picking up despite a rise in uncertainty and fresh stresses in the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.

BOC Survey Records Notable Rise in Inflation Expectations

Stellantis Canada Employees Deliver Strike Mandate to Union Amid Stalled Talks

Nearly all 9,000 Canadian employees at Stellantis voted to give its union a mandate to seek a strike unless there is progress on a new deal and the future of a Toronto-area plant.

Unifor, the private-sector Canadian union, said that over 97% of Stellantis members voted over the weekend in favor of a strike if required. The union said it isn't in a strike position at this time as that formal steps are required under province of Ontario labor laws.

Last month, the union warned it could be in a strike position unless the car maker changes course on a plan to sell a factory in Brampton, Ontario, to a defense firm. Unifor declared talks with Stellantis to be at an impasse.

Total Energy Services Gets TSX OK to Buy Back Up To 5% of Public Float

Total Energy Services intends to launch a share repurchase program to buy back up to 5% of its common shares over the next year.

The drilling services and equipment rental said that the Toronto Stock Exchange has approved its normal course issuer bid to buy back up to 1.82 million shares for cancellation.

At Friday's closing price, the value of the shares intended for buyback would be worth about C$66.1 million.

Total Energy can begin buying back shares starting on Oct. 21.

Telesat Lenders Propose C$2.3 Billion Rescue Deal to Avert December Default

Creditors of Telesat TSAT Canada have proposed a C$2.3 billion deal to help the telecom company pay down a coming debt maturity and avert a default, according to people familiar with the matter.

Term lenders to the publicly traded satellite provider have offered to help the company raise a combination of new equity and debt to repay their loan, which matures in December, the people said.

The lenders are prepared to provide the entirety of the new capital. Telesat's equity holders, including private-equity firm MHR Fund Management and Canadian pension plan PSP Investments, will be invited to participate, the people said.

Mullen Group Agrees to Acquire Willson International

Mullen Group has agreed to acquire the provider of customs brokerage and trade compliance services, Willson International, expanding its customs brokerage footprint.

The more-than-100 year-old company brings a trusted in the customs brokerage industry under the Mullen fold. Willson employs more than 330 people across Canada and the U.S., offering customs and logistics services to North American and international customers through a suite of proprietary technology solutions.

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed, but Mullen said that the company is expected to contributed about C$80 million in annual revenue.

Americas Gold & Silver On-Track for Full-Year Targets as Mexico Mine Production Rises

Americas Gold & Silver's output in the third quarter brings it closer to its full-year target, benefiting from higher production from its Mexican mine.

The miner produced 800,458 ounces of silver in the quarter. Chief Executive Paul Andre Huet credited a 23% quarter-over-quarter increase at its Cosala operations, where production reached 415,879 ounces.

On a consolidated basis for the first three quarters of 2026, silver production stands at 2.3 million ounces, which continues to be in line with 2026 expectations of between 3.2 million and 3.6 million ounces.

Chorus Aviation Acquires SkyCare Air Ambulance for C$40 Million

Chorus Aviation has agreed to acquire the largest private fixed-wing air ambulance operator in Northern Ontario, SkyCare Air Ambulance, for C$40 million.

SkyCare provides round-the-clock medical evacuation, repatriation, organ transport and charter services across Canada and the U.S, and supports regional medical transportation across Ontario, Chorus said Monday.

The company employs about 220 people operating 22 aircraft across several bases in Canada.

TALKING POINT

Vote Highlights Alberta's Divide

By Amanda Coletta

SUNDRE, Alberta -- This town nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is known for its annual pro rodeo in June, which includes a parade of cowboys and cowgirls on horseback, school marching bands and colorful floats celebrating the heritage of rural Alberta.

This year, a feud erupted over a proposed parade float festooned with Alberta provincial flags. Volunteer parade organizers rejected the idea as too political amid campaigning around a referendum on Alberta staying in Canada or moving toward independence -- and were then met with an onslaught of harassment and online abuse from supporters of the float.

They reversed their decision, but the harassment continued. Other floats pulled out. Soon, organizers canceled the decades-old parade altogether.

The uproar reflects the divide across Alberta ahead of a historic referendum Monday on whether it should remain part of Canada or take steps toward holding a second, binding referendum on separation. While the campaign has been relatively muted compared with past constitutional battles in Canada, the friction in Sundre shows the tensions bubbling below the surface.

"There will literally be marriages that break up over this, neighbors that don't talk to each other, business partnerships that rupture, communities that get divided," said Jason Kenney, a former conservative premier of Alberta who is leading a campaign to keep the province in Canada. "This is the political equivalent of a civil war."

Nathan McCullough, who runs a butcher shop in Sundre, was undecided about the referendum, which asks Albertans nine other questions, including whether the province should have greater power over immigration and the appointment of judges -- all of which could foment tensions with the federal government.

On question 10, about Alberta's status in Canada, McCullough says that while he isn't sure he necessarily favors secession, he could see the benefits of voting for a second referendum to send a message of protest to the federal government in the capital, Ottawa.

"It's always the squeaky wheel that gets the grease," McCullough said.

And that sort of thinking has worried supporters of staying in Canada.

Polls show that an overwhelming majority of Albertans want to stay in Canada. A Leger poll this month found 70% support remaining. However, separatists remain committed regardless of the outcome, and federalists are concerned that voter complacency could tilt the result.

"It's not an ordinary vote for [separatists]," Kenney said. "They'll show up. They'll crawl over broken glass."

The vote comes at a delicate time for Canada's national unity as President Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and mused about making Canada the 51st state. In Quebec this month, voter discontent with incumbents led to separatists taking power, and they are promising their own independence referendum after Trump leaves office.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who led the Bank of England during Brexit, has called the Alberta referendum a "dangerous bluff ." A prolonged debate over Alberta's place in the current federation of 10 provinces and three territories could hamper his efforts to expand market access for the province's oil and gas resources -- part of his strategy to reduce Canada's economic reliance on the U.S.

After months largely on the sidelines, Carney in recent days has traveled across the province to campaign and urge Albertans to vote to stay in Canada, saying the referendum couldn't come at "a worse time."

"The world has become more dangerous and divided," he said at a federalist rally in Calgary on Thursday. "Some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us."

Alienation in Alberta is longstanding. When Alberta and Saskatchewan joined the confederation in 1905, the federal government retained control over their natural resources until 1930, unlike the original four provinces. That dynamic created a lingering perception that eastern Canada exploits the west's resources while scorning its residents.

Tensions flared again under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose environmental policies drew fierce pushback from Alberta, home to the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves. Equalization transfers where federally collected taxes fund public services in poorer provinces -- have also remained a sore point, as prosperous Alberta hasn't received payments in six decades.

Today's separatist movement is driven by both historic grievances and newer populist themes. In towns across the province, separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre has campaigned for leaving Canada and against federal energy and immigration policies while casting doubt on Covid-19 pandemic-response measures and making conspiratorial claims about Ottawa.

Jared Wesley, a political scientist at the University of Alberta, said the current movement mirrors right-wing populist campaigns like Brexit and the MAGA movement in the U.S.

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October 19, 2026 16:39 ET (20:39 GMT)