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BMO on The Day Ahead in Canada

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Canada's key release on Wednesday is the Q1 labor productivity, at 8:30 a.m. ET, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

After slipping in Q4 2025 and expanding all of 0.3% in the past year -- and even less on average in the past three years -- the bank looks for a 0.5% bounce in Q1, as work hours declined somewhat more than real gross domestic product.

With the population not expected to grow for two more years, the economy could remain stagnant if productivity doesn't pick up on a sustained basis, stated BMO.

Released earlier Wednesday, Toronto existing home sales rose for a third consecutive month in May, or 10% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and 6.3% year over year, while listings continued to decline.

Despite some tightening in the market, benchmark prices slipped 0.2% and are down 6.7% year over year, with condos down 9.1% year over year. That's helping to improve affordability, but further price softness may be required to fully "revive" demand, added the bank.

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Mining & Metals

Yangarra Resources Expands Its 2026 Capital Program and Increase Its Credit Facility

Yangarra Resources (YGR.TO) announced overnight Tuesday a "meaningful" expansion of its 2026 capital program and an increase to its syndicated credit facility, "reflecting strong early performance from its redesigned Belly River development program and positioning the company for enhanced oil weighting on production, stronger cash flow generation, and sustained value creation".In an operations update, the company said it "continues to increase its strategic focus" on the Belly River play and has added a second drilling rig to accelerate development activity, as a result the company expects to bring on eight new wells, including six Belly River wells, by July. The redesigned Belly River drilling and completion approach has delivered "encouraging early results", with initial production rates exceeding previously disclosed type curves, it added."While production history remains limited, this early outperformance has supported Yangarra's decision to apply the revised design to five of its next six Belly River wells," said the company.In a capital budget update, reflecting "improved" Belly River well performance, Yangarra said it increased its 2026 capital budget by 33% to $80 million, enabling the drilling of a total of 25 wells during the year with a continued emphasis on Belly River development. "The increased capital program and greater weighting toward Belly River drilling are expected to enhance the oil weighting of the Company's production mix and support stronger cash flow generation," it added.To date, the company has drilled 11 wells and brought five wells on-stream, and with the expanded capital program and the balance of the year ahead, the company expects to bring a total of 20 wells on-stream over the remainder of 2026.In a credit facility update, the company said it has also completed its borrowing base review, resulting in an increase to its syndicated senior credit facility to $160 million with its existing syndicate of banks.The term-out date has been extended to May 31, 2027, and the maturity date to May 31, 2028, it said."The expanded facility enhances liquidity and provides additional financial flexibility while supporting the disciplined execution of the Company's development plans," added the company.Shares in YRG were unchanged at $1.33 yesterday.

$YGR.TO
Mining & Metals

Firefly Metals Highlights ATO Ruling on FireFly's in-Specie Distribution of Bellavista Shares

Firefly Metals (FFM.TO) said Wednesday that an Australian Tax Office (ATO) ruling confirms that certain shareholders who held Firefly shares on capital account will not be assessed for taxation purposes.The in-specie distribution involved the transfer of 60 million ordinary shares in Bellavista Resources to Firefly shareholders on May 1. The distribution arose from Firefly's sale of Pickle Crow and Sioux Lookout Projects in Ontario to Bellavista earlier this year.The ATO Class Ruling applies to certain classes of FireFly shareholders, including those who, on the record date of May 4, held their FireFly shares on capital account and were not 'temporary residents' of Australia on the payment date, a statement said.The ruling confirms that the in-specie distribution was a return of FireFly's share capital of $0.045 per share, a capital return, and not a taxable dividend. The ATO has also confirmed that anti-avoidance provisions will not be applied to treat any part of the capital return as an unfranked dividend.Firefly Metals closed up $0.18, to $2.28 on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

$FFM.TO
Mining & Metals

Outcrop Silver & Gold With Assay Results From Aguilar Target, Colombia

Outcrop Silver & Gold Corporation (OCG.TO) announced Wednesday assay results from recent drilling results at the Aguilar target, "further improving the geological understanding of one of the most advanced vein systems within the company's Santa Ana Project in Colombia".Drilling confirmed the continuity of both the principal Aguilar and Aguilar N structures and returned high-grade intercepts from two additional mineralized structures, Aguilar NEW and Aguilar NEE, in the northern sector of the target, the company said. Locally mineralized splay structures were also intersected during drilling, providing additional information on the structural controls on silver mineralization. Drilling completed in the southern extension successfully confirmed the continuity of the principal Aguilar structure, although no significant mineralized intercepts were returned from the step-out holes, it added.Among highlights, OCG said Aguilar NEW returned multiple high-grade intercepts, including 0.60 metres estimated true width grading 1,660 g/t silver-equivalent in DH621, 0.80 m ETW grading 1,405 g/t AgEq in DH604, and 0.76 m ETW grading 1,157 g/t AgEq in DH568; while Aguilar N returned high-grade intercepts including 0.49 m ETW grading 1,374 g/t AgEq in DH596 and 1.27 m ETW grading 716 g/t AgEq in DH592, supporting continuity of mineralization along the northern sector of the target.OCG added drilling intersected several mineralized secondary structures and splays, providing additional information on the structural controls of silver mineralization within the Aguilar system; while step-out drilling in the southern extension confirmed the continuity of the principal Aguilar structure, although no significant mineralized intercepts were returned."These results continue to strengthen our confidence in the scale and continuity of the Aguilar system", said Rob Bruggeman, President and CEO. "Aguilar NEW and Aguilar NEE appear to represent newly recognized vein structures that warrant continued follow-up exploration and, as commonly observed in district-scale vein systems, could potentially support the delineation of additional mineral resource blocks in the future, particularly within these blind mineralized zones. The Aguilar vein system has now been drilled for 1.6 km along strike and has identified additional mineralized structures in the northern part of the target. The development of Aguilar NEW and Aguilar NEE, together with multiple mineralized secondary structures, highlights the growing structural footprint of Aguilar and further supports its importance within the Santa Ana district."Shares in OCG edged up $0.005 to $0.355 in Canada yesterday.

$OCG.TO