Four types of frozen mangoes are being recalled due to the risk of possible Hepatitis A contamination, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The products being recalled include:
Frozen mangoes from Nature's Touch
Mango Mania from Compliments
Mango chunks from Irresistibles
Mango chunks from President's Choice
The affected products are all sold by Nature's Touch Frozen Food Inc. with expiration dates of November and December 2022.
The impacted product has likely been distributed nationally, but has been sold in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
CFIA says the recall was sparked by a "foodborne illness outbreak" and that further recalls may be initiated.
Anyone who ate the products and is feeling ill is advised to call their doctor.
MONTREAL --
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Friday that Montreal-based Nature's Touch Frozen Food is recalling various brands of frozen mangoes because they may be contaminated with the hepatitis A virus.
The following products should not be consumed according to the CFIA:
Nature's Touch Frozen Mangoes (2 kg)
Compliments Frozen Mangoes (600 g)
Irresistible Frozen Mangoes (600 g)
President's Choice Frozen Mangoes (600 g)
All products have the words "best before November 2022" written on the package.
The products were sold in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia and may have been sold in other provinces and territories.
Hepatitis A virus infection usually manifests itself as fever, general malaise, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and abdominal discomfort.
The infection can also cause jaundice.
Symptoms may appear up to 50 days after consumption.
The CFIA advises people who believe they have become ill after consuming a recalled product to contact a physician.
Recalled products should be discarded or returned to the store where they were purchased.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 30, 2021
For the third consecutive day, Ontario is reporting more than 200 new cases of COVID-19.
Provincial health officials are reporting 258 new infections today, up from 226 on Friday and 218 on Thursday.
Today’s total is also up from the 170 cases reported in Ontario last Saturday and is the highest daily case count reported since July 1, when 284 new infections were confirmed.
The rolling seven-day average of new cases is slowly climbing in the province, reaching 183 today, up from 159 last week.
Six more virus-related deaths were confirmed today, bringing the province's death toll to 9,345.
With 19,112 tests processed over the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health is reporting a provincewide positivity rate of 1.2 per cent. That is up from 0.8 per cent last Saturday.
The number of patients in intensive care units at Ontario hospitals continues to decline. According to the province, there are 112 COVID-19 patients in the ICU, down from 132 last week.
Ontario's active caseload is up week-over-week from 1,424 last Saturday to 1,606 today.
Of the new cases reported today, 53 are in Toronto, 33 are in York Region, 28 are in the Region of Waterloo, 27 are in Hamilton and 26 are in Peel Region.
There have been 19,459,198 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine administered in the province to date, including 81,590 doses yesterday.
More than 80 per cent of eligible Ontario residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 70 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The Ford government has said that at least 80 per cent of people 12 and older need to have one dose of a vaccine and 75 per cent must be fully immunized before the majority of public health restrictions can be lifted in Ontario.
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
The crush of cars and campers trying to reach Vancouver Island Friday was so overwhelming this B.C. Day long weekend that police had to turn traffic away at Horseshoe Bay Friday, as packed vessels and extreme waits were in store for anyone getting in line without a reservation.
“I’ve come to the Island every year for years. This is insane,” said BC Ferries passenger Zaahira Lalai at the Horseshoe Bay terminal.
“It’s better than not getting on the boat at all. I was pretty paranoid we weren’t going to get on,” said passenger Tony Wong.
BC Day long weekend is traditionally the busiest weekend of summer for travel to the Island. According to officials, what’s added to it this year is pent-up demand from the recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions along with forest fires in the Interior making many resorts unavailable.
“We are moving customers as quickly as we can but this is the busiest weekend so we’re definitely at capacity,” said Deborah Marshall of BC Ferries.
The traffic has lead to packed hotels and campgrounds, but Allison Rees, Manager of Parksville’s Riverbend Resort, said many people have arrived without reservations and are finding themselves out of luck with nowhere to stay.
“It’s insane, if you drive up you’ll see people just parked everywhere,” said Allison Rees of Riverbend Resort.
So the resort’s staff have parked people in available driveways and grassy roadsides because they have nowhere else to go.
“This summer is the busiest that we’ve ever had. We have people camping anywhere that they can, can I just get a tent space for the night, can I just get an RV space?” said Rees.
Nancy Hales and Gord Tassie were given a patch of roadside to set up camp.
“This is a green space they call it. Very crazy and packed everywhere’s gonna be packed,” said camper Gord Tassie.
“Just said ‘well wherever you want to put us we’re adaptable,'” said camper Nancy Hales.
According to Tourism Vancouver Island, accommodations are busy across the Island — from Port Hardy to Victoria.
“Wwe still don’t have our American guests here, our International travellers,” said Anthony Everett, CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island.
Tourists are expected to keep pouring onto Vancouver Island right through the end of summer and into the fall, as international COVID-19 restrictions ease. With growing talk of a fourth wave of COVID-19 sweeping Canada, Island businesses are taking advantage of the customers they have now, without any certainty of what’s ahead.
The federal government raised $8.9 billion in a licence auction for a key band of 5G wireless spectrum in results announced after the close of markets Thursday.
Canada's Big Three wireless companies led the pack, grabbing hundreds of licences for the 3,500-megahertz band of airwaves.
The 3,500 MHz band of spectrum will be important because carriers are using it as a building block for their 5G networks. More equipment for carriers and smartphone hardware is expected to work with that frequency band.
Midrange bands like 3,500 MHz are useful in both urban and rural areas because they have the ability to travel considerable distances and pass through buildings.
"The 3,500 MHz auction is a key step in our government's plan to promote competition in the telecom sector, improve rural connectivity and ensure Canadians benefit from 5G technologies and services," said François-Philippe Champagne, the minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, in a statement.
WATCH | What is spectrum and how does it affect your cellphone?
Ever wonder what wireless spectrum is, and why the government auctions it off from time to time? Then check out this, our helpful explainer 1:28
"As intended, small and regional providers have gained access to significantly more spectrum, meaning that Canadians can expect better wireless services at more competitive prices, which has never been more important for working, online learning and staying connected with loved ones."
As well as Rogers, Bell and Telus, carriers gaining licences include Videotron, Xplornet and SaskTel.
Rogers won 325 licenses, the largest amount, paying a clock price of $3.3 billion that will allow them to provide service to 34 million people.
The company said its investment will allow it to reach 99.4 per cent of Canadians with 5G.
"This investment in 5G spectrum will build on our existing 5G assets and enable us to deliver the world-class connectivity Canada needs to increase productivity, fuel innovation, create jobs and compete in a global economy for decades to come," said Joe Natale, president and CEO of Rogers Communications, in a statement.
"We went into this auction with a clear plan and acquired the spectrum we need to continue driving the largest and most reliable 5G network in Canada and to deliver long-term value for our customers, shareholders and Canada."
The band of wireless spectrum auctioned off was the 3,500 MHz band, which is critical for 5G networks for moving large amounts of data quickly. (Francisco Seco/Associated Press)
Videotron purchased 294 licenses, Bell received 271 and Telus won 142. Xplornet received 263 licenses.
Quebecor Inc., the parent company of Videotron, said its investments in the 5G auction were another step in its expansion outside of Quebec. It said more than half of the investments are concentrated in southern and eastern Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia.
"This major investment paves the way for large-scale projects in Quebec and other Canadian provinces in the coming years," said Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor.
"Our success in Quebec has served Quebecers well. Today we are taking another step toward bringing leading-edge technology and healthy competition to more Canadian consumers."
Freedom Mobile, the country's fourth-largest cell service provider, chose not to participate in the auction amid a takeover deal of its parent company Shaw Communications Inc. by Rogers that is awaiting regulatory approval.
The United States held a similar auction last year, raising $4.5 billion US in net proceeds. Ottawa's $8.9 billion far outstrips the $3.5 billion raised in a 2019 spectrum auction for a different, less desirable wireless band.
