Author: TSX Stocks

April 2025 is proving to be a golden month for Canadian investors, with the price of the precious metal experiencing a significant surge. This jump in gold prices has not only grabbed the attention of people but has also had a big effect on the overall Canadian stock market, even more so than the Bank of Canada’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

Canada’s central bank has maintained its key policy rate at 2.75%, following seven consecutive cuts.

Right now, on April 22, here’s what you’d pay per gram:
For the purest gold (24 Karat): $154.75

For slightly less pure gold (22 Karat): $146.50

For gold mixed with other metals (18 Karat): $119.90Since the start of April, the price of both the purest and slightly less pure gold has gone up by about 5%. Even though there were some days which saw the gold prices going down, they bounced back and have been rising. This shows that there’s a lot of interest in buying gold right now.This rise in gold prices has also been good for companies that mine gold in Canada. On April 16, their stocks did better than any other group on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This also helped the main stock market index to go up a little bit, even though the Bank of Canada decided not to change interest rates.

Experts say that people often buy gold when they’re worried about things like rising prices (inflation) or instability in the world. Also, because many central banks around the world are buying more gold, it makes gold seem like a safer and more stable investment, which can push its price higher.

The Bank of Canada has also warned the US tariff war unleashed by President Donald Trump could lead to a rise in inflation. There are chances, although it is a worst-case scenario, that the country may also plunge into recession.

So, gold seems to be a safe bet for many investors who are flocking to buy the yellow metal.

(Reuters) -Futures for Canada’s main stock index rose on Tuesday, bouncing back after the index tumbled in the previous session, boosted by gains in commodity prices.

June futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 1% at 7.23 a.m. ET (1123 GMT).

The Toronto Stock Exchange fell on Monday, snapping its five-day winning streak, as investors were jittery after U.S. President Donald Trump’s scathing attack on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates.

The President called Powell a “major loser” in a social media post on Monday, which raised concerns about the independence of the central bank.

In commodities, gold prices continued their record run and briefly broke above $3,500 per ounce to an all-time high on Tuesday.

Oil prices also rose as investors took advantage of the previous day’s losses to cover short positions.

Back home, Prime Minister Mark Carney, ahead in polls in the run-up to an April 28 election, renewed calls on Monday for voters to give him a strong mandate to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

On the economic front, Canadian retail sales data later this week will offer insights into consumer spending patterns amid the uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.

In corporate news, a U.S. appeals court on Monday revived a proposed data privacy class action against Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify.

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(Reporting by Ragini Mathur; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

FireFly Metals Ltd has appointed highly experienced Jessie Liu-Ernsting as chief corporate development officer, further strengthening its executive team as it advances its Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Canada.

Read more: FireFly Metals launches major drill push at fully funded Green Bay copper-gold mine

Based in Toronto, Liu-Ernsting brings extensive experience in investor relations and is a qualified professional engineer. She will lead the company’s strategic and corporate development initiatives as well as investor engagement, commencing in the role from mid to late May 2025.

Her appointment follows FireFly’s recent dual listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange – a significant step in broadening its presence among North American investors.

“We continue to create substantial shareholder value with our strategy to grow and upgrade the resource while doing the mining studies associated with a production re-start,” FireFly managing director Steve Parsons said.

“Given the clear appetite among North American investors for copper and gold projects in their region, we believe there is a big opportunity to grow FireFly’s profile in this community.

“Jessie’s experience in North American capital markets will help ensure we establish a strong connection between FireFly and North American investors.”

FireFly’s new corporate development chief brings deep investor relations and mining finance experience

Jessie Liu-Ernsting was previously vice president, investor relations and communications at G Mining Ventures Corp. (TSX: GMIN), a TSX Venture 50™ and OTCQX Best 50 company. During her tenure, she formed part of the leadership team that drove a 600% increase in the company’s share price, growing its market capitalisation to C$4.7 billion.

Jessie Liu-Ernsting has been appointed as chief corporate development officer at Firefly.

In her role, Liu-Ernsting developed and led GMIN’s inaugural investor relations program, which significantly enhanced investor engagement and market visibility. She played a key role in securing the US$481 million Tocantinzinho project financing package in 2022, comprising gold streaming, equity, debt, and equipment financing—despite prevailing market challenges. In 2024, she also contributed to the successful completion of GMIN’s C$875 million merger with Reunion Gold, which was approved by shareholders.

Prior to GMIN, Liu-Ernsting served as the inaugural Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations at a junior mining company, where she oversaw a 14-fold increase in share price and facilitated capital raisings totalling A$33 million during the COVID-19 pandemic. She previously assisted another publicly listed mining company in reaching a settlement over a contested proxy vote.

Earlier in her career, Liu-Ernsting was an investment manager at Resource Capital Funds, where she was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, structuring, and managing investments in the natural resources sector. Her professional background also includes engineering roles with leading Canadian firms, working on backfill, mining, milling, and capital innovation projects.

Liu-Ernsting currently serves as a director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). She has stepped down from her board position at FireFly Metals to take on her new role, and the company is now conducting a search for a new independent non-executive director.