Here are four things you need to know this morning
Carney leads Liberals to victory: Mark Carney has led the Liberal party to victory in the federal election. It’s a stunning turnaround after the party trailed badly in polls only months ago, as voters showed their displeasure with Justin Trudeau’s government. A change in leadership, and the impact of serious threats from south of the border propelled the Liberals to a win. All vote-counting is not finalized, but CTV News is projecting a minority government. BNN Bloomberg will have in-depth analysis of the results and what comes next throughout the day. Our guests include former cabinet ministers John Manley, Perrin Beatty and Lisa Raitt, Dan Kelly from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Goldy Hyder of the Business Council of Canada, and Dennis Darby of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association. We will also look at the impact on key sectors of the Canadian economy, including energy with fund manager Eric Nuttall, and automotive with Flavio Volpe of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.
U.S. to relax auto part tariffs: Speaking of the auto sector, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to ease the impact of his auto tariffs, lifting some levies on foreign parts for cars and trucks made inside the U.S. That would benefit Canadian auto parts makers like Magna International, Linamar and Martin Rea. Imported automobiles also would be given a reprieve from separate tariffs on aluminum and steel. A proclamation setting the changes in motion could be signed as soon as today, before Trump’s planned speech in Michigan. The expected changes come just before the 25 per cent tariffs on foreign auto parts are set to take effect on May 3.
GM pulls earnings forecast: In other auto news, General Motors is pulling its earnings guidance for 2025 and putting US$4 billion in share buybacks on hold until it has more clarity on the impact of U.S. tariffs. GM gets close to half its domestic sales from imports shipped out of production facilities in Canada, Mexico and South Korea. This morning, GM reported profit fell in its latest quarter but beat analyst estimates.
UPS cutting jobs, Coke tops expectations: We also have significant news from some major U.S. companies this morning. United Parcel Service plans to cut 20,000 jobs this year and close dozens of facilities as it dramatically reduces shipments for e-commerce giant Amazon.com. Coca-Cola posted quarterly revenue and profit that beat Wall Street expectations and said it expects the effects of global trade conflicts to be “manageable.” Pfizer is cutting at least another US$1.2 billion from its spending while the company searches for its next big hit after its obesity pill failed. The drugmaker’s first quarter revenue fell short of the average analyst estimate.
