Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Canada's main stock index climbed nearly 1.5 per cent on its best day in 10 months amid a broad-based rally with strength in financials despite uncertainty about the latest COVID-19 variant.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 297.43 points to 20,762.03 for its strongest performance since Feb. 1.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 617.75 points or 1.8 per cent at 34,639.79. The S&P 500 index was up 64.06 points at 4,577.10, while the Nasdaq composite was up 127.27 points at 15,381.32.
Markets bounced back strongly from Wednesday when the first confirmed U.S. case of the Omicron variant caused an afternoon collapse.
"The down days are headline news induced, the up days seem to be more fundamentally induced," said Kevin Headland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management.
He said the COVID variant will remain a concern until there is concrete information from vaccine manufacturers. However, initial information suggests that those who are vaccinated face mild symptoms.
"There was a knee-jerk reaction to the announcement of new cases," he said in an interview.
Headland said the fundamentals remain quite strong with companies that beat estimates being rewarded while headline news resulting in a "short-term hiccup."
None of the 11 major sectors lost ground on the TSX Thursday with nine exceeding one per cent gains and four above two per cent.
The heavyweight financials sector which accounts for about 30 per cent of the Toronto market increased 2.2 per cent.
Toronto-Dominion Bank led the way, gaining 4.9 per cent after reporting strong quarterly results that beat expectations and raising its dividend.
"Even other banks that perhaps sold off after their earnings, notably Royal Bank, they're rallying again as well today," said Headland.
"I think there's good guidance for that sector going forward, especially with the expectation of dividend increases and share buybacks resuming now that OSFI has taken away the moratorium that was in place during COVID crisis."
Consumer discretionary, consumer staples and health care led the way.
Energy climbed 1.4 per cent as crude oil prices rallied after recent weakness, with shares of Imperial Oil and Vermilion Energy Corp. up 4.1 and 3.9 per cent, respectively.
The January crude oil contract was up 93 cents at US$66.50 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down 20.2 cents at nearly US$4.06 per mmBTU.
"The recent drop was overdone when we think about supply-demand fundamentals," he said.
OPEC and its allies confirmed on Thursday that it would stick to its plan of adding 400,000 barrels per day in January.
Headland said there was no expectation that OPEC+ would open its spigots because cartel members are happy with US$80 per barrel oil prices.
Still, the Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level in 10 weeks, trading for 78.03 cents US compared with 78.27 cents US on Wednesday.
Materials was unchanged with the February gold contract was down US$21.60 at US$1,762.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was up 5.2 cents at US$4.30 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2021.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.