The federal government is giving the green light to Rogers Communications' $20-billion takeover of Shaw Communications, bringing a two-year saga to seal the deal on one of the largest Canadian acquisitions ever to a close. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has given the third and final approval needed to get the deal past the finish line, ruling that the combination won't impact competition to a degree where it needs to be blocked. Now, part of that is the plan to sell Shaw's Freedom Mobile unit to Quebecor's Videotron for $2.85 billion to help assuage competition concerns by keeping four carriers in play – Videotron plans on expanding its network from the bread-and-butter Quebec market once that deal closes. We'll be bringing you ongoing coverage throughout the day on the deal and what it means for the Canadian telecom industry.

CANADIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH BOUNCES BACK

The rising rate environment hasn't completely taken the wind out of the Canadian economy's sale just yet. Gross domestic product grew 0.5 per cent in January, more than reversing a mild month-over-month contraction the month prior, as wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing activity rebounded. And there's some signs the growth in January wasn't just a flash in the pan – StatsCan says based on preliminary estimates, it sees month-over-month growth coming in at 0.3 per cent in February.

TSX EKES OUT Q1 GAIN

Looks like a tidy – if unspectacular start to the year for the S&P/TSX Composite as we enter the final trading day of the first quarter. Toronto's benchmark stock index is firmly in the middle of the pack relative to its global peers, with its 2.9 per cent gain ranking it 48th among the 92 major global stock indices. While that lags the likes of the S&P 500's 5.5 per cent gain this quarter, it does shine when placed next to the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has shed the better part of a full per cent so far this year. Back to the TSX's performance for a moment – eight of the 11 subgroups are in positive territory, led by a 23.4 per cent gain in the info tech index (which in turn was led by a 34 per cent surge in shares of Shopify.) That tech trend was also on full display south of the border, with the likes of Apple (up 25 per cent), Microsoft (18 per cent gain) and Facebook parent company Meta (up 72 per cent) showing some marked signs of strength in the quarter.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

  • Barrick Gold and the government of Papua New Guinea have agreed to restart the company's Porgera Mine, where production has been suspended since 2020 after Papua New Guinea refused to renew Barrick's mining licence.
  • Enbridge has signed a letter of intent with Yara Clean Ammonia to jointly develop a low-carbon blue ammonia production facility near Corpus Christi, Texas. If the two parties do proceed with the project, it's expected to cost between US$2.6-US$2.9 billion, with production starting up in 2027/28.
  • Shares of BlackBerry are slipping in the premarket after the company swung to an adjusted loss in the fourth quarter. BlackBerry had previously warned of some weakness in Q4, as the timeline on some large government deals slipped into the new fiscal year.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

  • Notable data: Monthly Real GDP, U.S. Personal Income & Consumption, Chicago PMI, University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index