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Nesbitt wins women's 1,000 meters
VANCOUVER (Reuters) –
Christine Nesbitt of Canada mounted a gutsy charge to the finish line to claim gold in the women's 1,000 meters at the Richmond Olympic Oval on Thursday, roared on by a fanatical crowd. Nesbitt, the world champion and World Cup leader, claimed the Olympic title by a scant two-hundredths of a second in one minute 16.56 seconds that met with thunderous cheers when the time was posted.
Poll shows Conservatives, Liberals stalled
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Liberals have failed to gain any ground on the Conservatives, despite discontent with the government's decision to suspend Parliament until early March, according to a new poll. An Ekos opinion poll released on Thursday showed the Conservatives with 31.2 percent support, compared with 29 percent for the Liberals.
TSX rises for seventh session, led by golds
TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index finished higher for a seventh straight session on Thursday, led by gold mining shares, which got a boost from better than expected results from Barrick Gold. Barrick, the world's biggest gold miner, led all heavyweight gainers, up 3.3 percent at C$40.94, after it announced plans to spin off its African assets into a new company and said its quarterly operating profit more than doubled on stronger gold prices.
Bank of Canada: inflation horizon may be shorter
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada suggested on Thursday that the changes it makes to interest rates may affect inflation more quickly than previously thought, and that a move away from its current inflation-targeting model could be relatively easy. A research paper published in the Bank of Canada Review analyzes the causes and consequences of Canada's "low inflation persistence", a phrase that means the inflation rate responds quickly to changes. The bank used as a metaphor the ability of a speedboat to change direction faster than a massive ocean liner.
"Dead" singer Gordon Lightfoot says he feels fine
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Gordon Lightfoot is very much alive despite reports on Thursday that said the legendary 71-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter had died while on a North American tour. Lightfoot, whose hits include "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", "Sundown", and "Carefree Highway", was said to have been pronounced dead by a prank message posted on the Twitter micro-blogging service, according to the website of the Globe and Mail newspaper. Reports of his death spread quickly on radio, television, and news websites.
Media spotlight hard for Canadian athletes to hold
VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian medal winners should bask in the media spotlight because it will fade sooner than if they were European athletes, the chief executive of Canada's Olympic Committee said on Wednesday. Athletes like Alexandre Bilodeau and Maelle Ricker became instant Canadian heroes at the Vancouver Games by winning gold on home soil, prompting talk of their marketing potential.
Canada's permafrost retreats amid warming trend
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The permanently frozen ground known as permafrost is retreating northward in the area around Canada's James Bay, a sign of a decades-long regional warming trend, a climate scientist said on Wednesday. When permafrost melts, it can liberate the powerful greenhouse gas methane that is locked in the frozen soil. The amount of methane contained in permafrost around James Bay is slight compared to the vast stores of the chemical found in ancient, deep permafrost in the Yukon, Alaska and Siberia.
Canada budget watchdog warns of aging work force
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's fiscal structure is not sustainable in the long term and will lead to bigger deficits as the population ages unless the government takes preemptive action, the country's budget watchdog said on Thursday. A report by the parliamentary budget officer said that to close a looming shortfall, the government would have to raise taxes, reduce spending or a combination of both to make up the equivalent of 1 to 2 percent of gross domestic product.
Canada to host G8 development ministers in April
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will host a meeting of G8 development ministers in the Atlantic Coast city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on April 26-28 to focus on strategies for saving the lives of mothers and young children in poor countries, the government said on Thursday. The ministers will prepare proposals for a Group of Eight summit to be held in Muskoka, Ontario, in June. The G8 is comprised of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.
Canadian dollar rises after higher Canada inflation
LONDON (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose on Thursday after data showed inflation in the country rose slightly higher than expected. Canada's annual inflation rate in January jumped to 1.9 percent from 1.3 percent in December on higher gasoline and car prices, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.
