Category: Canada

XRP price continued to slide for the second straight day despite getting approval for the first spot ETF listing in Canada.

According to recent reports, asset manager Purpose Investments has received final approval from Canadian regulators to launch the country’s first spot XRP ETF. Trading for the Purpose XRP ETF will begin on Wednesday, June 18, on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker XRPP.

Despite the approval giving Canadian investors an easy and regulated way to access XRP, it didn’t lift sentiment, and the token stayed under pressure. XRP (XRP) price dropped 3.4% in the past 24 hours to $2.17, with its market cap falling to $127 billion.

The decline came as the broader crypto market cap dropped 3.6% over the past day, with Bitcoin (BTC) and other major tokens also sliding amid weak overall sentiment.

This was largely driven by heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and growing uncertainty surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision. Rising inflation risks have dimmed hopes of imminent rate cuts, prompting a risk-off mood across financial markets.

Despite the bearish short-term pressure, several bullish catalysts are emerging for XRP.

A recent court filing in the SEC v. Ripple case revealed that both parties have agreed to a $50 million settlement. If approved, this settlement could finally resolve the long-standing legal battle that has overshadowed XRP’s regulatory clarity and hindered its broader adoption.

In addition, former CFTC Chair Chris Giancarlo, appointed during the Trump administration, proposed the idea of issuing government bonds for crypto assets such as Bitcoin and XRP. He shared these insights during the XRPL Apex 2025 conference in Singapore, signaling a growing policy shift in favor of regulated crypto finance.

Ripple also continues to push forward on product and regional expansion. The company is preparing for the rollout of its RLUSD stablecoin, a key addition to its ecosystem. Simultaneously, Ripple has been strengthening regulatory footholds in key crypto hubs like Dubai and Singapore, which could enhance XRP’s cross-border utility.

From a technical standpoint, XRP is forming a multi-month bull pennant pattern on the 1-week/USDT chart. This bullish continuation setup typically precedes a breakout, with price targets based on the length of the initial flagpole.

In XRP’s case, a breakout could project a move to $4.61, representing a 114% gain from current levels.

Supporting this thesis, technical analyst Mikybull Crypto drew parallels with XRP’s 2017 chart structure, noting that a similar bull pennant breakout preceded a rally of over 1,300% to all-time highs near $3.40.

Momentum indicators, however, present a mixed picture. On the weekly chart, a golden cross has recently formed, with the 50-day SMA crossing above the 200-day SMA, typically a bullish signal suggesting trend continuation.

In contrast, the daily chart has turned more bearish. The 200-day SMA has crossed above the 50-day SMA, forming a death cross, which is viewed as a bearish reversal indicator in technical analysis. In addition, both the MACD and RSI are trending lower, reinforcing short-term downside risks.

Investor uncertainty was further amplified after the SEC delayed its decision on Franklin Templeton’s proposed spot XRP ETF, extending the review period into late July. The delay, coupled with market-wide caution, has likely contributed to XRP’s underperformance.

If XRP loses the key psychological support at $2.00, further downside toward $1.62, its April 2025 low, appears likely before any sustained rebound. Conversely, holding above this level and breaking above the pennant’s resistance could reaffirm the bullish scenario and pave the way toward a retest of cycle highs.

Aurora Cannabis is facing a class action led by a Canadian military veteran, who alleges that the company didn’t adequately warn consumers about Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), a condition the plaintiff says was caused by its products.

The class action was certified last month in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice and is being brought by Canadian law firm Sotos Class Actions. It seeks to represent all individuals in Canada who purchased Aurora Cannabis products between February 2015 and May 2025 and were later diagnosed with CHS.

Aurora Cannabis, based in Canada, is one of the largest medical cannabis companies in the industry and operates globally, with a presence in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia. It als trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. In January, the company announced the release of its first medical cannabis product grown in Germany, following the legalization of recreational cannabis for personal use that eased restrictions in the country’s medical cannabis market.

Allegations Against Aurora Cannabis Products

The plaintiff, identified as V.T., alleges she developed CHS after using Aurora’s cannabis products, which were prescribed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is a condition tied to long-term cannabis use that leads to repeated bouts of severe vomiting. Since the syndrome hasn’t been widely studied, estimates of how many people experience CHS symptoms differ.

A study published in Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology found that about 33% of long-term cannabis users met the criteria for CHS.

