West Canadian lawmakers fight political fallout from migration

Vancouver, November 4: The mythical wild West of British
Columbia, a state founded on fishing, pelt trapping and
forestry, have go domesticated, but lawmakers are
fighting to continue the historical powerfulness of the hinterland. About 85% of people in Canada's western-most
province now dwell in densely-populated modern cities,
reflecting a planetary tendency in migration. The United Nations
predicts that by 2020, 60% of the world's population
will dwell in urban centres. But this displacement have go painful and disputatious here. And now, as legislators set up to go through a popular law to
protect rural electoral representation, Canada's greatest civil
liberties federal agency have declared war. "It's populate that vote, it's not mounts and hills and
streams," said Lawyer Rob Sherlock Holmes of the British Columbia River Civil
Liberties Association. He said the projected alterations to the
way the state chosens its representatives would go against the
"one-person-one-vote principle" and wipe out democratic equality. The association, a national group, announced it would use
Canada's fundamental law to struggle the law, to Canada's top court
if necessary. The issue began earlier this twelvemonth when an independent
Judicial Committee recommended taking ballots away from the far
north and boosting mental representation in cities. The
recommendations followed a law that necessitates equality of
representation in vote areas, called ridings, within a
margin of 25%. But well-organized and vocal rural residents, as well
as politicians from both chief political parties, loudly
objected to the change. The government's response was to
change the electoral bounds law. Agency Report

Canadian Dollar Rises to 47-Year High Before U.S. Rate Decision

Canada's dollar rose to the highest
since 1960 before the Federal Soldier Reserve's interest-rate meeting
where economic experts prognosis adoption costs will be cut to prevent
the world's biggest economic system from falling into a recession.

Canada's dollar rose to $1.0496 at 4:48 p.m. inch Toronto,
from $1.0482 yesterday. It touched $1.0511, the peak since
March 28, 1960. One U.S. dollar purchases 95.26 Canadian cents.

The U.S. cardinal depository financial institution is expected to cut adoption costs a
quarter-percentage point to 4.5 percentage tomorrow, according to
interest-rate hereafters traded on the Windy City Board of Trade. That
would get rid of the U.S. benchmark charge per unit advantage over Canada. Bankers' credences hereafters propose the Depository Financial Institution of Canada will
keep the cardinal loaning charge per unit unchanged at 4.5 percentage this year.

''The marketplace is in a retention form before the U.S. rate
decision,'' said Saint Matthew Strauss, a senior currency strategist
at red blood cell Capital Markets in Toronto. ''If the Fed's statement is
more dovish than the marketplace expects, it will fuel more than than additions in
the Canadian dollar.'' Richard Strauss said the currency may prolong its
gains around the $1.05 degree by the end of this year.

Canada's dollar erased an earlier worsen after the
Conference Board's measurement of U.S. consumer assurance drop more
than prognosis this month, to the last since October 2005, a
sign Americans are growing concerned about falling place values,
rising combustible measures and dimmer occupation prospects. Canada directs 80
percent of its exportations to the U.S.

Factory Prices

A separate study showed Canadian mill terms drop more
than prognosis in September, as a strengthening Canadian dollar
reduced the value of exported goods.

Factory terms drop 0.9 percent, the 5th consecutive monthly
decline, Statistics Canada's industrial merchandise terms index
showed. Economists predicted a 0.4 percentage decline, the median
of 20 estimations in a Bloomberg News survey.

Canada's dollar is the best performing artist this twelvemonth versus the
16 most-actively traded currencies. It have gained 22.4 percent
versus its U.S. opposite number in 2007. The Canadian dollar reached
parity with the U.S. dollar on Sept. Twenty for the first clip since
1976.

''It'll be difficult to name a top for the mass meeting in the Canadian
dollar,'' said Christian Dupont, a senior currency bargainer at
Societe Generale Sturmarbeiteilung in Montreal. ''The currency's demand is tied
to fiscal inflows, the U.S. dollar weakness, and the
commodity boom. As long as these factors are in play, you can't
predict how far this mass meeting can go.''

Export Slowing

Canada's currency will likely fall to $1 by the end of this
year, according to the median value prognosis of 39 economic experts surveyed
by Bloomberg News. Foreign exchange analysts nail down a possible
decline to a deceleration exportation sector. Depository Financial Institution of Canada Governor
David Contrivance said on Oct. Twenty-Two that the currency's ascent have been
''abnormally quick,'' and it will decelerate the Canadian economic system in
2008.

