Category: Canada

Purpose Investments, a Canadian asset manager, has officially filed a preliminary prospectus today to launch the world’s first spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

This is a race against the US, where multiple companies have already filed but are yet to get approved. In their press release, Purpose Investments said they’re betting Canada will get there first.

The XRP ETF reportedly plans to hold long-term Ripple (XRP) assets and give investors an easy, regulated way to profit from XRP’s growth. “As XRP sees increasing adoption and institutional interest, we believe an ETF can offer investors a transparent and familiar way to access it within a regulated framework,” said Som Seif, CEO of Purpose Investments.

Grayscale fights for its XRP ETF approval in the US

Meanwhile, in America, Grayscale Investments filed an application on January 30, to convert its existing XRP Trust into an ETF. They submitted the proposal to the New York Stock Exchange and tapped Coinbase Custody Trust Company as their official custodian.

Grayscale manages $16.1 million in XRP through its current trust, and converting it into an ETF would let it expand access to more investors. The company is optimistic because they believe the SEC will finally budge under new regulatory leadership.

Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale’s CEO, said, “We believe that allowing shares of the Trust to list and trade on the Exchange as an ETF would provide investors with a way to invest in XRP on a regulated national securities exchange.”

CoinShares and Bitwise join the battle

CoinShares, a major European digital asset manager, has also filed for an XRP ETF. Their application hit regulators in early January 2025, though they’ve been tight-lipped about where the fund would be listed or how much XRP they plan to manage.

Not to be left out, Bitwise Asset Management also submitted its own XRP ETF application around the same time as CoinShares. Bitwise, already a big player in crypto index funds, wants to take advantage of its reputation to gain approval.

But like CoinShares, they’ve kept many details under wraps, and with Canada making faster moves, it seems US companies are at risk of losing ground. Wouldn’t be the first time either, as we saw with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even Solana ETFs.

The sudden rush for XRP ETFs follows Ripple’s legal victory against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and also ‘crypto president’ Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

After Gary Gensler stepped down as SEC chairman, Trump appointed Mark Uyeda as acting chair until Paul Atkins (who is extremely pro-crypto) could take over after his Senate confirmation. This change in leadership is making crypto insiders hopeful that the SEC will become crypto-friendly.

According to Polymarket, there’s an 82% chance that the US will approve at least one XRP ETF in 2025. Back in January, this prediction hit 89% right after Trump’s inauguration, but it dropped slightly as the SEC continued to review applications.

More than half of Polymarket participants expect the first approval to come by July 31, 2025. If that happens, Grayscale, CoinShares, and Bitwise could get their chance—but Canada is positioned to steal the global spotlight if Purpose’s application is approved first.

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U.S. President Donald Trump says he’s following through on his promise to levy punishing tariffs of 25 per cent on imports from Canada and Mexico, sticking to a recently announced “will-he-or-won’t-he” deadline of Feb. 1. The move leaves Canadians asking whether these sanctions represent the highest tariff levels the U.S. will impose, how long they will be in force, and how these sanctions will affect investors and the broader economy. 

The situation might be described as Kafkaesque, given that it’s unclear exactly which transgressions have earned the punishing tariffs. The list of accusations from Trump and U.S. officials has been updated and amended several times. Is the problem undocumented migrants and fentanyl slipping across the Canadian border? Unfair trade practices under the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) involving access to Canadian markets for U.S. dairy products? The division of employment opportunities across the auto sector? Canada’s failure to live up to military spending commitments? All of the above?

Part of the confusion stems from the Trump team’s inconsistent messaging. For example, Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, recently stated that the Feb. 1 tariffs were related entirely to the issue of border security and could be sidestepped by “swift” action. The Canadian federal government had already cobbled together and announced a $1.3-billion border security plan, but that was apparently insufficient to stave off the tariffs.

Such inconsistencies may be a deliberate tactic on Trump’s part, says Vivek Astvansh, associate professor, Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, and a researcher on the use of language and rhetoric in trade negotiations. He sees Trump preparing for a longer game.

“I believe we should care less about the reasons Trump is threatening tariffs, because the reason keeps shifting,” Astvansh says. “He’s creating shocks for Mexico and Canada, sowing confusion and uncertainty. In my opinion, this will last until next year when the U.S., Mexico, Canada trade agreement has to be renegotiated. When Canada comes to the negotiating table in 2026, he hopes to see the country weakened, shaken and annoyed, so that we’ll be more likely to agree to terms more favourable to the U.S.”

