Canada in April 2026: the most important developments in economy
Canada's economy in April 2026 was dominated by Prime Minister Mark Carney's push to reduce dependence on the United States. In mid-April he secured a majority government, and on April 19 and 20 he called the country's close economic ties with the US a weakness while tariffs weighed on the economy. On April 21 he named a Canada-US advisory council of trade experts ahead of what were expected to be difficult talks on the USMCA trade agreement. On April 27 he announced an $18 billion investment fund, described as Canada's first sovereign wealth fund, to back domestic projects. A US trade official, Howard Lutnick, said Canada was hard to deal with and vowed to wind back the trade deal, while a Quebec furniture maker announced it would shut down, citing tariffs. Carney also outlined $51 billion in infrastructure spending and said Canada would host a September investment summit in Toronto.
The Iran war shaped energy and consumer prices. Canadian synthetic crude prices tripled within days in early April, and Canadian crude fetched its biggest Gulf Coast premium in two years. Consumer confidence hit an 11-month low, annual inflation rose to 2.4% on gasoline costs, and Carney suspended the federal gas tax on April 14. Air Canada suspended flights to New York's JFK airport and six further routes, citing jet fuel prices that had doubled, and WestJet and Air Transat cut capacity. Canada approved Enbridge's $4 billion Sunrise gas expansion on April 24, and President Trump approved permits for US-Canada oil pipelines. European buyers discussed Canadian LNG shipments, and Alberta examined pipeline routes to Asian markets.
Canada also deepened ties with China. The finance minister, the Bank of Canada governor and bank executives travelled to Beijing, where the two countries signed a pledge on April 3 to deepen financial-sector ties and held their first financial working group meeting. Ottawa announced more direct flights with China.
Mining and technology deals continued. Agnico Eagle agreed a $2.1 billion Finland deal, Wheaton secured a $4.3 billion silver stream from BHP, and Cohere merged with Germany's Aleph Alpha. The economy added 14,000 jobs in March, and the Bank of Canada was expected to hold rates steady.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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