In total, 1,495 out of 1,504 available licences were awarded to 15 Canadian companies, including 757 licences to small and regional providers across the country.
National and regional carriers collectively spend billions of dollars at auction to obtain licences for the spectrum they use for wireless service.
The 5G-compatible licences will allow more voice, video and data to be shared between smartphones or with other devices.
The auction was originally scheduled to take place last year but was delayed six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada's gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 per cent in May, the second consecutive monthly contraction as most industries slowed down.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that most industries shrank, especially construction, manufacturing and retail.
Even Canada's red hot real estate sector shrank for the second month in a row. The real estate and rental and leasing sector was down 0.4 per cent in May after falling by 0.8 per cent in April. That's the first two-month streak of declines since March and April of 2020.
"As housing sales and construction levels gradually return to more sustainable levels, this area of the economy could be a drag on growth in coming months," TD Bank economist Sri Thanabalasingam said.
Agriculture and forestry, mining and oil and gas extraction, utilities and the public sector all expanded slightly.
All in all, the total value of all the goods and services produced by Canada's economy was just shy of $1.98 trillion during the month. That's still two per cent below the slightly more than $2 trillion that the economy was worth in February 2020.
The numbers for May come at the time when Canada's economy was on the downslope of the third wave of COVID-19, and much of society was on some sort of lockdown or reduced capacity. But there are signs that a rebound has happened since.
Preliminary data for June suggests the economy grew by 0.7 per cent during the month. And July may have been even better — credit and debit card data suggests that consumers returned to spending on high-contact services including in-person dining, recreation activities and travel that had long been restricted to them, Thanabalasingam said.
June's uptick means the economy will expand by about 0.6 per cent in the second quarter overall. That's about a 2.5 per cent annual pace — much slower than the 6.5 per cent pace the U.S. economy clocked in the same period, but much better than the 8.3 per cent contraction seen in countries that use the euro.
Thanabalasingam said the data for May and June show just how up and down the economy may go from here on out.
"It may not be smooth sailing for the rest of the recovery," he said.
"The delta variant is wreaking havoc around the world, leading to a retightening of restrictions in some countries. Canada has so far avoided the worst of this virus, but cases are rising in some provinces. A fourth wave could lead to another stalling in the recovery, though with relatively high rates of vaccination a full reversal appears less likely."
HALIFAX --
New Brunswick is reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as the number of active cases in the province rises to 19.
Five new cases were identified in the Moncton region (Zone 1), involving an individual under 19, three people in their 20s, and an individual in their 30s. Three cases are under investigation, one is travel related and the other case is a contact of a previously confirmed case.
Two new cases were identified in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), involving an individual under 19 and an individual in their 30s. One case is travel related and another is under investigation.
N.B. TO MOVE TO GREEN PHASE OF REOPENING AT MIDNIGHT
New Brunswick will move into the Green phase of its recovery plan at midnight, lifting all public health restrictions and opening the province to travel.
As of 11:59 p.m. on July 30, the following restrictions will be removed in the province.
Lift all mandatory travel and public health restrictions that have been in place over the course of the pandemic.
Lift all provincial border restrictions; provincial border checks will cease, and registration will no longer be required to enter New Brunswick from anywhere in Canada.
Lift all limits on gatherings and the number of people within facilities. Capacity limits in theatres, restaurants and stores will no longer be required.
End the requirement to wear face masks in public.
"We came to this decision because we have reached our goal of 75 per cent of our eligible population having received their first vaccine, and are now at 81 per cent," said N.B. Premier Blaine Higgs during a news update. "We know that there will be new cases, but thanks to the amount of people that are already vaccinated, we do not think that our health care system will be threatened."
As of midnight Friday, all provincial border restrictions will be lifted, provincial border checks will cease, and registration will no longer be required to visit New Brunswick from anywhere in Canada.
However, travellers will still be subject to Canada's federal restrictions on International travel.
“At this time, patients, staff and visitors to all hospitals and health-care facilities, including COVID-19 assessment centres and vaccination clinics, must continue to wear masks to reduce the risk of transmission within the health-care system,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “Any patient with a valid medical exemption to wearing a mask, is asked to call in advance to the department or service to ensure arrangements can be made to accommodate them.”
N.B. CASE DATA
New Brunswick has had 2,365 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
In total, 2,299 people have recovered, and 46 people have died in the province from COVID-19.
There is currently no one hospitalized in New Brunswick due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, 748 tests were conducted in the province. A total of 380,447 tests have been conducted since the beginning of the pandemic.
The number of cases is broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:
Zone 1 – Moncton region: 497 confirmed cases (seven active cases)
Zone 2 – Saint John region: 302 confirmed cases (four active cases)
Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 452 confirmed cases (five active cases)
Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 754 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 185 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 136 confirmed cases (three active cases)
Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 39 confirmed cases (no active cases)
VACCINE UPDATE
New Brunswick's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the amount of vaccines that have been administered to date.
As of Friday, 1,031,439 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in New Brunswick. The province says 82 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose, with 66.7 per cent now fully vaccinated.
All eligible New Brunswickers can book their second dose appointments if at least 28 days have passed since their first dose.
To receive their second dose, New Brunswickers are asked to bring a signed consent form, their Medicare card and a copy of the record of immunization provided after receiving their first dose.
Appointments for people who have not yet received their first dose continue to be available to all New Brunswickers aged 12 and older at regional health authority clinics and through participating pharmacies.
Public Health is also reminding New Brunswickers to keep a copy of their Record of Immunization form as their official proof of vaccination.
The provincial government has organized a series of mobile walk-in clinics for those who have not yet received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Clinics are taking place this week at the following locations:
Knights of Columbus Hall (22 Hallett Rd., Beechwood) Friday, July 30, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A mobile walk-in vaccination clinic will be held Monday at the Crowne Plaza at 659 Queen St. in Fredericton from noon to 5 p.m. The clinic will be for those who have not yet received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer will be available at this clinic.
YELLOW LEVEL REMINDER
All of New Brunswick remains under the Yellow level of recovery under the province’s order, which will be lifted effective 11:59 p.m. July 30.
Canada's gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 per cent in May, the second consecutive monthly contraction as most industries slowed down.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that most industries shrank, especially construction, manufacturing and retail.
Even Canada's red hot real estate sector shrank for the second month in a row. The real estate and rental and leasing sector was down 0.4 per cent in May after falling by 0.8 per cent in April. That's the first two-month streak of declines since March and April of 2020.
"As housing sales and construction levels gradually return to more sustainable levels, this area of the economy could be a drag on growth in coming months," TD Bank economist Sri Thanabalasingam said.
Agriculture and forestry, mining and oil and gas extraction, utilities and the public sector all expanded slightly.
All in all, the total value of all the goods and services produced by Canada's economy was just shy of $1.98 trillion during the month. That's still two per cent below the slightly more than $2 trillion that the economy was worth in February 2020.
The numbers for May come at the time when Canada's economy was on the downslope of the third wave of COVID-19, and much of society was on some sort of lockdown or reduced capacity. But there are signs that a rebound has happened since.
Preliminary data for June suggests the economy grew by 0.7 per cent during the month. And July may have been even better — credit and debit card data suggests that consumers returned to spending on high-contact services including in-person dining, recreation activities and travel that had long been restricted to them, Thanabalasingam said.
June's uptick means the economy will expand by about 0.6 per cent in the second quarter overall. That's about a 2.5 per cent annual pace — much slower than the 6.5 per cent pace the U.S. economy clocked in the same period, but much better than the 8.3 per cent contraction seen in countries that use the euro.
Thanabalasingam said the data for May and June show just how up and down the economy may go from here on out.
"It may not be smooth sailing for the rest of the recovery," he said.
"The delta variant is wreaking havoc around the world, leading to a retightening of restrictions in some countries. Canada has so far avoided the worst of this virus, but cases are rising in some provinces. A fourth wave could lead to another stalling in the recovery, though with relatively high rates of vaccination a full reversal appears less likely."
