We’re back! Hope you enjoyed some time off. In this one, we catch up on the biggest headlines from the past week - before getting back to business on Wednesday.

The west coast pipeline project took its next step forward, with Alberta’s new proposal heading to the MPO - which would transport one million barrels per day alongside the existing Trans Mountain route…

… to BC’s southwest coast, given the tanker ban remains in place. It’s not ideal, but a pipe is better than no pipe - providing much needed job creation through the decade and another avenue to reach international markets…

… China being the obvious one, given they receive over 30% of Trans Mountain exports today and are growing as an end market for Canadian crude.

With a graveyard of pipeline projects, the private sector isn’t jumping all over this - but Pembina (PPL) could take 10% with another 10% option on COD…

… which if exercised, would take its economic interest to roughly 5% of current handled volumes. With no at-risk capital until final investment decision…

… the company’s involvement is risk-free in the short term and could be material in the long term.

GDP in April beat estimates, rising 0.5%…

… on the back of a 1.2% rise in goods-producing industries, which carried modest growth in services GDP.

At the sector level, the print was carried by a 4% increase in oil & gas extraction…

… which should continue into May, following a similar trajectory to industrial product prices.

VersaBank (VBNK) ran over 15% last week after announcing the commercial rollout of its Real-Time Structured Receivable Program, which should drive asset growth.

Today, a point-of-sale lender will fund its lending activity using a secured credit line - borrowing ~80% of the loan’s value and using its own capital for the rest.

After 30-90 days, the lender will package up those loans and sell them to investors - using the proceeds to pay down the credit line so it can keep originating.

VersaBank’s Real-Time SRP circumvents the need for this structure, as it enables the bank to purchase the receivables associated with loans as they’re originated by partners…

… reducing their funding costs and capital requirements, which improves returns. For our breakdown of the impact to VersaBank, check out the full piece.

GFL Environmental (GFL) was up 8% Friday on rumours that it could go private, which comes on the heels of the company’s $6.4B SECURE Waste acquisition…

… a deal we think the market got wrong and one of many transactions that have taken GFL’s North American platform to scale over the past decade.

While it’s a roll up story, organic growth has been an equally important driver…

… so it’s no surprise private capital is circling here. If a deal gets done at a multiple in line with its US peers (maybe a stretch), there’s another ~25% from here - let’s see.

Aecon (ARE) had a busy week, buying a facility for nuclear fabrication and running over 15% on a $1.7B power plant contract - which adds 16% to the backlog…

… and should provide a boost to the industrial segment through 2030.

The big win follows Aecon’s $320M utilities segment consolidation, reversing some multiple compression off of ARE’s peak valuation as investors price in future growth.

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