Content about Canada

Currey & Company of Chico, Calif., announced a recall of 10 models of its chandeliers.

Defective wiring can conduct electricity to the Chinese-made chandeliers' metal parts, posing an electric shock hazard to consumers, according to a release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

PPG Industries has finalized the acquisition of the North American architectural coatings business of Akzo Nobel N.V., Amsterdam, in a deal valued at $1.05 billion. 

With this acquisition, PPG has expanded its reach in all three major North American distribution channels, including home centers, independent paint dealers and company-owned paint stores. The company’s product offerings are now available in more than 15,000 outlets across the region. 

Walmart on Tuesday updated its plans for its Canadian division, saying that it plans to complete at least 37 supercenter projects in the country during the company’s next fiscal year (Feb. 1, 2013 to Jan. 31, 2014). The announcement comes a couple of months before Target Corp.’s spring launch of its stores in Canada.

Work clothes maker Dickies will expand its occupational wear division’s product offerings, as well as its geographical availability. 

Nilfisk Industrial Vacuum Division announced that Jamie O’Neill has joined the company as director of sales. O’Neill is responsible for driving sales efforts in North America. He oversees the 16-member direct sales force located throughout the United States and Canada.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is urging federal officials not to use the U.S.-Canadian lumber agreement as a bargaining chip during the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP) negotiations.

The United States is currently in talks with Canada regarding its participation in a TPP trade pact with several other nations. The softwood lumber accord between the United States and Canada, which expires in 2015, should not be renegotiated as part of these discussions, according to the NAHB.

While Lowe’s offer sheet said it would protect Canadian jobs – or even expand them – if it were to acquire Quebec-based RONA, the Canadian Teamsters aren’t so sure.

The Teamsters Union in Canada has come out against a Lowe’s takeover play for RONA, which the Teamsters describe as “a Québec jewel in the hardware and renovation industry.”

Lowe’s made an offer, but RONA refused.

The two North American home improvement giants will continue to operate as competitors in Canada, where Lowe’s has been growing organically for the past several years amid rumors that just such an acquisition play was in the cards.

Ken Langone, one of the co-founders of Home Depot, will be awarded the 2012 Horatio Alger Award on April 13 in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Langone will be one of 12 recipients, along with former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Robert Miller, CEO of Albertson's supermarkets, to receive the prestigious medallion.

Canadian retailer Rona will close 10 of its warehouse-sized stores by the end of the year, shifting its focus to the opening of 25 smaller-format units, the company announced on Feb. 24.

The new focus comes on the heels of a C$151 million loss posted for the company’s fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 25, 2011. This compares with a profit of C$20 million in the same period a year ago.

Net sales for the fourth quarter increased 2.6% to C$1.17 billion. Same-store sales were down 2.3% in the quarter.

Abbeville, Ala.-based Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated, the nation’s leading producer of pressure treated pine lumber, acquired the assets of the Rocky Top Building Products companies. 

With the asset acquisition of Rocky Top and other wholly owned subsidiaries of Rocky Mount, Va.-based The Franklin Group, Inc., Great Southern Wood Preserving’s distribution coverage now stretches from the Florida Keys to Texas to Canada including all or parts of 27 states and the District of Columbia.

Trade officials from the United States and Canada have extended their Softwood Lumber Agreement for two more years. The 2006 agreement was signed with no changes on Jan. 24 by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Canadian Minister for International Trade Ed Fast. The extension will be in effect through Oct. 15, 2015.