The latest case count brings the rolling seven-day average of new daily cases to 170. This is the fourth day in a row that the seven-day rolling average has increased.
One week ago it stood at 160 and a week before that at 151.
Some 20,993 tests were completed in the past 24 hours, yielding a positivity rate of 1.1 per cent.
The new cases reported Friday include 62 in Toronto, 24 in Peel Region, 13 in York Region, 13 in Hamilton, 13 in Halton and 35 in Waterloo Region.
There are currently 117 patients in Ontario ICUs, 77 of them breathing with the help of a ventilator.
The province administered 83,907 vaccine doses Thursday, the fifth straight day that Ontario has given out fewer than 100,000 doses.
Daily vaccination numbers have been dropping for weeks in Ontario as a greater share of the population become fully vaccinated. About 68.4 per cent of Ontarians 12 and up are now fully vaccinated, while 80.2 have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose.
‘TOO SOON’ TO TELL IF UPTICK IN CASES RELATED TO REOPENING
The small uptick comes one month after Ontario entered Step 2, which allowed hair cuts and small indoor gatherings and two weeks after Ontario entered Step 3, which allows gyms, indoor dining and movie theatres to be open.
It’s been seven weeks since Ontario began the reopening process with Step 1 following a lengthy lockdown that lasted through the winter and spring.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Alon Vaisman told CP24 it’s too soon to tell whether the small uptick in cases is connected to reopening.
“It’s a little bit too early to tell what what's going on, whether what we're seeing now is the effect of the opening of restrictions on July 16,” Vaisman said. “Two weeks later, could it be related to that, or is this just a little bit of noise, and we're going to return back to our slightly lower levels that we were in the last few weeks? It's a little bit hard to tell.”
He said for the time being it makes sense to maintain what current measures we have in place as we track the situation, especially given the heightened transmissibility of the Delta variant, first identified in India.
“We know that this Delta variant is more transmissible, almost as transmissible or as transmissible as chicken pox, far more than our classic version of the virus,” Vaisman said.
Canada's main stock exchange closed at an all-time high as commodities like gold and oil benefited from a weaker U.S. dollar on Thursday.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 81.38 points at 20,311.78.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 153.60 points at 35,084.53. The S&P 500 index was up 18.51 points at 4,419.15, while the Nasdaq composite was up 15.68 points at 14,778.26.
The Canadian dollar traded for 80.32 cents US compared with 79.58 cents US on Wednesday.
The September crude oil contract was up $1.23 US at $73.62 US per barrel and the September natural gas contract was up 9.2 cents at nearly $4.06 US per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up $31.20 US at $1,835.80 US an ounce and the September copper contract was up nearly 4.2 cents at $4.52 US a pound.
HALIFAX --
As New Brunswick prepares to drop virtually all of its COVID-19 restrictions Friday night, some infectious disease experts are warning the province should prepare for a surge in cases this fall because of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Allison McGeer, an infectious disease physician with the Sinai Health System in Toronto, says she is sympathetic to Premier Blaine Higgs' decision to loosen health protection measures -- including mask wearing -- given the fact that case numbers in New Brunswick remain low.
McGeer, however, says it is clear the Delta variant is on the move in British Columbia, Alberta and much of the United States, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control now says fully vaccinated Americans should go back to wearing masks in indoor public spaces in regions where the virus is spreading rapidly.
McGeer says she has no problem with easing restrictions in Atlantic Canada -- where case numbers remain low -- so long as residents understand that mask wearing and other protection measures will likely be reimposed in the fall.
Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist, says he supports New Brunswick's plan to drop most health protection measures, but he stressed the plan will fail unless the province maintains mandatory mask wearing in indoor public spaces.
Furness, a professor at the University of Toronto, says once New Brunswickers start sharing indoor air without wearing masks, a fourth wave of infections is sure to be driven by the Delta variant.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2021.
Public Health reported four new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, and a total of 66.1 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are now fully vaccinated, while 81.9 per cent have received at least one dose.
Another 5,913 people rolled up their sleeves Wednesday, the COVID-19 dashboard shows. Of those, 4,892 received their second dose and 1,021 got their first shot.
"We're now up to just about 85 [per cent] of people eligible for their second dose being fully vaccinated," observed Oliver Dueck, a software developer based in Fredericton, who has been tracking the province's vaccine data for the past few months.
People become eligible for their second dose 28 days after their first dose.
"That leaves about 83,000 people who had their first dose at least 28 days ago who have not yet had their second dose," he said.
In a statement, Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province's chief medical officer of health, said it's important for all eligible New Brunswickers to get fully vaccinated, "especially as we near going fully green.
The province is set to lift all pandemic restrictions, including mandatory masks, gathering limits and provincial border checks for travellers within Canada, Friday at 11:59 p.m., regardless of whether it meets its vaccination target to have 75 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older fully vaccinated.
"If you have not yet done so, please act now. This will not only reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 and of being seriously ill, it will also help to protect your family and friends," Russell said.
Mobile walk-in Moderna clinics are being held across the province to help make getting vaccinated more convenient and accessible. Two clinics are slated for Thursday:
New Denmark — Recreation Centre, 160 Klokkedahl Hill Rd., between noon and 5 p.m.
Saint-Paul — Saint-Paul Golden Age Club, 6532 Route 515, between noon and 6 p.m.
Another clinic accepting walk-ins Thursday is:
Saint John — Exhibition Park, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (12 years and older – Pfizer-BioNTech)
On New Brunswick Day, Aug. 2, a mobile walk-in clinic offering Pfizer will be held in Fredericton at the Crowne Plaza, 659 Queen St., from noon to 5 p.m., for anyone those who not yet received their first or second dose.
A list of upcoming mobile and walk-in clinics is available online.
People are asked to bring their Medicare card, a signed consent form, and their record of vaccination if they're receiving their second dose.
Some pharmacies drop out of vaccination program
Some pharmacies across the province are opting out of the COVID-19 vaccination program.
Jake Reid, executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association, says pharmacists and their staff have been "going flat out" for four months and are ready for a break.
They haven't just been administering the vaccines, he told CBC's Shift. There's a lot of work behind the scenes to handle all the phone calls, book and reschedule appointments and manage the inventory.
"Every pharmacist that I've talked to has said just how happy they are to be part of the program because they really are helping members of their community. But at the same time, it's been a burden. It's been extra work on top of the wonderful work that they do already, dispensing medications and providing health services and other things."
Jake Reid, executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association, said many pharmacies have been 'really busy' and now that there's a bit of a 'slow down' in the vaccination program, it's a good time for them to 'catch a breather.' (Submitted by Jake Reid)
At the peak of the program, 208 pharmacies were participating. Now, that has dropped to 179.
But the demand for vaccines is also decreasing, said Reid.
"So that's another reason why de-escalating a little bit, having a few less clinics is not necessarily a bad thing." It will help ensure as little vaccine wastage as possible, he said.
Public Health officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
They are co-ordinating with pharmacies to make sure vaccines remain accessible, Reid said.
12 active cases
The four new cases of COVID-19 confirmed on Thursday include:
Saint John region, Zone 2, one case:
A person 80 to 89
This case is a contact of a previous case.
Bathurst region, Zone 6, three cases:
Two people under 19
A person 40 to 49
All three cases are travel-related.
The four new cases of COVID-19 announced Thursday put the province's active case count at 12. (CBC)
The province's active case count now stands at 12.
No one is hospitalized with the respiratory disease.
There have been 2,358 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province since the pandemic began, with 2,299 recoveries so far and 46 COVID-related deaths.
A total of 379,699 COVID tests have been conducted.
Possible COVID exposure
Public Health has identified a possible exposure to COVID-19. Someone who tested positive may have been infectious while travelling on the following WestJet flights on July 19:
Flight 3461 – from Ottawa to Toronto, departed at 10 a.m.