According to the claim, V.T. used cannabis oils and softgels daily from 2019 to 2020 as prescribed but later experienced severe and ongoing stomach problems, including repeated nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. These symptoms became so intense that V.T. was hospitalized. During the second emergency room visit, V.T. was diagnosed with CHS.

She says she wasn’t warned about the possible risks and that the product packaging and related materials didn’t include any information about the condition.

The claim alleges that Aurora and its subsidiaries, namely Aurora Cannabis Enterprises and MedReleaf, either knew or should have known of “all the serious harmful effects arising from the consumption” but didn’t warn consumers or healthcare professionals.

“The Defendants do not publish product monographs for the cannabis products or otherwise direct information to learned professionals, including prescribing physicians or product sales persons, communicating the risk of CHS,” the statement of claim reads.

V.T., therefore, accuses the companies of neglecting their duty of care and engaging in misleading practices, claiming they violated both federal and provincial laws, including the Cannabis Act and the Food and Drugs Act, which states that no one is allowed to label, package, sell, or promote a drug in a way that is false, misleading, or likely to give the wrong impression about its nature, value, ingredients, or safety.

“The failure to warn of the risk of CHS of the cannabis products is a false, misleading or deceptive omission about the safety of the cannabis products,” the claim highlights.

When asked for comment, an Aurora spokesperson said by email that the company does not comment on legal matters beyond what is publicly available. They added that information related to the class action can be found through the company’s regular disclosures.

In the class action, V.T. is, therefore, seeking general and aggravated damages for pain, emotional distress, and lost income, along with compensation for overpayment and unjust enrichment. The claim also asks for reimbursement of public healthcare costs, class notification expenses, and the return of profits linked to the alleged misconduct.

This is one of the first class actions related to CHS and involves a major medical cannabis company. The case raises questions about whether consumers are adequately informed of the potential risks of frequent or long-term cannabis use, and could set a legal precedent for the regulated cannabis industry, particularly concerning emerging health issues.

This story was published in partnership with Inside Climate News and is the first in a two-story series.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — On a January evening, dozens of people crammed into a banquet space at the glitzy Pan Pacific Hotel overlooking Vancouver’s waterfront. 

Buttoned-up corporate executives mingled with government officials by a wood-paneled bar. Old-school geologists and mineral prospectors buzzed around platters of chicken-and-waffle sliders.

The crowd was united by a passion for mining and—curiously, given the setting outside the U.S.—an abiding interest in the state of Alaska. 

It was the final night of Roundup, one of the most anticipated conventions of the year for North American mining companies. Thousands of rock enthusiasts and businessmen had gathered to pitch investors, hear talks about mineral deposits and nerd out over geochemistry.

Organized by the Vancouver-based Association for Mineral Exploration, Roundup isn’t the world’s biggest mining conference. But it’s famous for its emphasis on the earliest stage of mine development: the highly speculative hunt for new sources of minerals. 

With a special focus on the geology of western North America, the conference is an especially big deal for companies with prospects in Alaska. 

Indeed, the soirée at the Pan Pacific was an annual “Alaska Night” cocktail party, where an eclectic mix of ore-loving northerners clinked beer glasses, sipped Smirnoff and munched on arancini. The mood, like the price of gold, was high.

“There have been a few years where times are glum,” said Robert Retherford, a veteran Alaska geologist. But this year, “the smell” of money “is stronger.”

Alaskans like Retherford make a pilgrimage to Vancouver each January, underscoring a fact little known outside of the industry: The tens of millions of dollars a year that fuel the hunt for Alaska’s minerals flow not from Anchorage or Seattle, but from Canada. 

“This is where the money is,” Dave Szumigala, an Alaska geologist who works for the state’s land management agency, said at the Pan Pacific party.

Vancouver has long served as a hub for the small, publicly traded exploration companies that search for minerals around the world. These “junior” firms find and measure deposits, then try to sell the data they gather to larger corporations that can afford the huge expenses of building and operating new mines. 

In a small cluster of downtown Vancouver office buildings, a nexus of financial and technical expertise around mining has developed over decades, fertilized by generous tax policies and relatively loose securities regulations, according to industry insiders and analysts. 

The city’s centrality to North America’s mining industry highlights the close economic ties between Canada and the U.S., even as relations between the two nations have soured this year. 

President Donald Trump’s trade war has threatened Canada’s multi-billion-dollar exports of copper and other minerals to the U.S., potentially upending North America’s highly integrated supply chain for those commodities. 