While many provincial leaders are calling for retaliatory tariffs, Astvansh says that such a show of bravado would be the wrong approach. Instead, he believes negotiators would be better off working quietly behind the scenes, with people in Trump’s inner circle and with state governors, to create a more friendly cross-border business environment, while taking the wind out of the sails of Trump’s public theatre.

“Mutual tariffs will be inflationary and hurt businesses and people in both countries,” Astvansh says.

The question is, how badly will Canadians be hurt?

Jessica Brandon-Jepp, senior director, fiscal and financial services policy, with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, notes that mutual tariffs between Canada and the U.S. would cut deeply across the North American economy, but would almost certainly cut Canada deeper.

The organization’s model supposes a 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on all imports to the U.S., matched by retaliatory tariffs from exporting countries. Under that scenario, the Canadian economy would enter into recession by mid-2025 and Canada’s GDP would shrink by 2.6 per cent, costing Canadians approximately $1,900 per person annually. U.S. GDP, meanwhile, would likewise take a beating, shrinking by 1.6 per cent and costing Americans about $1,300 per person annually.

In part, the Chamber’s modeling is based on a 10 per cent tariff imposed across the board by President Richard Nixon in August 1971. Although the tariff lasted only four months, it’s estimated that the measure reduced Canadian exports to the U.S by 2.6 per cent. Analysts also projected that the tariff would have resulted in the loss of as many as 90,000 Canadian jobs if they had been imposed for a year.

“Resource-based sectors would be heavily affected,” Brandon-Jepp says of the most recent Trump tariffs. “And in a highly integrated economy, where goods pass back and forth across the border multiple times—for example in manufacturing—you could see an outsized risk of tariffs also being imposed multiple times.”

Clearly, the impact on the real economy could be severe. But in the financial markets, Canadian investors may have an easier time weathering the tariffs.

Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones, notes that approximately one third of the revenue generated by companies in the S&P/TSX composite index comes from the U.S., and that some sectors exporting large amounts of goods to the U.S are not well represented in the Canadian equity market.

“The auto sector is a good example,” he says. “Automotive components account for 10 per cent of Canada’s exports to the U.S.—the second largest category of exports after oil, gas and minerals. But the auto sector’s representation on the TSX is just 0.5 per cent.”

In addition, many heavily weighted sectors on Canada’s stock exchange export no physical goods to the U.S.—for example, the financial sector, which comprises about one third of the TSX.

That leaves energy and materials as the sectors most likely to bear the brunt of tariffs. Trump’s Jan. 30 tariff announcement contains a faint hope clause—he was, apparently, still considering whether to spare Canada’s oil exports from tariffs. However, as significant as a 25 per cent tariff on oil might be, Kourkafas says he believes that commodity prices will be a more important driver of financial performance for the sector. As a result, U.S. energy policy may play a greater role in energy sector earnings than tariffs.

While Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports in 2018 resulted in somewhat greater volatility in Canadian equity markets, Kourkafas notes that this was exacerbated by rising interest rates. He cautions investors this time around to play the long game and to avoid short-term, reactionary portfolio shifts, especially in an environment where central banks are trending dovish.

“Many of the issues President Trump cites could potentially see a solution through incremental measures that won’t be too costly for Canada,” he says. “Long-term tariffs and retaliatory tariffs would be like sand in the gears of the economy, making it less efficient, but we don’t expect them to be in effect indefinitely.” 

Investors can shed some trade risk, he says, by maintaining a well-diversified and balanced portfolio across geographic regions. For most Canadian investors, U.S. equity allocations are already a big part of their portfolios, and those holdings will likely be less affected by tariffs.

“We continue to recommend a slight underweight to Canadian large-cap, developed overseas large-cap, and developed overseas small- and mid-cap stocks, offset with an overweight to U.S. large-cap and U.S. small- and mid-cap stocks,” Kourkafas says. “If we do see trade-related volatility show up, it could be a buying opportunity for investors, given that Canada has a favourable backdrop supporting the markets.”

As much as the reality of a 25 per cent U.S. tariff has highlighted the potential for damage to the Canadian economy, Brandon-Jepp says that it also underscores a very real problem that Canadians have placed on the backburner for decades. “Existing internal trade barriers between the provinces are already having an impact on the Canadian economy greater that the potential impact of U.S. tariffs,” she says. “The removal of those barriers would be a huge benefit to our economy and help insulate us against future trade challenges.”