Canadian exportation growing will decelerate adjacent twelvemonth as a slumping
U.S. economic system chills demand for the country's products, Canada's
export-finance arm said today.

The value of commodity and services exportations from the world's
eighth-biggest economic system will turn 1.5 percentage next year, after
increasing 3.7 percentage in 2007, Sir Leslie Stephen Poloz, main economist
at Export Development Canada, said in a conference call.

The Canadian dollar should weaken to below 90 U.S. cents by
the end of adjacent twelvemonth as human race oil terms fall, the exportation agency
predicts.

Petroleum Oil Prices

Petroleum oil terms have got increased 74 percentage after reaching a
low for the twelvemonth of $49.90 per gun barrel on Jan. 18. Oil declined 3
percent to $90.33 per gun gun barrel today after Emma Goldman Sachs Group
Inc., the depository financial institution that said in July oil may attain $95 a barrel,
told clients it's ''time to take profits.''

The currency remained higher after Canadian Finance
Minister Jim Flaherty announced C$60 billion ($63 billion) in
tax cuts over the adjacent five years, after billowy oil terms and
record corporate net income led to higher-than-expected revenue
growth.

The commodity and services taxation will be lowered to 5 percent
from 6 percent, effectual Jan. 1, Flaherty said today in Ottawa
in his semi-annual financial update. The authorities also will lower
the country's corporate-income taxation charge per unit to 19.5 per centum next
year -- one percentage point more than planned.

The authorities will still have got adequate money to post a
surplus of C$11.6 billion in the financial twelvemonth ending adjacent March,
with C$10 billion of that gravy going to pay down debt,
Flaherty said.

The output on Canada's benchmark 4 percentage chemical bond owed June
2017 was small changed at 4.26 percent. The price, which moves
inversely to yield, rose 6 cents to C$97.93.

To reach the newsman on this story:
Haris Anwar in Toronto at

Canadian Pacific, HudBay Minerals, Magna: Canada Equity Preview

The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets today. This preview includes news that broke after markets closed on May 11. Symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index on May 11 rose 150.69, or 1.1 percent, to a record 14,003.82 in Toronto.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP CN): The nation's second- biggest railroad said that its maintenance workers are poised to walk off the job on Wednesday. The Calgary-based company is deploying managers to maintain services during the strike, according to a statement released on the CNS news wire. The shares gained C$1.20, or 1.7 percent, to C$74.09

HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM CN): The zinc miner was downgraded to ``neutral'' from ``buy'' by analyst Tony Lesiak at UBS. The shares lost 42 cents, or 1.6 percent, to C$25.55.

Magna International Inc. (MG/A CN): Canada's biggest car- parts maker was unsuccessful in its bid with partner Onex Corp. (OCX CN) for DaimlerChrysler AG's money-losing Chrysler unit. Private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP will buy 80.1 percent of Chrysler for $7.4 billion, DaimlerChrysler said today in a statement.

Magna shares fell 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, to C$93.50. Onex gained C$1.16, or 3 percent, to C$40.01.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Kipphoff in Toronto at
.

Canada Firms Unexpectedly Shed 5,200 Workers in April (Update3)

Canadian employers unexpectedly shed 5,200 jobs in April, the first drop in eight months, led by manufacturers and financial-services companies.

The jobless rate stayed at a three-decade low of 6.1 percent as people left the workforce, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists predicted 19,000 new jobs for April and a 6.1 percent jobless rate, based on the median of 25 and 26 estimates in Bloomberg News survey.

The drop marks a pause in the longest succession of job gains since a 15-month streak during 2002-2003. Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge, who has kept the country's main lending rate at 4.25 percent for almost a year, said last month that domestic demand will be the economy's ``primary engine of growth'' this year.

``Our hunch was right that after six months of unsustainably strong job growth, we would see a bit of a payback,'' said Ted Carmichael, chief economist at J.P. Morgan Securities in Toronto. Carmichael made the closest forecast, predicting no change in employment, and said doesn't see a negative trend developing. ``I don't think it changes the picture that the economy is doing well,'' he said.