But dozens of companies with mining operations in the U.S. still depend on Canadian expertise and the country’s stock exchanges that cater to resource extraction — so money continues to flow across the border.

Meanwhile, efforts to build more mines in North America have intensified amid a trade spat with China, which has curbed U.S. imports of several minerals used in weapons, electronics and the accelerating transition to clean energy.

And gold is selling at a record high price, driving new interest in digging up that always coveted element.

As global demand for minerals soars, Vancouver’s behind-the-scenes role in powering mines in Alaska and around the world is taking on greater significance.

More than a dozen companies based or registered in Vancouver are now scouring Alaska for minerals, some of them pursuing high-profile projects that could transform the state’s rural landscapes and economies.

Not far from the Bering Strait, Graphite One hopes to build a mile-wide open pit that could become the only producing graphite mine in the U.S. At the end of the controversial proposed Ambler Road, in Alaska’s Northwest Arctic, Trilogy Metals wants to mine copper and other metals. And above the Southeast Alaska town of Haines, American Pacific Mining Corp. has promoted a copper and zinc prospect that has long fueled conflict in the community. 

These companies’ deposits are separated by more than 1,000 miles. But their headquarters are located less than a mile apart, in a few downtown Vancouver skyscrapers so tightly clustered that a visitor could easily stop by each of them in a half-hour. 

Trilogy’s office is mere steps from American Pacific’s, both on the ninth floor of the same building on Burrard Street. One door down is a gleaming tower where the top five floors house the headquarters of Teck Resources, a multinational corporation that owns the massive Red Dog mine in Northwest Alaska. Graphite One’s office is just a few blocks away. 

British Columbia is home to nearly 1,000 mining companies, according to provincial securities regulators, and most are registered in Vancouver.

“Vancouver is basically the Silicon Valley of the mining industry,” said Greg Beischer, the chief executive of Alaska Energy Metals, a small company that has a nickel exploration project in Alaska, but is registered in Vancouver. 

The ‘Wild West’ of Mining Finance

Vancouver is a hub because it’s a hub: Mining companies want to be there because it’s where all the other companies are, not to mention the bankers, auditors, accountants, geologists and lawyers specializing in minerals.

For Michael Goehring, director of the Mining Association of British Columbia, the story begins with the Cariboo Gold Rush in the 1850s. Foreign prospectors flooded the Fraser Valley near Vancouver, a frenzy that ultimately led to the formation of the province. Since then, according to Goehring, British Columbia has developed hand in hand with gold and coal mining. 

“Miners have to go where the ore deposits are,” Goehring said.

Other industry players point to British Columbia’s tax policies, which offer generous credits and deductions to companies exploring for minerals in the province. One notable policy spurs investment by giving wealthy people tax breaks for donating their shares in mining companies to charities. While this and other policies apply only to companies doing business in Canada, they have helped foster an atmosphere that’s friendly to companies pursuing deposits around the world.

But most explanations of the province’s development as a global mining center focus on the infamous, now-defunct Vancouver Stock Exchange. 

With lax regulations and disclosure requirements, the exchange created an ideal environment for the high-risk investments that sustain small mineral exploration companies. A nucleus of companies emerged on it in the second half of the 20th century.

The Vancouver Stock Exchange had “an unbelievably notorious reputation,” said Tony Fogarassy, a Vancouver-based mining lawyer. Before new regulations came into effect in 2001, it was relatively easy for companies to make their projects look more promising than they were.

“It was very much the Wild West in terms of raising money, exploring for deposits,” Fogarassy said. Howe Street, a downtown locus of dealmaking, gained a reputation as “a place where you could make a lot of money, or be ripped off.” 

After a series of scandals, the Vancouver exchange collapsed in 1997 and merged with a few others to become what is now the TSX Venture Exchange—TSX-V. Hundreds of Vancouver-based companies are listed on that Toronto exchange. 

Regulations are tighter today than they were in the 80s and 90s, according to industry experts. 

Still, there are perks to listing a company on the TSX-V, like lower registration fees and fewer filing requirements than the NASDAQ or New York Stock Exchange. 

One of the numerous Alaska-focused ventures funded through the TSX-V is Alaska Energy Metals, which is studying a potential nickel mine in the mountains of the eastern Alaska Range, near the tiny community of Paxson. 