The Canadian Family Offices newsletter comes out on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you are interested in stories about Canadian enterprising families, family offices and the professionals who work with them, but like your content aggregated, you can sign up for our free newsletter here.

Please visit here to see information about our standards of journalistic excellence.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he’s following through on his promise to levy punishing tariffs of 25 per cent on imports from Canada and Mexico. The move leaves Canadians asking whether these sanctions represent the highest tariff levels the U.S. will impose, how long they will be in force, and how these sanctions will affect investors and the broader economy. 

The situation might be described as Kafkaesque, given that it’s unclear exactly which transgressions have earned the punishing tariffs. The list of accusations from Trump and U.S. officials has been updated and amended several times. Is the problem undocumented migrants and fentanyl slipping across the Canadian border? Unfair trade practices under the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) involving access to Canadian markets for U.S. dairy products? The division of employment opportunities across the auto sector? Canada’s failure to live up to military spending commitments? All of the above?

Part of the confusion stems from the Trump team’s inconsistent messaging. For example, Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, recently stated that the Feb. 1 tariffs were related entirely to the issue of border security and could be sidestepped by “swift” action. The Canadian federal government had already cobbled together and announced a $1.3-billion border security plan, but that was apparently insufficient to stave off the tariffs.

Such inconsistencies may be a deliberate tactic on Trump’s part, says Vivek Astvansh, associate professor, Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University, and a researcher on the use of language and rhetoric in trade negotiations. He sees Trump preparing for a longer game.

“I believe we should care less about the reasons Trump is threatening tariffs, because the reason keeps shifting,” Astvansh says. “He’s creating shocks for Mexico and Canada, sowing confusion and uncertainty. In my opinion, this will last until next year when the U.S., Mexico, Canada trade agreement has to be renegotiated. When Canada comes to the negotiating table in 2026, he hopes to see the country weakened, shaken and annoyed, so that we’ll be more likely to agree to terms more favourable to the U.S.”

While many provincial leaders are calling for retaliatory tariffs, Astvansh says that such a show of bravado would be the wrong approach. Instead, he believes negotiators would be better off working quietly behind the scenes, with people in Trump’s inner circle and with state governors, to create a more friendly cross-border business environment, while taking the wind out of the sails of Trump’s public theatre.

“Mutual tariffs will be inflationary and hurt businesses and people in both countries,” Astvansh says.

The question is, how badly will Canadians be hurt?

Jessica Brandon-Jepp, senior director, fiscal and financial services policy, with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, notes that mutual tariffs between Canada and the U.S. would cut deeply across the North American economy, but would almost certainly cut Canada deeper.

The organization’s model supposes a 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on all imports to the U.S., matched by retaliatory tariffs from exporting countries. Under that scenario, the Canadian economy would enter into recession by mid-2025 and Canada’s GDP would shrink by 2.6 per cent, costing Canadians approximately $1,900 per person annually. U.S. GDP, meanwhile, would likewise take a beating, shrinking by 1.6 per cent and costing Americans about $1,300 per person annually.

In part, the Chamber’s modeling is based on a 10 per cent tariff imposed across the board by President Richard Nixon in August 1971. Although the tariff lasted only four months, it’s estimated that the measure reduced Canadian exports to the U.S by 2.6 per cent. Analysts also projected that the tariff would have resulted in the loss of as many as 90,000 Canadian jobs if they had been imposed for a year.

“Resource-based sectors would be heavily affected,” Brandon-Jepp says of the most recent Trump tariffs. “And in a highly integrated economy, where goods pass back and forth across the border multiple times—for example in manufacturing—you could see an outsized risk of tariffs also being imposed multiple times.”

Clearly, the impact on the real economy could be severe. But in the financial markets, Canadian investors may have an easier time weathering the tariffs.

Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones, notes that approximately one third of the revenue generated by companies in the S&P/TSX composite index comes from the U.S., and that some sectors exporting large amounts of goods to the U.S are not well represented in the Canadian equity market.

“The auto sector is a good example,” he says. “Automotive components account for 10 per cent of Canada’s exports to the U.S.—the second largest category of exports after oil, gas and minerals. But the auto sector’s representation on the TSX is just 0.5 per cent.”

