Here are five things you need to know this morning
Carney heads to China: Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an official visit to China next week as his government tries to rebuild relations with the Asian superpower and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the United States. Carney is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and will have discussions on trade, energy, agriculture and international security. It will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade.
Deloitte sees Canadian economy slowing: A new report forecasts Canadian growth will slow to 1.5 per cent this year from 1.7 per cent in 2025. Dawn Desjardins, chief economist at Deloitte Canada, says she is cautiously optimistic though that the economy will gain momentum through the second half of the year. She says two key trends to watch this year include trade and investment, with the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement scheduled for July, and the federal government’s plans to stimulate billions in investment from the private sector outlined in its latest budget. Desjardins says the CUSMA review will be pivotal. We’ll find out more when we speak with Ms. Desjardins live on BNN Bloomberg at 9:20 am ET.
Venezuela oil heads to U.S.: U.S. President Donald Trump says Venezuela will send up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. At the current market price, the value of the oil would be US$2.8 billion. Trump adds the sale will benefit both countries. This comes as a blow to China, previously a top buyer of Venezuelan oil. Venezuela has a backlog of unshipped crude piling up since the U.S. blockade of sanctioned oil tankers came into effect last month.
Toronto home sales sag: Home sales in Canada’s largest real estate market stayed sluggish to close out 2025. Sales in Toronto fell 0.4 per cent in December compared to the month before, capping of a year of lower buyer interest as a result of trade tensions with the U.S. The benchmark price of a home fell 0.7 per cent. Annually, total sales plunged by more than 11 per cent. Buyers failed to return to the market despite lower interest rates and more listings. New listings jumped five and a half per cent month over month in December.
Warner Bros. still favours Netflix bid: Warner Bros. Discovery says an amended takeover offer from Paramount is inferior to the deal it already has with Netflix. The entertainment company is urging its shareholders not to tender their shares to Paramount. Warner also says it has doubts Paramount will be able to close the deal. The media company adds the amount of debt financing and other terms put out by Paramount heighten the risk of failure to close the deal.