On securities filings, the company lists an address on West Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver. But Beischer, the company’s chief executive, doesn’t work there. The Vancouver office is just virtual, he said during an interview at a different office, in downtown Anchorage. 

“All we need is that address and phone number,” Beischer said. “The money flows into Vancouver, and then we geologists spend it in Alaska, or Mongolia—all over the world.” 

Stiff Competition 

Alaska Energy Metals exemplifies the mining industry’s recent shift toward the metals used for renewable power and electric vehicles. 

Beischer rebranded the company, formerly Millrock Resources, in 2023. It joined the ranks of dozens of small companies scouring the planet for nickel, lithium and other so-called energy and battery metals, including Global Energy Metals, New Energy Metals Corp., Forum Energy Metals, Patriot Battery Metals, Battery X Metals, Power Metals, Foremost Clean Energy and Battery Mineral Resources—all of which are based in a certain city in British Columbia.

The boom of companies targeting the same minerals has stiffened the competition for investors’ money. 

A global surge in nickel and lithium mines a few years ago led new mines to open and generated a short-term glut, and prices tanked. From highs in 2022, the value of nickel has fallen by some 70 percent and lithium has dropped by 90 percent. 

Beischer said Alaska Energy Metals is now “swimming against the tide” of low prices, and investors’ enthusiasm has cooled.

Economists expect demand for battery metals once again to outstrip supply in a few years, and some analysts see that as a selling point. 

“You could invest more now when prices are low, and reap your reward when prices are high later on,” said one presenter at Roundup, Rowena Alavi-Gunn, an analyst with the energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. 

Still, investment in companies digging for nickel, lithium and other energy-related metals pales compared to that in mines for gold. The price of that metal has skyrocketed recently due to tariff concerns and global economic uncertainty.

Of some 25 companies that showcased ore samples, rock cores and colorful maps and diagrams at Roundup, more than half advertised gold prospects, including several in Alaska. 

Last year, gold accounted for roughly three times as many mining-related investment deals as second-place copper, and nearly six times as many as lithium, according to Arash Adnani, a market analyst who presented at the conference.

“The gold market is absolutely massive,” Adnani said. “It’s a gold-dominated world.”

Cashing in

Many people at Roundup, though, just wanted to cash in on the rush to build more mines and appeared agnostic about which minerals to dig up. 

At the conference’s trade show, merchants who supply the miners advertised hulking drills and spiffy drones. Purveyors of artificial intelligence promoted mine-assisting robots. A tall Australian man said his company’s AI product could perform three months of a geologist’s work in just 15 minutes. Everyone seemed to be advertising a solution to a mining problem you never knew existed.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources paid more than $3,000 for a booth and sent five employees to answer questions, display a huge mineral map and talk up the opportunities of mining in Alaska.

“Our mission is to have people understand how big Alaska is and what the potential is,” said Szumigala, the state geologist, whose mad-scientist look—Einsteinian white hair and a thick white mustache—belies an infectious affability.

Alaska could host deposits of 49 of the 50 minerals that the U.S. government has classified as “critical” to the country’s economy and national security. But the state currently produces just two. 

Unlike most of the country, many of Alaska’s minerals have yet to be unearthed — or even discovered. Nearly 200 million acres are open for prospecting, with an industry-friendly state leasing regime.

“In a lot of places around the world, people are drilling hundreds and thousands of feet deep to try to get to minerals,” Szumigala said. But in the North, it’s still possible to discover high-grade ore a foot below the surface, he added. “That blows some people’s minds away—that there is still stuff you can walk on.” 

One of the seemingly few skeptics of the mining industry at Roundup was Nikki Skuce, co-chair of a watchdog network called B.C. Mining Law Reform.

Meaningful dialogue about the social and environmental costs of mining was notably absent from the conference, she said. 

Roundup took place less than a year after one of Canada’s biggest modern mining disasters: Last June, 2 million tons of material contaminated with cyanide spilled above a salmon stream at the Yukon Territory’s largest gold mine, owned by Victoria Gold. 

The disaster “definitely was not a main focus” at Roundup, Skuce said.

Instead, two smaller gold companies were promoting undeveloped prospects within 50 miles of the site of the spill—in the traditional territory of the Na-cho Nyäk Dun First Nation. 

“There seems to be a real fear within the mining sector to engage in dialogue, to be challenged with certain questions, to be called out,” Skuce said. “There’s very much a controlling of the narrative, and that’s reflected in these industry conferences.” 

