National Business

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, providing a boost to the economy in the early phases of the winter holiday shopping season. Retail sales rose 0.

MONTREAL — Clothing retailer Groupe Dynamite Inc. says it earned $40.4 million in its third quarter, up from $34.9 million in the same quarter last year.

TORONTO — A new poll suggests nearly a third of Canadians are planning to minimize their spending in the new year. The report by BMO says 30 per cent of Canadians plan to curtail their spending in 2025.

HALIFAX — The worst of Halifax's homeless crisis is over, says the city's new mayor, who wants to see encampments closed as quickly as possible — even as homelessness advocates vigorously disagree that the situation is improving.

VICTORIA — Human error during a fuel transfer at a fish farm off the west coast of British Columbia has resulted in a spill into the water of up to 8,000 litres of diesel. The B.C.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's abrupt departure from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet on Monday resulted in a mini cabinet shuffle, with Dominic LeBlanc stepping into the role.

OTTAWA — Mail is set to begin moving again on Tuesday after a month-long strike by Canada Post employees comes to a close, even as the union representing postal workers challenges the intervention in the labour dispute.

OTTAWA — In a career filled with fresh milestones, Chrystia Freeland is taking up another new role: backbench member of the governing Liberal party.

VICTORIA — A rare and historic water bomber that was on its final journey from British Columbia to a museum in Arizona was forced to make an emergency landing near Victoria due to mechanical issues.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former talk show host Carlos Watson was sentenced Monday to nearly 10 years in prison in a federal financial conspiracy case that cast his once-buzzy Ozy Media as an extreme of fake-it-'til-you-make-it startup culture.