Flight 3404 – from Toronto to Fredericton, departed at 3:40 p.m.
People who travelled on these flights should self-monitor for symptoms, and if any develop, should self-isolate and take the self-assessment online or call Tele-Care 811 to get tested.
A detailed list of potential exposures, including the locations and dates, is available on the government's COVID-19 website. It is updated regularly.
Public Health offers COVID-19 testing to anyone who has been in a public exposure area, even if they are not experiencing any symptoms.
Public Health says symptoms of the illness have included a fever above 38 C, a new or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, a new onset of fatigue, and difficulty breathing.
In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with one of those symptoms should stay at home, call 811 or their doctor and follow instructions.
HALIFAX --
New Brunswick is reporting four new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, as the number of active cases in the province rises to 12.
Three new cases were identified in the Bathurst region (Zone 6), involving two people ages 19 and under, and one person in their 40s. All three cases are travel related.
One new case was identified in the Saint John region (Zone 2) involving an individual in their 80s who is a contact of a previous case.
“It is important for all eligible New Brunswickers to get fully vaccinated, especially as we near going fully green,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “If you have not yet done so, please act now. This will not only reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 and of being seriously ill, it will also help to protect your family and friends.”
New Brunswick has had 2,358 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
In total, 2,299 people have recovered, and 46 people have died in the province from COVID-19.
There is currently no one hospitalized in New Brunswick due to COVID-19.
On Wednesday, 580 tests were conducted in the province. A total of 379,699 tests have been conducted since the beginning of the pandemic.
The number of cases is broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:
Zone 1 – Moncton region: 492 confirmed cases (two active cases)
Zone 2 – Saint John region: 302 confirmed cases (four active cases)
Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 450 confirmed cases (three active cases)
Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 754 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 185 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 136 confirmed cases (three active cases)
Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 39 confirmed cases (no active cases)
VACCINE UPDATE
New Brunswick's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the amount of vaccines that have been administered to date.
As of Thursday, 1,025,847 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in New Brunswick. The province says 81.9 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose, with 66.1 per cent now fully vaccinated.
All eligible New Brunswickers can book their second dose appointments if at least 28 days have passed since their first dose.
To receive their second dose, New Brunswickers are asked to bring a signed consent form, their Medicare card and a copy of the record of immunization provided after receiving their first dose.
Appointments for people who have not yet received their first dose continue to be available to all New Brunswickers aged 12 and older at regional health authority clinics and through participating pharmacies.
Public Health is also reminding New Brunswickers to keep a copy of their Record of Immunization form as their official proof of vaccination.
The provincial government has organized a series of mobile walk-in clinics for those who have not yet received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Clinics are taking place this week at the following locations:
Recreation Centre (160 Klokkedahl Hill Rd., New Denmark) Thursday, July 29, between noon and 5 p.m.
Saint-Paul Golden Age Club (6532 Route 515, Saint-Paul) Thursday, July 29, between noon and 6 p.m.
Knights of Columbus Hall (22 Hallett Rd., Beechwood) Friday, July 30, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A mobile walk-in vaccination clinic will be held Monday at the Crowne Plaza at 659 Queen St. in Fredericton from noon to 5 p.m. The clinic will be for those who have not yet received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer will be available at this clinic.
N.B. TO MOVE TO GREEN PHASE OF REOPENING FRIDAY
New Brunswick will move into the Green phase of its recovery plan on July 30, lifting all public health restrictions and opening the province to travel, Premier Blaine Higgs announced Friday.
“This morning, Cabinet and the all-party cabinet committee on COVID-19 agreed that New Brunswick’s mandatory order will not be renewed on July 30. This will lift all mandatory travel and public health restrictions that have been in place since the pandemic began," said Higgs during Friday's news update.
As of 11:59 p.m. on July 30, the following restrictions will be removed in the province.
Lift all mandatory travel and public health restrictions that have been in place over the course of the pandemic.
Lift all provincial border restrictions; provincial border checks will cease, and registration will no longer be required to enter New Brunswick from anywhere in Canada.
Lift all limits on gatherings and the number of people within facilities. Capacity limits in theatres, restaurants and stores will no longer be required.
End the requirement to wear face masks in public.
"We came to this decision because we have reached our goal of 75 per cent of our eligible population having received their first vaccine, and are now at 81 per cent," said Higgs on Friday. "We know that there will be new cases, but thanks to the amount of people that are already vaccinated, we do not think that our health care system will be threatened."
As of midnight on July 30, all provincial border restrictions will be lifted, provincial border checks will cease, and registration will no longer be required to visit New Brunswick from anywhere in Canada.
However, travellers will still be subject to Canada's federal restrictions on International travel.
“We will be living with COVID-19, so we encourage New Brunswickers to continue to practise protective health measures such as hand-washing, coughing in your elbow, staying home when sick and wearing a mask if you so choose,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “This virus is still with us and we should all expect to see cases as normal travel returns. If you have symptoms, get tested.”
YELLOW LEVEL REMINDER
All of New Brunswick remains under the Yellow level of recovery under the province’s order, which will be lifted effective 11:59 p.m. July 30.
Israel’s prime minister on Thursday announced that the country would offer a coronavirus booster to people over 60 who have already been vaccinated.
The announcement by Naftali Bennett makes Israel, which launched one of the world’s most successful vaccination drives earlier this year, the first country to offer a third dose of a Western vaccine to its citizens on a wide scale.
“I’m announcing this evening the beginning of the campaign to receive the booster vaccine, the third vaccine,” Bennett said in a nationally televised address. “Reality proves the vaccines are safe. Reality also proves the vaccines protect against severe morbidity and death. And like the flu vaccine that needs to be renewed from time to time, it is the same in this case.”
The decision comes at a time of rising infections and signs that the vaccine’s efficacy dwindles over time.
Anyone over 60 who was vaccinated more than five months ago will be eligible. Bennett said the country’s new president, Isaac Herzog, would be the first to get the booster on Friday. It will be offered to the general public on Sunday.
Bennett, who is 49, said his first call after the news conference would be to his mother to encourage her to get her booster shot.
Neither the U.S. nor the EU have approved coronavirus booster shots. It’s not yet proven if a third dose helps and, if so, who needs one and when.
But Bennett said that a team of expert advisers had agreed overwhelmingly, by a 56-1 margin, that it made sense to launch the booster campaign. He said the recommendation was made after “considerable research and analysis” and that its information would be shared around the world. Preliminary studies in Israel have indicated the vaccine’s protection against serious illness dropped among those vaccinated in January.
“The findings show that there is a decline in the body’s immunity over time, and the purpose of the booster is to restrengthen it, thus significantly reducing the chances of infection and serious illness,” Bennett said.
Israel has used the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on its population. Previously, boosters were used in some countries with the Chinese and Russian vaccines.
Early this year, Israel carried out one of the world’s most aggressive and successful vaccination campaigns, reaching a deal with Pfizer to purchase enough vaccines for its population in exchange for sharing its data with the drug maker.
Over 57 per cent of the country’s 9.3 million citizens have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and over 80 per cent of the population over 40 is vaccinated.
The vaccination program allowed Israel to reopen its economy ahead of other countries. But Israel has seen a spike in cases of the new delta variant, even among people who are vaccinated. Bennett urged unvaccinated Israelis, especially younger people who have been hesitant, to get vaccinated immediately.
Earlier this month, Israel started giving individuals with weakened immune systems a third shot to increase their resilience against COVID-19.
Pfizer said Wednesday that the effectiveness of the vaccine drops slightly six months after the second dose. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have said they plan to seek authorization for boosters in August.
The World Health Organization said earlier this month that there is not enough evidence to show that a third dose is needed.
The agency’s officials have appealed for wealthier countries to share vaccines with poorer nations that have yet to immunize their people, instead of using them as boosters. Israel itself has come under criticism for not sharing more of its vaccines with the Palestinians.