On the conference’s final day, Szumigala stood at Alaska’s booth with a nearly empty plastic beer cup in his hand—a sign that happy hour had started. He had heard that more deals were made this year than in the recent past. “Still,” he said. “It’s January.” Who knew what the rest of the year would bring?

Soon, Alaskans would depart the shiny city, some northbound with new cash, others just hoping they’d survive another season. And, within a few weeks, a trade war would break out between the U.S. and Canada, threatening the close bonds between the two nations’ mining industries and putting a damper on investment. 

But first, the rock whiz from Alaska would pour one more ale in Vancouver. 

This story was supported by a grant from the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism. 

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Around 12 million customers will now have access to Blackrock’s iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) range via the Monzo banking app.

Blackrock is one of the largest fund managers in the world and one of the first to launch ETFs via its iShares range almost 30 years ago.

And now, 11 of the iShares ETFs will be available for Monzo customers to invest with ease. Nearly half (47%) of savers tend to put off investing because the overwhelming number of choices makes it difficult to start, Monzo’s research found.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become a commonplace part of the investment landscape. In just 35 years since the first ETF launched on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the amount of money invested in ETFs has reached $15 trillion as of the end of April 2025, according to data from ETF research house ETFGI.

With Monzo, users will be able to pick a range of ETFs and build their own portfolio.

Monzo’s ETF offer – how will it work?

Monzo launched a pilot of its ‘Build Your Own’ ETF investing feature on 17 June. Having offered a robo-adviser service that lets investors put their money into any of three pre-built investment pots, Monzo users can now take a more active approach to investing in ETFs.

“This new ETF offering is the next step in making investing even easier and more personal,” said Andy Smart, chief product officer at Monzo.

The pilot allows Monzo users to invest into any of 11 ETFs, all issued by BlackRock’s iShares, investing as little as £1 at a time. The ETFs available to invest in are:

• iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF
• iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF
• iShares MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
• iShares Core MSCI Europe UCITS ETF
• iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF
• iShares NASDAQ 100 UCITS ETF
• iShares Healthcare Innovation UCITS ETF
• iShares Metaverse UCITS ETF
• iShares Global Clean Energy Transition UCITS ETF
• iShares Blockchain Technology UCITS ETF
• iShares Automation and Robotics UCITS ETF

This selection of global and thematic options gives investors “simple, clear options with just the right amount of choice”, according to Smart. It reflects the results of Monzo’s research into would-be investors’ greatest interests.

The pilot is initially only available to Monzo users who haven’t yet used any of its investment offerings, with 25% of eligible customers being given access each week for the first four weeks from 17 June. Any Monzo users who haven’t yet invested with Monzo should see the product appear in their app at some point during this period.

Later this year, once the pilot is complete, the offering will be rolled out to all Monzo users.

What are the benefits of ETF investing?

There are various benefits to using ETFs to invest. “They offer diversification, with a single ETF typically holding a broad range of securities,” said Raymond Backreedy, chief investment officer at Sparrows Capital.

That can include multiple asset classes, such as stocks and bonds: Vanguard’s LifeStrategy range, for example, offers investors ready-made portfolios in varying ratios of stocks to bonds, as a convenient means of balancing risks.

“They’re transparent in that most ETFs disclose their holdings daily, so investors know exactly what they own,” Backreedy continued.

Because ETFs trade on a stock exchange like an equity, they also offer liquidity and flexibility. Most core ETFs also benefit from low expense ratios since many of them are index trackers.

“ETFs have quietly become one of the most powerful tools available to retail investors. They offer low-cost, instant access to diversified portfolios,” says Rahul Bashan, managing director at ARK Invest Europe.

How do I invest in an ETF?

One of the great advantages of ETFs is that they trade just like an individual stock on a stock exchange. That means they can be bought and sold in real-time, directly into your stocks and shares ISA.

You can buy an ETF from brokerages like Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell, and there are also a range of investment platforms that specialise in ETFs.

InvestEngine, for example, offers zero account fees on ETF investing. As well as Monzo, other products like Moneybox offer investors a selection of ETFs that they can add to a stocks and shares or Lifetime ISA.

Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have jointly asked the Second Circuit Court to extend the suspension of the agency’s appeal.

According to a June 16 court filing, both parties are pushing to delay the appeal to avoid further litigation following their previous settlement.

