Speaking at the lender’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, Darryl White said Canada remains resilient despite growing uncertainty tied to trade tensions and the oil shock. While he acknowledged that the impact is being felt unevenly across the economy—with central Canada bearing much of the brunt—he said the country will remain “as good a place as anywhere” in the world over the next couple of years. (The Logic)  

Talking point: White added that while Canada’s federal government is diversifying trade away from the U.S., he views a binary framework in which some trade relationships are seen as good and others as bad as “suboptimal.” Instead, he said, the country should expand trade relationships across the board, “regardless of the outcome of ongoing trade reviews.” He also pointed to progress on lowering interprovincial trade barriers, but said provinces need to make the process easier to help accelerate projects across the country, warning that Canada risks being “left behind in the global competition for investment.” All eight shareholder proposals submitted at the meeting were voted down.