The Israeli Health Ministry recorded at least 2,165 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, following an accelerating rise in infections over the past month. Serious cases of COVID-19 have grown from 19 a day in mid-June to 159 as the highly infectious delta variant has spread.
Thanks to its successful vaccination campaign, Israel lifted almost all of its coronavirus restrictions this spring. But with new cases back on the rise, the country has tried to halt the spread of the highly infectious delta variant by reimposing limitations on gatherings, restoring a “green pass” system for vaccinated people to enter certain enclosed spaces, and an indoor mask mandate.
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MONCTON, N.B. --
With more Canadians getting fully vaccinated, people are starting to travel again, but there is a barrier for those who have mixed doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.
For months now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick has been allowing people to be vaccinated with mixed doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Cheryl Doherty from Halifax has received a COVID-19 shot of AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Doherty is planning a trip to Ireland in September, however, she is now running into roadblocks some European countries are not accepting travelers with mixed doses.
"Currently when we go to Ireland, I would have to quarantine for five days and then have a negative test before I can visit the country," she said. "This is extremely inconvenient."
Many European countries are not recognizing the AstraZeneca vaccine made in India or many other vaccines used in developing countries.
European countries can decide their own rules for travelers. Thus, creating frustration for those eager to travel again.
During a Q&A session with Dr. Jennifer Russell and Daniel Landry on Tuesday, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health said the province is following the advice of the National Advisory Committee (NACI), which means the province isn't currently recommending third doses to people either.
"At this time there's no evidence suggesting that the third vaccine is required. We don't have efficacy data on it, and we don't have safety data on it," said Russell.
Dr. Russell also shared that the federal government is working towards a solution in the weeks ahead and that she does not recommend travel for non-essential reasons at this time.
Julia Kent, CAA Atlantic's director of public and government affairs says travel is on the rise right now as more people feel comfortable travelling being fully vaccinated.
"The phone is ringing off the hook," Kent said.
But with the pandemic comes uncertainty with travel, she says.
"What everybody wants is travel to return to normal at some point," Kent says. "We're just working with other jurisdictions, governments, cruise lines, resorts, to figure this out and I think everyone should be patient. It will work itself out."
Quebec is now offering an extra dose of the mRNA vaccine to people who want to travel to countries that don't accept their mixed vaccination status, but Quebec's health department says there could be risks associated with it.
While new data released by Pfizer on Wednesday shows that a third dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can "strongly" increase protection against the Delta variant.
But as it stands the current rules for people with mixed doses make traveling to some countries that much more difficult during this time.
"I don't have a Quebec address or postal code otherwise I might be tempted to take a little road trip," said Doherty, jokingly.
(Kitco News) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shed more light on the tapering timeline during his press conference on Wednesday, noting that the U.S. has not reached "substantial further progress" to start curbing the central bank's $120 billion a month in asset purchases.
Powell's comments followed the Fed's slightly hawkish monetary policy announcement. The central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged while highlighting that "the economy has made progress," stating that "the committee will continue to assess progress in coming meetings."
When asked to clarify the timeline and definition of "substantial further progress" needed to start reducing asset purchases, Powell pointed out that the U.S. is not at a point where the Fed could start to taper. "We see ourselves as having some ground to cover to get there."
"We are not at substantial further progress. This meeting was the first deep dive on timing, pace, and composition [of asset purchases], but no decision was made," Powell said. "We are making progress. And we expect that if things go well … and when we reach our goal, then we'll taper at that point."
Powell reiterated that the Fed would provide advance notice when making any changes to its asset purchasing program.
"Since the committee adopted its asset purchase guidance last December, we also reviewed some considerations around how our asset purchases might be adjusted, including their pace and composition once economic conditions warrant a change," he told reporters on Wednesday. "In the coming meetings, the committee will again assess the economy's progress toward our goals, and the timing of any change in the pace of our asset purchases will depend on the incoming data. As we've said, we will provide advanced notice before making any changes to our program."
He also added that raising interest rates is not even on the central bank's radar yet. "We are ways away from raising interest rates," he said.
Gold's first reaction was to drop below the $1,800 an ounce level. But once Powell began to speak, this drop was completely reversed, with spot gold climbing to daily highs of $1,808.20, up 0.53% on the day.
One thing Powell identified as a sign of substantial further progress was a much stronger labor market. "With maximum employment goal, I would want to see some strong job numbers," he said.
Right now, the U.S. economy is seeing high inflation but no maximum employment, Powell added.
"Most of the time, when you have high inflation, you have full employment. Right now, we have high inflation but not maximum employment. [But] this is a strong labor market. Shouldn't take that long to get there," he explained. "Inflation is running well above our 2% objective. It has been for a few months and will be in coming months before coming down to our target."
In the near term, Powell sees inflation risk as tilted to the upside. In the medium term, the Fed chair projects price pressures to move back down. "We won't have an extended period of high inflation. In any case, we'll use our tools to make sure that we have inflation that averages 2% over time," he said.
Powell also clarified what the Fed means by "transitory" when referring to this year's inflation pressures.
"Transitory is something that doesn't leave a permanent mark on the inflation process. It doesn't mean producers will take these price increases back," he said. "There will be inflation, but that the process of inflation will stop."
Canada's inflation rate came in at 3.1 per cent in June as prices for shelter and transportation rose quickly, while increases for things like food, clothing and recreation slowed down from May's level.
Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that shelter costs have increased by 4.4 per cent in the past year, and transportation costs went up by 5.6 per cent compared to June 2020.
But the inflation rate was dragged lower because the price of many goods has come down from where it was last year, including beef, which has declined by 11 per cent, fresh vegetables (down by 7.5 per cent) and cellular services (down an eye-popping 21 per cent).
The decrease for the latter "was mainly due to a variety of promotions across the industry offering lower prices for cellular phone plans and bonus data," the data agency said.
Shelter costs were a major factor pushing the rate up, as the cost of buying or renting a home continues to increase.
The homeowners' replacement cost index rose by 12.9 per cent, its highest annual pace since 1987. But the cost of financing homes via mortage fell by 8.7 per cent in the past year, the biggest plunge in more than 70 years of data keeping, Bank of Montreal economist Benjamin Reitzes noted.
The price of gasoline, meanwhile, has increased by 32 per cent in the past 12 months. But that's actually down from 43 per cent a month earlier.
"Oil prices at this time last year were recovering, but they were still quite low from the pandemic shock itself," TD Bank economist Sri Thanabalasingam said in an interview. "As we go through the months ahead, we'll see less of a base year impact and therefore less contribution from gas prices to the overall inflation numbers."
For now at least, pump prices are playing a major role in the inflation rate. If gasoline is stripped out of the numbers, the inflation rate was just 2.2 per cent.
Higher prices are coming
Higher gasoline and transportation prices are just one factor that consumers may soon feel when buying just about anything, Thanabalasingam said.
Businesses are seeing higher costs for everything from supplies to labour. Eventually, those costs have to get passed on.
"We likely will see businesses pass on more of these costs on consumers but I do think that would occur on a temporary basis because over the longer term, if businesses continue to do so, consumers would demand higher wages as a result," he said.
Business owners say they can't afford to shelter consumers from higher costs forever.
Larry Isaacs, president of Firkin Group of Pubs which has 24 restaurants across Ontario, said in an interview that restaurants are in no place to swallow those higher costs, having barely survived the pandemic.
"If you increase the price of the food, if you increase the price of labour, if your hydro goes up, your insurance goes up, you've got nothing left," he said.
Achieves First $1 Billion Revenue Quarter on Record GMV
Helping Independent Brands Compete as Commerce Goes Digital
Shopify reports in U.S. dollars and in accordance with U.S. GAAP
Internet, Everywhere--(Newsfile Corp. - July 28, 2021) - Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) (TSX: SHOP), a provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, announced today strong financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.