Previous job gains, including 54,900 in March and 88,900 in January, led Canadians with new paychecks to drive home prices to record highs and offset a narrowing international trade surplus.

The Canadian dollar was little changed at 4:10 p.m. in Toronto, from 90 cents late yesterday.

The yield on the banker's acceptance contract due in September fell 3 basis points to 4.41 percent on the Montreal Exchange today, suggesting fewer investors speculate the central bank will raise its benchmark rate by then.

Central Bank

J.P. Morgan's Carmichael said he expects the central bank to raise rates in September and that today's report didn't alter his views.

Companies shed 14,900 full-time workers and added 9,700 part-time jobs in April. No economist surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted a decline in overall employment.

Workers aged 15 to 24 suffered most from the drop, with 10,100 losing their jobs. The unemployment rate for that group rose to 11.5 percent, from 11 percent in March.

Wage Growth

Average hourly wages rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier, faster than March's 2.2 percent pace, Statistics Canada said. Wage growth accelerated as companies hired 12,100 workers in the oil-rich western province of Alberta, where an energy boom has led to labor shortages.

Canada's core inflation rate, which excludes eight volatile items and some taxes, slowed to 2.3 percent in March from a year earlier, after reaching a four-year high of 2.4 percent in February, Statistics Canada said April 19. Overall inflation accelerated to 2.3 percent from 2 percent.

Quebec, the central Canadian province where many of the country's struggling manufacturers and lumber exporters are based, added 10,900 jobs, pushing its unemployment rate to a 33-year low of 7.2 percent.

Canada has added about 1.9 million jobs since 2001, in a country of 32.8 million people, as companies earn record profits from exports of commodities such as energy and metals. The job growth has stoked record homebuilding and consumer spending.

U.S. Jobs

Job growth in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in more than two years in April, as payroll losses spread from struggling homebuilders and factories to retailers. The month's 88,000 new jobs followed a gain of 177,000 in March that was smaller than first estimated, the Labor Department said May 4 in Washington. The U.S. jobless rate rose to 4.5 percent from 4.4 percent, which matched a five-year low, and wage growth slowed.

Canadian factories shed 18,600 workers in April and financial firms such as banks and insurers fired 17,200 employees, the statistics agency said.

Still, retailers and wholesalers added 20,100 jobs in April, while utilities hired 11,200 people and hospitals put 11,800 new workers on their payrolls.

The labor force shrank by 2,600 in April, pushing the participation rate down to 67.6 percent, from 67.7 percent in March.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandre Deslongchamps in Ottawa at
.

Bernier Will Wait for Ministry's Advice on Alcan Bid (Update1)

Canadian Industry Minister Maxime
Bernier said he'll wait for recommendations from his ministry
before determining whether to allow Alcoa Inc.'s acquisition of
Montreal-based Alcan Inc.

Bernier can block the bid, which would be the country's
biggest takeover ever, if he determines it wouldn't provide
``net benefits'' to Canada's economy, such as more productivity
and research and development. Under current law, the department
has as many as 45 days to review the proposed transaction,
unless the government and Alcoa agree to extend the period.

``We want to be sure that each investment we have in this
country must be at the net benefit for this country,'' Bernier
told reporters today in Ottawa. ``I'm going to receive a
recommendation by my department on that, so we'll see.''

The Alcoa offer came amid growing concern among
politicians and some investors that too many firms in Canada
are being acquired by foreign competitors. The bid for Alcan
brings to almost 600 the number of announced foreign takeovers
in the past 16 months, worth a combined $156 billion, according
to Bloomberg data. That compares with just $43 billion in 2005.

While Quebec Industry Minister Raymond Bachand said
earlier this week that Alcoa may lose subsidies if jobs are
lost, Bernier hasn't commented on the bid, citing the
investment law's ``confidentiality provisions.''

Bernier also declined comment when asked today whether he
has any problems with foreign acquisitions in general.

Primary Metals

Alcoa promised May 7 to invest $5 billion in facilities
across Quebec, establish headquarters for the company's primary
metals unit in Montreal, and move some research and development
operations to the province.