This request follows an earlier effort to amend the final judgment in the case, which Judge Analisa Torres rejected. The court ruled the request lacked the “exceptional circumstances” needed to alter a final ruling.

In response, Ripple and the SEC submitted a revised motion to suspend the ongoing appeal. Notably, the SEC had filed the original appeal in October 2024, under then-Chair Gary Gensler, to challenge a court ruling that largely favored Ripple.

However, both sides reached a preliminary agreement in April 2025 and asked the court to suspend the appeal temporarily.

Although the court has yet to grant the extension, the SEC has pledged to submit a progress update by August.

Canada gets spot XRP ETF

While legal proceedings continue in the US, Canada is making history with the continent’s first approved spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to a press statement, Purpose Investments, a Toronto-based asset manager, will list the Purpose XRP ETF on June 18 under the XRPP ticker. Purpose was also the first issuer of a spot Bitcoin ETF in Canada.

The XRP-focused product will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and provide investors with regulated access to the digital asset.

According to the statement:

“The ETF will be available in CAD-hedged (ticker XRPP), CAD non-hedged (ticker XRPP.B), and US dollar (ticker XRPP.U) units, and will be eligible for holding in registered accounts such as TFSAs and RRSPs.”

This milestone comes as several US-based firms like Grayscale await the SEC’s decisions on their XRP ETF proposals.

Market observers believe that the chances of the SEC approving a spot XRP ETF are high this year. This is evidenced by crypto bettors on the decentralized marketplace Polymarket, who believe there is an 88% chance of approval.

These developments did not immediately impact the XRP price, up by a modest 1.4% to $2.22 as of press time, according to CryptoSlate’s data.

Mentioned in this article

Groupe Dynamite Inc.’s CEO says tariffs aren’t blunting the appeal of a new cute top.

While Andrew Lutfy has seen some customers forgoing big-ticket purchases like boats, RVs and basement renovations as countries levy increasing duties, he says that pullback isn’t carrying over to its Dynamite or Garage stores.

The women’s fashion retailer is instead seeing shoppers looking for “some instant gratification” amid all the “heaviness out there.”

“For the price of a martini in a nice restaurant, you could buy a cute top and feel great and wear it over and over again, so we’re seeing a customer that’s looking for moments of joy and happiness and we are an affordable indulgence,” Lutfy told analysts on a conference call on Tuesday.

He said he expects that trend to continue, especially if interest rates, debt levels and prices remain high because of the tariff war U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked with Canada and several countries known for manufacturing clothing.

Groupe Dynamite shares were up nearly 15 per cent or $2.40 at $18.91 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday after it reported its latest financial results and raised its guidance for comparable store sales for the year.

The company said it earned a first-quarter profit of $27.3 million or 24 cents per diluted share, up from $23.9 million or 22 cents per diluted share a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, Groupe Dynamite earned 25 cents per diluted share in its quarter ended May 3, up from an adjusted profit of 23 cents per diluted share a year ago.

Revenue totalled $226.7 million, up from $188.9 million, while comparable store sales rose 13 per cent.

In its outlook, Groupe Dynamite said it now expects comparable store sales growth for its full year between 7.5 per cent and nine per cent, up from earlier guidance for between five per cent and 6.5 per cent.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel pointed out that such numbers were ahead of forecasts, meaning the business was “starting the year with a bang.”

The results reflect the work Groupe Dynamite has done to shift its supply chain away from China — one of Trump’s top tariff targets — and set the stage for a further brand expansion.

The company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, will expand into the United Kingdom next year and is weeks away from opening a new U.S. distribution centre.

The facility will cut shipping times, improve service levels, reduce costs and help the business better manage and replenish its inventory, president and chief operating officer Stacie Beaver said.

“More importantly, it means when our customer shops with us, she gets exactly what she wants when she wants it,” she said. “That’s the experience our teams deliver every day and it’s a promise we’re excited to bring to the U.K. when we open our first store there next year.”

Back home, she said the company has been renovating its Garage stores to introduce “a cleaner, more elevated” store layout.

The latest to get a revamp are Square One and Conestoga Mall in Ontario.

Their renovations and others are boosting worker satisfaction, Beaver said.

“Turnover is down, engagement is up, and it shows,” she said. “Our associates are more confident, more connected to the product, and better equipped to serve our customers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GRGD)

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

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