"This past year has been one of great uncertainty for independent merchants. What used to be two completely distinct industries, the retail industry and the online commerce industry, are now just the commerce industry. In this new reality, our goal at Shopify is clearer than ever: we want to give entrepreneurs around the world the best chance to create their own certainty, to reach for independence and to seize opportunity that they uniquely see. Shopify is building the essential infrastructure for this increasingly digital world to allow as many people as possible to participate," said Tobi Lütke, Shopify's CEO at our recent Shopify Unite developer conference.
"Shopify fired on all cylinders in our second quarter, keeping our merchants well equipped to seize the opportunities presented in a post-pandemic retail era," said Amy Shapero, Shopify's CFO. "As consumer spending remained strong, our merchants thrived and extracted more value from our platform, contributing to our rapid growth. We built on our momentum, making significant updates to our platform infrastructure, expanding strategic partnerships, and advancing our portfolio of growth initiatives to future-proof the success of tomorrow's entrepreneurs."
Second-Quarter Financial Highlights
Total revenue in the second quarter was $1,119.4 million, up 57% year over year.
Subscription Solutions revenue was $334.2 million, up 70% year over year, primarily due to more merchants joining the platform.
Merchant Solutions revenue was $785.2 million, up 52%, driven primarily by the growth of Gross Merchandise Volume1 ("GMV").
Monthly Recurring Revenue2 ("MRR") as of June 30, 2021 was $95.1 million. Growth accelerated to 67% year-over-year with MRR up from $57.0 million as of June 30, 2020 as more merchants joined the platform and the number of retail locations using POS Pro increased. Shopify Plus contributed $25.2 million, or 26%, of MRR compared with 29% of MRR as of June 30, 2020 as a result of the significantly higher number of merchants on standard plans joining the platform in the past 12 months and new incremental revenue from our Retail POS Pro subscription offering.
GMV for the second quarter was $42.2 billion, an increase of $12.1 billion or 40% over the second quarter of 2020. Gross Payments Volume3 ("GPV") grew to $20.3 billion, which accounted for 48.0% of GMV processed in the quarter, versus $13.4 billion, or 45%, for the second quarter of 2020.
Gross profit dollars grew 66% to $620.9 million in the second quarter of 2021, compared with $375.0 million for the second quarter of 2020.
Adjusted gross profit4 dollars grew 64% to $627.0 million in the second quarter of 2021, compared with $381.4 million for the second quarter of 2020.
Operating income for the second quarter of 2021 was $139.4 million, or 12% of revenue, versus income of $0.3 million, or 0% of revenue, for the comparable period a year ago.
Adjusted operating income4 for the second quarter of 2021 was $236.8 million, or 21% of revenue, compared with adjusted operating income of $113.7 million or 16% of revenue in the second quarter of 2020.
Net income for the second quarter of 2021 was $879.1 million, or $6.90 per diluted share, compared with net income of $36.0 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2020. Q2 2021 net income includes a $778 million unrealized net gain on our equity investments.
Adjusted net income4 for the second quarter of 2021 was $284.6 million, or $2.24 per diluted share, compared with adjusted net income of $129.4 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2020.
At June 30, 2021, Shopify had $7.76 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, compared with $6.39 billion at December 31, 2020.
Second-Quarter Business Highlights
Shopify held its virtual partner conference, Shopify Unite 2021, where we announced ways we are helping merchants and developers build the future of commerce on the internet. Key announcements included:
More flexible and customizable storefronts: Merchants can more easily express their brands and create unique online experiences through our platform upgrade, Online Store 2.0, while new APIs and tooling enable developers to unlock rich platform features such as new cart functionality, selling plans, international pricing, and local pickup. Shopify also previewed Hydrogen, a toolkit for developers to build custom storefronts quickly and easily, and Oxygen, a fast, global, and optimized way to host these storefronts.
Faster, scalable, and more customizable checkout: Shopify Checkout will be even faster, giving any shop the capacity to handle tens of thousands of purchases per minute; more scalable through the launch of our new Shopify Payments Platform, which enables developers to create payment gateways as Shopify apps; and easier to customize, allowing developers to securely build apps directly into Shopify Checkout.
Updating our economic model to help scale our partner community: Starting in August for Apps, and September for Themes, developers will pay 0% rev share for the first $1 million they make annually on the platform, and will pay only 15% on revenue over $1 million annually.
Shopify continued to build the foundation of Shopify Fulfillment Network, introducing features to help merchants manage the products fulfilled on our network, improve shipping speed and accuracy, and manage preferences, like staff notifications.
Shopify added features and functionality to Shop, our mobile shopping assistant, including an analytics dashboard and automated marketing tools to support merchant sales efforts, and in-app cart and checkout and curated discovery filters for LGBTQ+ and Indigenous-owned businesses for a better shopping experience. At the end of Q2 2021, Shop had more than 118 million registered users, including buyers using Shop Pay as well as the Shop App, of which approximately 23 million were Monthly Active Users. At the end of June 2021, Shop Pay had facilitated nearly $30 billion in cumulative GMV since its launch in 2017.
Shopify announced that Shop Pay will become available to all merchants selling in the U.S. on Facebook and Google, even if they don't use Shopify's online store, positioning Shop Pay to become the preferred checkout for all merchants, whether they are on Shopify's platform or not.
Shopify launched our integrated retail hardware with payments using our All-New POS software to retail merchants in Australia in May, enabling merchants in these regions to seamlessly bridge online and offline commerce.
Shopify rolled out Shop Pay Installments to all merchants in the U.S., enabling merchants to provide buyers with increased flexibility and affordability at checkout. Our buy-now-pay-later product also unlocks significant benefits for merchants, including access to one of the largest U.S. consumer networks through Shop Pay, a seamless checkout experience with higher conversion and order values and lower abandoned carts, and direct integration of Shop Pay Installments with merchants' Shopify stores.
Merchants in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. received a record $363 million in merchant cash advances and loans from Shopify Capital in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 137% versus the $153 million received by U.S. merchants in the second quarter of last year. Shopify Capital has grown to approximately $2.3 billion in cumulative capital advanced since its launch in April 2016, approximately $415.4 million of which was outstanding on June 30, 2021.
Shopify's partner ecosystem continued to expand, as approximately 46,400 partners referred a merchant to Shopify over the past 12 months, up 53% compared with 30,300 over the 12 months ended June 30, 2020.
Outlook
The outlook that follows constitutes forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws and is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a number of risks. Actual results could vary materially as a result of numerous factors, including certain risk factors, many of which are beyond Shopify's control. Please see "Forward-looking Statements" below.
In addition to the other assumptions and factors described in this press release, Shopify's outlook assumes the continuation of growth trends in our industry, our ability to manage our growth effectively, the absence of material changes in our industry or the global economy and other assumptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which are described in detail below. The following statements supersede all prior statements made by Shopify and are based on current expectations. As these statements are forward-looking, actual results may differ materially.
These statements do not give effect to the potential impact of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures or business combinations that may be announced or closed after the date hereof. All numbers provided in this section are approximate.
Our outlook for the remainder of 2021 is consistent with our assumptions in February. We have seen an improvement in the overall economic environment through the first half of 2021, consumer spending beginning to rotate back to services and off-line retail, and ecommerce growing at a more normalized pace relative to 2020.
In view of these factors and Shopify's performance for the six months ending June 30, 2021, we continue to expect to grow revenue rapidly in 2021, but at a lower rate than in 2020. For the full year 2021, we continue to expect the following:
Subscriptions solutions revenue growth to be driven by more merchants around the world joining the platform in a number lower than the record in 2020, but higher than any year prior to 2020;
The growth rates of subscription solutions and merchant solutions revenues to be more similar to each other than in the recent past, as we do not expect the surge in GMV that drove merchant solutions in 2020 to repeat; and,
Merchant solutions revenue growth to be driven by continued GMV growth from existing merchants, new merchants joining the platform, and expanded adoption of Shopify's growing menu of merchant solutions, including established offerings such as Shopify Payments, Shopify Shipping, and Shopify Capital, both geographically and as merchants grow into them, while newer solutions such as Shopify Fulfillment Network and 6 River Systems contribute nascent but incremental revenue in their early stages.