The company, whose Canadian unit already has about 5,000
employees in Quebec and posted $3 billion in revenue last year,
said it would keep head offices in New York and Montreal, and
would list its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum producer, said May 7
that it will offer $26.9 billion in cash and stock for Alcan to
become more competitive against rivals around the world. Alcoa
received financing commitments for $30 billion of loans for the
purchase, according to a regulatory filing.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at
;
Alexandre Deslongchamps in Ottawa at
.

Canada's Dollar Reaches 8-Month High as Commodity Prices Rise

The Canadian dollar rose to an eight-
month high as the prices of some of the nation's commodities
exports climbed.

The Canadian currency also gained on speculation
international investors will purchase Canadian companies,
boosting demand for the currency. Bank of Canada Governor David
Dodge suggested this week that the central bank won't use
interest rates to slow the currency's appreciation after it
gained 5.5 percent against the U.S. dollar this year.

``Oil prices have stabilized, supporting the Canadian
dollar,'' said Matthew Strauss, a currency strategist at RBC
Capital Markets in Toronto. ``Speculation of several sizable
acquisition deals also pushed the Canadian dollar even higher.''

The Canadian dollar traded at 90.61 U.S. cents at 8:36 a.m.
in Toronto, from 90.28 U.S. cents yesterday, and reached the
highest since Sept. 1. One U.S. dollar buys C$1.1036.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Ye Xie in New York at

Canada's Dollar Rises on Manufacturing Expectations, U.S. GDP

Canada's dollar approached a seven-
month high, after a government survey showed factories expect
increased production in the second quarter and the U.S. gross
domestic product started the year below economists'
expectations.

Canada's currency is headed for its sixth straight weekly
gain after a quarterly survey of 3,000 managers by Statistics
Canada in Ottawa showed 22 percent of manufacturers predicted
higher output, a 4 percentage point rise from January.

``That report was a positive for the Canadian dollar,''
said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in
Toronto.

The Canadian dollar has gained 0.7 percent this week, to
89.65 U.S. cents at 12:11 p.m. in Toronto, rising from 89.15
U.S. cents yesterday. Earlier today, the dollar reached 89.85,
the highest since Sept. 29. One U.S. dollar buys C$1.1155.

The Canadian dollar strengthened against all 16 most
actively traded currencies.

The production report added to speculation the Bank of
Canada may need to raise its benchmark lending rate between
banks later this year to curb inflation. It has stood at 4.25
percent since May 24.

The central bank said in a statement earlier this week that
inflation will peak at about 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter,
barely within its 1 percent to 3 percent target band.

A separate report released this morning from Washington
showed U.S. gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and
services produced, grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent from
January through March, slower than the 2.5 pace in the previous
Quarter, the Commerce Department reported. Economists surveyed
by Bloomberg expected a 1.8 percent increase. Canada ships 80
percent of its exports to the U.S.

Fed Speculation

The report pushed the U.S. dollar to a record low against
the euro and boosted its Canadian counterpart on speculation
that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates to stimulate the
world's largest economy.

``Odds are tilting towards lower rates in the U.S. and
higher rates in Canada,'' said Marc Levesque, chief fixed income
and foreign exchange strategist at TD Securities in Toronto.
``The rate convergence story is overwhelmingly Canada
positive.''

Bank of Canada policy makers on April 24 kept the benchmark
lending rate unchanged for the seventh time, while the Fed has
held its target rate for overnight lending between banks at 5.25
percent since June.

Narrowing Yield Gap

The yield advantage of 10-year U.S. Treasury notes over
similar-maturity Canadian bonds was 47 basis points, down from
50 basis points yesterday. A narrowing yield gap boosts the
allure of Canadian dollar-denominated assets.

``The sense of the market is the next move for the Fed is
down, that's a positive for the Canadian dollar,'' Guatieri
said.

The currency also got a boost earlier today after Statoil
ASA, Norway's biggest oil company, agreed to buy North American
Oil Sands Corp., an Alberta-based oil-sands developer, for $2
billion. Higher commodities prices have made Canadian resource-
based companies attractive for buyers. Crude oil prices have
increased more than 30 percent since their recent low of $49.90
per barrel on Jan. 18.

More Mergers

The announcement ``could increase speculation of more M&A
deals involving Canadian oil companies in coming months,''
Matthew Strauss, a currency strategist in Toronto at RBC Capital
Markets, wrote in a report today. He called the acquisition
``bullish'' for the currency.