In addition, many heavily weighted sectors on Canada’s stock exchange export no physical goods to the U.S.—for example, the financial sector, which comprises about one third of the TSX.

That leaves energy and materials as the sectors most likely to bear the brunt of tariffs. Trump’s Jan. 30 tariff announcement contains a faint hope clause—he was, apparently, still considering whether to spare Canada’s oil exports from tariffs. However, as significant as a 25 per cent tariff on oil might be, Kourkafas says he believes that commodity prices will be a more important driver of financial performance for the sector. As a result, U.S. energy policy may play a greater role in energy sector earnings than tariffs.

While Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports in 2018 resulted in somewhat greater volatility in Canadian equity markets, Kourkafas notes that this was exacerbated by rising interest rates. He cautions investors this time around to play the long game and to avoid short-term, reactionary portfolio shifts, especially in an environment where central banks are trending dovish.

“Many of the issues President Trump cites could potentially see a solution through incremental measures that won’t be too costly for Canada,” he says. “Long-term tariffs and retaliatory tariffs would be like sand in the gears of the economy, making it less efficient, but we don’t expect them to be in effect indefinitely.” 

Investors can shed some trade risk, he says, by maintaining a well-diversified and balanced portfolio across geographic regions. For most Canadian investors, U.S. equity allocations are already a big part of their portfolios, and those holdings will likely be less affected by tariffs.

“We continue to recommend a slight underweight to Canadian large-cap, developed overseas large-cap, and developed overseas small- and mid-cap stocks, offset with an overweight to U.S. large-cap and U.S. small- and mid-cap stocks,” Kourkafas says. “If we do see trade-related volatility show up, it could be a buying opportunity for investors, given that Canada has a favourable backdrop supporting the markets.”

As much as the reality of a 25 per cent U.S. tariff has highlighted the potential for damage to the Canadian economy, Brandon-Jepp says that it also underscores a very real problem that Canadians have placed on the backburner for decades. “Existing internal trade barriers between the provinces are already having an impact on the Canadian economy greater that the potential impact of U.S. tariffs,” she says. “The removal of those barriers would be a huge benefit to our economy and help insulate us against future trade challenges.”

The Canadian Family Offices newsletter comes out on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you are interested in stories about Canadian enterprising families, family offices and the professionals who work with them, but like your content aggregated, you can sign up for our free newsletter here.

Please visit here to see information about our standards of journalistic excellence.

Dream Unlimited has launched a new institution-backed joint venture that plans to invest up to $2 billion into rental properties across Canada’s major markets.

The joint venture waived conditions on its first investment, a portfolio of multifamily assets in Toronto’s east end, on Jan. 28. No further details about the acquisition were provided.

A spokesperson for Dream responded to RENX’s interview request by saying the corporation was unable to comment further on the joint venture at this point.

It was announced as part of a wider update of Dream’s recent multifamily activities which was released this week.

Dream develops office and residential assets in Toronto, owns stabilized income-generating assets in both Canada and the United States, and has $27 billion of assets under management across four Toronto Stock Exchange-listed trusts, its private asset management business and numerous partnerships. It also develops land and residential and income-generating assets in Western Canada. 

Expansion of Dream’s multifamily division

The joint venture is the latest step in the continued growth of Dream’s private asset management platform. The expansion of a multifamily development pipeline remains a significant driver of growth for its income property division and this venture is an opportunity to deliver value for institutional partners while adding to the company’s presence in the Canadian rental market.

Dream’s Canadian multifamily division has grown from 48 units in 2017 to 3,270 completed units.

Dream’s update on its ongoing multifamily initiatives revealed it has completed more than 1,650 rental units in downtown Toronto and two master-planned communities: Zibi in the National Capital Region of Ottawa and Gatineau; and Brighton in Saskatoon.

This includes Birch House, a 238-unit building in Canary Landing that welcomed its first residents in October. Canary Landing is a joint venture with Kilmer Group and Tricon Residential and is part of the Canary District in the east end of downtown Toronto. 

Birch House adds to Dream’s growing portfolio in the Canary District and is adjacent to Maple House, which started accepting residents in 2023 and is 78 per cent leased. 

A further 1,950 units are under construction, including Cherry House in Canary Landing and Odenak (formerly Dream LeBreton) and Block 204 at Zibi in Ottawa.