We expect that the first quarter will likely still contribute the smallest share of full-year revenue and the fourth quarter the largest, and that the revenue spread will be more evenly distributed across the four quarters than it has been historically.
We continue to expect rapid growth in gross profit dollars in 2021 and plan to continue reinvesting back into our business as aggressively as we can, with the year-over-year growth in operating expenses accelerating in Q3 and again in Q4. Due to the sustained momentum of digital commerce trends in the first half of 2021 combined with the U.S. stimulus distributed in March and April of 2021, Shopify generated higher-than-anticipated revenue while incurring lower-than-planned operating expenses as a percent of revenue in the first half of 2021. As a result, we now expect full-year 2021 adjusted operating income to be above the level we achieved in 2020.
For 2021, we continue to anticipate stock-based compensation expenses and related payroll taxes of $425 million and amortization of acquired intangibles of $21 million.
Quarterly Conference Call
Shopify's management team will hold a conference call to discuss our second-quarter results today, July 28, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The conference call will be webcast on the investor relations section of Shopify's website at https://investors.shopify.com/news-and-events/. An archived replay of the webcast will be available following the conclusion of the call.
Shopify's Second Quarter 2021 Interim Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes and its Second Quarter 2021 Management's Discussion and Analysis are available on Shopify's website at www.shopify.com and will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
About Shopify
Shopify is a leading provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, offering trusted tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business of any size. Shopify makes commerce better for everyone with a platform and services that are engineered for reliability, while delivering a better shopping experience for consumers everywhere. Proudly founded in Ottawa, Shopify powers over 1.7 million businesses in more than 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as Allbirds, Gymshark, Heinz, Staples Canada, and many more. For more information, visit www.shopify.com.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), Shopify uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to provide additional information in order to assist investors in understanding our financial and operating performance.
Adjusted gross profit, adjusted operating income, non-GAAP operating expenses, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the effect of stock-based compensation expenses and related payroll taxes and amortization of acquired intangibles. Adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share also exclude unrealized gains on equity and other investments and tax effects related to non-GAAP adjustments.
Management uses non-GAAP financial measures internally for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. Shopify believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making. Non-GAAP financial measures are not recognized measures for financial statement presentation under U.S. GAAP and do not have standardized meanings, and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other public companies. Such non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. See the financial tables below for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding Shopify's planned business initiatives and operations and outlook, the performance of Shopify's merchants, the impact of Shopify's business on its merchants and other entrepreneurs, and economic activity and consumer spending. Words such as "believe", "continue", "will", "plan", "anticipate", "become", "enable", and "expect" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are based on Shopify's current projections and expectations about future events and financial trends that management believes might affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs, and on certain assumptions and analysis made by Shopify in light of the experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors management believes are appropriate. These projections, expectations, assumptions and analyses are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, events and achievements to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Although Shopify believes that the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect, and readers cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, including certain risk factors, many of which are beyond Shopify's control, including but not limited to: (i) merchant acquisition and retention; (ii) managing our growth; (iii) our potential inability to compete successfully against current and future competitors; (iv) the security of personal information we store relating to merchants and their customers and consumers with whom we have a direct relationship; (v) our history of losses and our ability to maintain profitability; (vi) a disruption of service or security breach; (vii) our limited operating history in new markets and geographic regions; (viii) our ability to innovate; (ix) international sales and operations and the use of our platform in various countries; (x) our reliance on a single supplier to provide the technology we offer through Shopify Payments; (xi) our potential inability to hire, retain and motivate qualified personnel; (xii) our use of a single cloud-based platform to deliver our services; (xiii) uncertainty around the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic and actions taken in response on global and regional economies and economic activity; (xiv) the reliance of our growth in part on the success of our strategic relationships with third parties; (xv) complex and changing laws and regulations worldwide; (xvi) our dependence on the continued services of management and other key employees; (xvii) our potential failure to effectively maintain, promote and enhance our brand; (xviii) payments processed through Shopify Payments; (xix) serious errors or defects in our software or hardware or issues with our hardware supply chain; (xx) our potential inability to achieve or maintain data transmission capacity; (xxi) activities of merchants or partners or the contents of merchants' shops; (xxii) evolving privacy laws and regulations, cross-border data transfer restrictions, data localization requirements and other domestic or foreign regulations may limit the use and adoption of our services; (xxiii) changes in tax laws or adverse outcomes related to our taxes; (xiv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in Shopify's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the securities commissions or similar securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces or territories of Canada. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent Shopify's expectations as of the date of this news release, or as of the date they are otherwise stated to be made, and subsequent events may cause these expectations to change. Shopify undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
MEDIA: Rebecca Feigelsohn Communications Lead 416-238-6705 x 302 press@shopify.com
Shopify Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Expressed in US $000's, except share and per share amounts, unaudited)
Three months ended
Six months ended
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
$
$
$
$
Revenues
Subscription solutions
334,237
196,434
654,918
384,043
Merchant solutions
785,208
517,907
1,453,174
800,299
1,119,445
714,341
2,108,092
1,184,342
Cost of revenues
Subscription solutions
63,027
44,400
121,409
82,112
Merchant solutions
435,558
294,907
807,107
470,246
498,585
339,307
928,516
552,358
Gross profit
620,860
375,034
1,179,576
631,984
Operating expenses
Sales and marketing
201,910
144,850
388,133
299,712
Research and development
183,557
133,227
359,443
249,623
General and administrative
77,966
83,307
145,068
128,149
Transaction and loan losses
17,986
13,366
28,592
27,449
Total operating expenses
481,419
374,750
921,236
704,933
Income (loss) from operations
139,441
284
258,340
(72,949
)
Other income, net
779,874
4,084
2,030,519
17,193
Income (loss) before income taxes
919,315
4,368
2,288,859
(55,756
)
(Provision for) recovery of income taxes
(40,222
)
31,630
(151,321
)
60,325
Net income
879,093
35,998
2,137,538
4,569
Other comprehensive (loss) income
(2,743
)
10,653
(5,467
)
(5,980
)
Comprehensive income (loss)
876,350
46,651
2,132,071
(1,411
)
Net income per share attributable to shareholders:
Basic
7.06
0.30
17.25
0.04
Diluted
6.90
0.29
16.83
0.04
Shares used to compute net income per share attributable to shareholders:
Basic
124,547,501
118,740,645
123,899,177
117,773,612
Diluted
127,475,063
122,749,980
127,075,352
121,919,207
Shopify Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Expressed in US $000's except share amounts, unaudited)
As at
June 30, 2021