The Canadian currency has gained more than 3 percent this
month against the U.S. dollar on evidence of economic strength
and on gains in commodities, which account for 54 percent of the
nation's exports.

The yield on Canada's government benchmark 10-year bond
rose nearly 3 basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 4.22
percent. The price of the 4 percent security maturing in June
2016 fell 23 cents to $C98.33. Prices move inversely to yields.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Annie Pinkert in New York at

Petro-Canada Net Almost Triples as U.K Field Starts (Update4)

Petro-Canada, the third-largest oil
company in Canada, said first-quarter profit almost tripled as
the start-up of the Buzzard field in the North Sea boosted
production and stronger fuel demand widened refining margins.

Net income rose to C$590 million ($526 million), or C$1.18 a
share, from C$206 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier, the
Calgary-based company said in a statement today. Excluding one-
time items, the results beat the expectations of analysts.
Revenue rose 16 percent to C$4.84 billion.

Profit from refining more than doubled on stronger demand
for gasoline and other fuel, Petro-Canada said. Chief Executive
Officer Ron Brenneman predicted that the Buzzard field, the
largest offshore U.K. discovery in the past decade, will help
boost the company's production by 15 percent this year.

``It was a very good quarter,'' said Tom Ebbern, an analyst
at Tristone Capital Inc. in Calgary. ``In terms of beating the
numbers, it really was refining and marketing.''

Excluding one-time items such as asset sales and foreign
exchange gains, Petro-Canada said it earned C$1.17 a share. On
that basis, the company was expected to earn C$1.01, the average
of 12 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Shares of Petro-Canada rose C$1.60, or 3.4 percent, to
C$48.60 at 11:35 a.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange. A close at
that price would mark the biggest one-day gain since Jan. 23. The
stock, which has 11 buy ratings from analysts, eight holds and
two sells, has fallen 15 percent in the past year.

Imperial Refinery Fire

First-quarter refining profit soared to C$184 million from
C$75 million a year earlier. Stronger fuel demand and improved
margins contributed to the increase, the company said.

``This increase in petroleum product demand, which was about
3 percent quarter-over-quarter, was certainly at the high end of
anything that we've seen in the last couple of years,''
Brenneman, 60, told analysts and investors on a conference call.
``The strength of it has been a bit surprising.''

Refining margins were helped by the shutdown in February of
Imperial Oil Ltd.'s refinery in Nanticoke, Ontario, which
tightened gasoline supplies and boosted prices, he said.

Combined production of oil and natural gas rose 7.4 percent
to the equivalent of 405,000 barrels of oil a day with the start-
up of Buzzard. Petro-Canada also benefited from increased
production from fields off Canada's east coast and higher prices
for output from its MacKay River oil-sands project, said
Tristone's Ebbern, who rates Petro-Canada's shares at
``outperform'' and owns none.

Petro-Canada owns about 30 percent of Buzzard, located about
100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland. The
field may produce the equivalent of as much as 200,000 barrels of
oil a day later this year, lead partner Nexen Inc. predicted in
December.

First-quarter oil production rose 14 percent to an average
of 280,400 barrels a day. The company said its oil sold for
C$63.46 a barrel, a drop of 2.1 percent from a year earlier.

Gas production fell 5 percent to 748 million cubic feet a
day. The fuel sold for C$7.32 per thousand cubic feet, a decline
of 16 percent from a year earlier.

One-Time Items

Petro-Canada produces oil and natural gas in North America,
Africa and the U.K. It also owns refineries and a national chain
of filling stations in Canada.

Derivatives contracts used to lock in prices on about half
of Buzzard's output reduced first-quarter profit by C$60 million,
compared with costs of C$149 million a year earlier, Petro-Canada
said. The sale of fields in Syria increased profit by C$134
million in the first quarter of 2006, and a U.K. tax change cost
C$242 million.

Imperial Oil Ltd., 70 percent owned by Irving, Texas-based
Exxon Mobil Corp., is Canada's largest oil company by 2006 sales,
followed by EnCana Corp.

(For a replay of Petro-Canada's conference call, go to the
company's Web site at -
canada.ca/eng/investor/845.aspx.)

To contact the reporters on this story:
Ian McKinnon in Calgary
;
Bill Murray in London at
.