Construction financing for all three projects has been secured through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Apartment Construction Loan Program.

Waiver of charges will speed up Toronto developments

The City of Toronto has announced the waiver of development charges on selected projects to advance purpose-built rental construction across the city. Two of Dream’s projects under management, with a combined 2,500 units, were named as part of this waiver. 

“I think the waiver of development charges is going to make a big difference to get things started,” Dream president and chief responsible officer Michael Cooper told RENX in a November interview.

Saskatoon’s Brighton project is growing rapidly, with the completion of The Teal and a portion of Blocks 166 and JK in the fourth quarter of last year, adding 144 units to Dream’s recurring income portfolio. The recently completed developments are 93 per cent leased. 

Dream expects to continue or commence construction on 500 units within Brighton and its first purpose-built rentals in Calgary’s Alpine Park this year. It expects development and hold returns of 15 to 25 per cent over 10 years on its Western Canada apartments.

Cooper told RENX in the November interview that Dream owns 8,000 acres of land in Western Canada and has room to build approximately 80,000 more units across that region.

Dream also has a small stake in an investor group, which also includes TPG Angelo Gordon and Stadium Capital Partners, that announced an agreement to acquire a Dutch residential portfolio from European Residential REIT for $1.04 billion in September. 

The acquisition includes nearly 3,000 single-family and multifamily units across close to 90 sites in the Netherlands. The units will be managed and operated by the investor group.

The proposed acquisition of Seven & i Holdings by Canadian firm Alimentation Couche-Tard first surfaced last year, sending shockwaves through Japan. Such a move is unprecedented, as major Japanese corporations are typically the acquirers, not the targets, of foreign takeovers.

On August 19, 2024, Seven & i Holdings became the target of another acquisition bid. Alimentation Couche-Tard, which operates over 17,000 convenience stores across 30 countries, has submitted an offer to acquire the company.

Seven & i confirmed that Alimentation Couche-Tard has proposed a full acquisition, with the deal potentially valued at ¥5.63 trillion (approximately US$38.4 billion). If successful, this would mark the largest foreign acquisition of a Japanese company and one of the biggest cross-border deals in history.

Alimentation Couche-Tard, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of over C$80 billion (US$55.426 billion), is preparing to merge with Japan’s Seven & i. Combined, their latest fiscal year sales — Couche-Tard’s US$69.2 billion and Seven & i’s ¥11 trillion ( US$71.123 billion as of February 2024) — would exceed ¥20 trillion (US$129.317 billion).

Reports indicate that Alimentation Couche-Tard had previously attempted to acquire Seven & i in 2020 and also competed with them in the acquisition of US fuel chain Speedway.

7-Eleven’s growth in Thailand

Thirty-four years ago, traditional mom-and-pop stores dominated Thai retail, but the shift toward modern convenience stores was inevitable. Recognising this trend, Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of CP Group, saw an opportunity to bring the 7-Eleven franchise to Thailand.

Negotiating with 7-Eleven’s parent company was not easy, as Thailand was initially perceived as having low purchasing power. However, CP strategically highlighted Thailand’s lower operating costs compared to the US and invited American executives to experience the local market firsthand. This persuaded 7-Eleven to grant CP the franchise.

Thailand’s first 7-Eleven store opened on June 1, 1989, at the corner of Patpong Road. Although it initially faced losses due to consumers’ unfamiliarity with the convenience store concept, CP studied strategies from the US and Japan and adapted them to Thai consumer behaviour until it successfully turned the situation around.

The growth of 7-Eleven in Thailand did not occur simply because it was a 24-hour convenience store, but because CP implemented strategies that understood consumer behaviour, such as:

• 1988-1989: Established CP RAM Co Ltd to produce frozen foods and bakery products to supply 7-Eleven.
• 1991: Opened up for Business Partners, allowing individuals to operate 7-Eleven stores under a franchise system.
• 1994: Launched counter service, enabling customers to pay for various services at 7-Eleven stores.
• 2002: The phrase “Would you like to add siu mai or steamed buns?” became a part of the sales strategy.
• 2003: Listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand under the name CPALL.
• 2007: Launched Panyapiwat Institute of Management to create personnel with retail skills.
• 2017: Opened the 10,000th store.
• 2021: Opened the 13,000th store.
• 2022: Achieved annual revenue of over 300 billion baht from 7-Eleven.