December 31, 2020
$
$
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
2,364,670
2,703,597
Marketable securities
5,390,717
3,684,370
Trade and other receivables, net
153,400
120,752
Merchant cash advances, loans and related receivables, net
415,354
244,723
Income taxes receivable
56,943
56,067
Other current assets
79,082
68,247
8,460,166
6,877,756
Long-term assets
Property and equipment, net
86,671
92,104
Intangible assets, net
124,203
135,676
Right-of-use assets, net
124,342
119,373
Deferred tax assets
52,110
52,677
Equity and other investments
2,796,321
173,454
Goodwill
311,865
311,865
3,495,512
885,149
Total assets
11,955,678
7,762,905
Liabilities and shareholders' equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
289,537
300,795
Income taxes payable
22,544
19,677
Deferred revenue
183,160
107,809
Lease liabilities
15,842
10,051
511,083
438,332
Long-term liabilities
Deferred revenue
135,321
21,006
Lease liabilities
151,162
144,836
Convertible senior notes
909,791
758,008
Deferred tax liabilities
127,777
-
1,324,051
923,850
Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders' equity
Common stock, unlimited Class A subordinate voting shares authorized, 113,198,847 and 110,929,570 issued and outstanding; unlimited Class B multiple voting shares authorized, 11,564,593 and 11,599,301 issued and outstanding
7,837,824
6,115,232
Additional paid-in capital
118,396
261,436
Accumulated other comprehensive income
3,303
8,770
Retained earnings
2,161,021
15,285
Total shareholders' equity
10,120,544
6,400,723
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
11,955,678
7,762,905
Shopify Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Expressed in US $000's, unaudited)
Six months ended
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
$
$
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income for the period
2,137,538
4,569
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization and depreciation
30,463
34,297
Stock-based compensation
151,114
116,076
Amortization of debt offering costs
1,171
-
Impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
-
31,623
Provision for transaction and loan losses
14,855
12,040
Deferred income tax expense (recovery)
128,344
(13,728
)
Revenue related to non-cash consideration
(18,121
)
-
Net unrealized gain on equity and other investments
(2,028,693
)
-
Unrealized foreign exchange loss (gain)
1,451
(1,231
)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Trade and other receivables
(27,406
)
(18,980
)
Merchant cash advances, loans and related receivables
(188,083
)
(22,349
)
Other current assets
(16,497
)
(10,815
)
Non-cash consideration received in exchange for services
(192,300
)
-
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
(10,162
)
61,659
Income tax assets and liabilities
6,753
(115,387
)
Deferred revenue
207,787
11,661
Lease assets and liabilities
3,890
800
Net cash provided by operating activities
202,104
90,235
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of marketable securities
(4,149,857
)
(1,970,693
)
Maturity of marketable securities
2,437,951
1,659,159
Purchase of equity and other investments
(401,874
)
(10,000
)
Acquisitions of property and equipment
(13,451
)
(25,329
)
Acquisitions of intangible assets
-
(262
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(2,127,231
)
(347,125
)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from public equity offerings, net of issuance costs
1,541,168
1,460,945
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options
43,290
37,595
Net cash provided by financing activities
1,584,458
1,498,540
Effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents
1,742
(9,204
)
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
(338,927
)
1,232,446
Cash and cash equivalents - Beginning of Period
2,703,597
649,916
Cash and cash equivalents - End of Period
2,364,670
1,882,362
Shopify Inc. Reconciliation from GAAP to Non-GAAP Results (Expressed in US $000's, except share and per share amounts, unaudited)
Three months ended
Six months ended
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
$
$
$
$
GAAP Gross profit
620,860
375,034
1,179,576
631,984
% of Revenue
55
%
53
%
56
%
53
%
add: stock-based compensation
1,637
1,188
3,152
2,336
add: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
172
341
508
517
add: amortization of acquired intangibles
4,372
4,856
8,903
10,425
Non-GAAP Gross profit
627,041
381,419
1,192,139
645,262
% of Revenue
56
%
53
%
57
%
54
%
GAAP Sales and marketing
201,910
144,850
388,133
299,712
% of Revenue
18
%
20
%
18
%
25
%
less: stock-based compensation
9,671
10,613
18,524
21,820
less: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
1,319
1,818
3,351
3,045
less: amortization of acquired intangibles
386
388
772
776
Non-GAAP Sales and marketing
190,534
132,031
365,486
274,071
% of Revenue
17
%
18
%
17
%
23
%
GAAP Research and development
183,557
133,227
359,443
249,623
% of Revenue
16
%
19
%
17
%
21
%
less: stock-based compensation
48,747
39,361
93,036
71,965
less: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
7,241
10,464
18,979
14,281
less: amortization of acquired intangibles
58
58
116
116
Non-GAAP Research and development
127,511
83,344
247,312
163,261
% of Revenue
11
%
12
%
12
%
14
%
GAAP General and administrative
77,966
83,307
145,068
128,149
% of Revenue
7
%
12
%
7
%
11
%
less: stock-based compensation
21,903
11,162
36,402
19,955
less: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
1,856
1,520
5,562
2,494
less: impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
-
31,623
-
31,623
Non-GAAP General and administrative
54,207
39,002
103,104
74,077
% of Revenue
5
%
5
%
5
%
6
%
GAAP Transaction and loan losses
17,986
13,366
28,592
27,449
% of Revenue
2
%
2
%
1
%
2
%
GAAP Operating expenses
481,419
374,750
921,236
704,933
% of Revenue
43
%
52
%
44
%
60
%
less: stock-based compensation
80,321
61,136
147,962
113,740
less: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
10,416
13,802
27,892
19,820
less: amortization of acquired intangibles
444
446
888
892
less: impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
-
31,623
-
31,623
Non-GAAP Operating expenses
390,238
267,743
744,494
538,858
% of Revenue
35
%
37
%
35
%
45
%
Shopify Inc. Reconciliation from GAAP to Non-GAAP Results (continued) (Expressed in US $000's, except share and per share amounts, unaudited)
Three months ended
Six months ended
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
June 30, 2021
June 30, 2020
$
$
$
$
GAAP Operating income (loss)
139,441
284
258,340
(72,949
)
% of Revenue
12
%
-
%
12
%
(6
)%
add: stock-based compensation
81,958
62,324
151,114
116,076
add: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
10,588
14,143
28,400
20,337
add: amortization of acquired intangibles
4,816
5,302
9,791
11,317
add: impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
-
31,623
-
31,623
Adjusted Operating income
236,803
113,676
447,645
106,404
% of Revenue
21
%
16
%
21
%
9
%
GAAP Net income
879,093
35,998
2,137,538
4,569
% of Revenue
79
%
5
%
101
%
-
%
add: stock-based compensation
81,958
62,324
151,114
116,076
add: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
10,588
14,143
28,400
20,337
add: amortization of acquired intangibles
4,816
5,302
9,791
11,317
less: net unrealized gain on equity and other investments
(777,749
)
-
(2,028,693
)
-
add: impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
-
31,623
-
31,623
add: income tax effects related to non-GAAP adjustments
85,908
(20,024
)
240,574
(32,224
)
Adjusted Net income
284,614
129,366
538,724
151,698
% of Revenue
25
%
18
%
26
%
13
%
Basic GAAP Net income per share attributable to shareholders
7.06
0.30
17.25
0.04
add: stock-based compensation
0.66
0.52
1.22
0.99
add: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
0.09
0.12
0.23
0.17
add: amortization of acquired intangibles
0.04
0.04
0.08
0.10
less: net unrealized gain on equity and other investments
(6.24
)
0.00
(16.37
)
0.00
add: impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
0.00
0.27
0.00
0.27
add: income tax effects related to non-GAAP adjustments
0.69
(0.17
)
1.94
(0.27
)
Basic Adjusted Net income per share attributable to shareholders
2.29
1.09
4.35
1.29
Weighted average shares used to compute GAAP and non-GAAP basic net income per share attributable to shareholders
124,547,501
118,740,645
123,899,177
117,773,612
Diluted GAAP Net income per share attributable to shareholders
6.90
0.29
16.83
0.04
add: stock-based compensation
0.64
0.51
1.19
0.95
add: payroll taxes related to stock-based compensation
0.08
0.12
0.22
0.17
add: amortization of acquired intangibles
0.04
0.04
0.08
0.09
less: net unrealized gain on equity and other investments
(6.10
)
0.00
(15.96
)
0.00
add: impairment of right-of-use assets and leasehold improvements
0.00
0.26
0.00
0.26
add: income tax effects related to non-GAAP adjustments
0.67
(0.16
)
1.89
(0.26
)
Diluted Adjusted Net income per share attributable to shareholders
2.24
1.05
4.25
1.24
Weighted average shares used to compute GAAP and non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to shareholders
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