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Powering Canada’s Future: Ensuring Access to Affordable, Reliable and Clean Electricity in New Brunswick

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DIEPPE, NB, Dec. 8, 2024 /CNW/ – In the 21st century, a reliable and affordable clean electricity grid is the backbone of a strong economy. Today more than 80 per cent of Canada’s electricity is generated from clean sources like hydropower, wind, solar, and nuclear – and it’s a big part of the reason why companies are choosing to invest in Canadian workers and business. In New Brunswick, renewables projects are already creating good jobs and delivering more affordable power to the grid. By taking action to expand clean power, new economic opportunities are being unlocked while families and workers are getting ahead.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault and the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc announced over $1 billion in additional investments to ensure that as New Brunswick’s electricity demands grow substantially over the coming years, we meet demand with clean electricity that is both reliable and affordable. NB Power estimates the following investments could help power up to 140,000 homes.

Up to $1 billion in federal support for up to 670 megawatts of Indigenous-led wind projects through the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) Clean Power priority sector and Indigenous Equity Initiative as well as Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program (SREPs).$25 million from SREPs for the 25-megawatt Neweg Energy wind project, a partnership with the New Brunswick Mi’kmaq First Nations.$500,000 to the North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council to provide seven Mi’kmaq Nations in New Brunswick resources and technical support and enable direct participation in clean energy opportunities.A commitment from Canada to work with New Brunswick and NB Power to support the conversion of the Belledune Generating Station from coal-fired power to biomass.$1.6 million from Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to further investigate the conversion through engineering and planning studies, this is in addition to a previously announced $2 million from ACOA to evaluate different biomass fuel options.$25 million to NB Power for predevelopment work for up to 600 megawatts in new small modular reactor (SMR) capacity at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generation Station through NRCan’s Electricity Predevelopment Program.$1.3 million to NB Power for predevelopment work on the modified Atlantic Loop transmission line between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia through NRCan’s Electricity Predevelopment program.

The Ministers also announced that the Government of Canada and the Government of New Brunswick have reached a common understanding on the forthcoming Clean Electricity Regulations that will provide the flexibilities needed to enable New Brunswick’s electricity system to grow and decarbonize all while ensuring it will be affordable, reliable, and non-emitting. 

The federal and provincial governments, in collaboration with First Nations partners, have already been partnering through the New Brunswick Regional Table to identify and accelerate shared economic priorities for a net-zero future in the province’s energy and resource sectors. Investments announced today demonstrate the commitment to continue to collaborate and to take action to grow and decarbonize the electricity grid.

As demand for electricity grows, the opportunity to power our communities and the world with clean, affordable, and reliable power is a win-win-win – for workers, for affordability, and for the environment. The Government of Canada’s plan is working to drive GHG pollution down while the economy grows and inflation cools. Together, with provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, municipalities, industry and workers, the Government of Canada is seizing the opportunity ahead to build a strong economy with good jobs, and to ensure a healthy environment for our children and grandchildren.   

Quotes

“Canadians are leaders in generating clean electricity that powers our communities and beyond. Today’s shared commitment with New Brunswick is a clear signal that investing in clean electricity in New Brunswick creates jobs, drives economic growth, and positions New Brunswickers to take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by the clean economy, now and into the future. The federal government is a partner as we build a 21st century economy, underpinned by a clean electricity system, that places affordability and reliability at its core.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

“This is a very exciting day for New Brunswick. Our two governments are united by a common goal of building a clean grid in New Brunswick that can power homes and businesses with clean, reliable and affordable electricity. Switching to clean electricity can save New Brunswickers money on their monthly bills, while building that cleaner grid means more quality unionized jobs. Making sure our grid is zero-emitting is a major step to fighting climate change, truly a win-win-win for everyone.”

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“Across Canada, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is making investments in provincial energy systems which will enable new generation, storage and transmission while minimizing ratepayers impacts and creating greater Indigenous ownership opportunities. We are pleased to play lead role in helping New Brunswick with its call for a significant increase in the use of renewable energy which will ensure the province’s grid has enough power to meet future demand.”

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

“Across Canada, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is making investments in provincial energy systems which will enable new generation, storage and transmission while minimizing ratepayers impacts and creating greater Indigenous ownership opportunities. We are pleased to play lead role in helping New Brunswick with its call for a significant increase in the use of renewable energy which will ensure the province’s grid has enough power to meet future demand.”

Ehren Cory
CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank

“This Government of Canada investment will help power New Brunswick’s shift from coal to renewable energy, that means more affordable and more reliable power for families, not to mention good jobs for energy workers across the province.”

The Honorable Gudie Hutchings
Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

“We are very happy to be collaborating with federal and First Nations partners to grow our economy and decarbonize our electricity grid. Ensuring affordable and reliable energy for New Brunswickers and making progress on our clean energy commitments are priorities for our government.”

The Honourable Susan Holt
Premier of New Brunswick

“We have exciting opportunities before us that will lead to a cleaner environment, more economic growth, and most importantly, an affordable and secure energy supply for New Brunswickers. Here in New Brunswick, as well as throughout the Atlantic provinces, we face the highest rates of energy poverty in the country. This new federal funding for our priorities as well as investment in Indigenous led wind projects takes a step closer to meeting our clean energy goals and commitments.”

The Honourable René Legacy
Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Energy, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Quick Facts

The Government of Canada’s Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs) is a $4.5-billion program designed to support the deployment of clean electricity to ensure a reliable, affordable and decarbonized electricity system.The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is supporting renewable power procurements in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The CIB’s Clean Power sector has a target to invest at least $10 billion in projects which allow Canadians to access more reliable and secure energy, create jobs and cut emissions.In addition, the CIB’s Indigenous Equity Initiative provides loans to Indigenous communities to provide them with access to capital to purchase equity stakes in projects in which the CIB is also investing. Economic returns from these projects can be reinvested, narrowing the economic and infrastructure gap among Indigenous communities.In Atlantic Canada, ACOA is delivering $55 million under the Canada Coal Transition Initiative. The initiative is set to end on March 31, 2025.NRCan’s Electricity Predevelopment Program is a $250-million program to support pre-development activities of clean electricity projects such as inter-provincial electricity transmission projects and small modular reactors, critical for supporting economic development through investments in new infrastructure and the enhanced security and reliability of our clean energy supply.Powering Canada’s Future combines historic investments and balanced, fair regulations to ensure new electricity production in Canada is built with the affordable, reliable, clean, and renewable energy sources that Canadians expect.Across Canada, electricity operators are taking advantage of the more than $60 billion over the next decade in federal support to help build 21st century electricity grids.All G7 countries have committed to build a net-zero grid as a foundational measure for enabling achievement of net zero economies by 2050.Electrification is helping to save families money on their energy bills, such as by driving hybrid trucks or installing all-season heat-pumps that have lower operating costs. These cost-saving technologies are supported by purchase incentives and rebates programs from the Government of Canada, helping to put hundreds of dollars more in the pockets of Canadian families every month.Besides significant cost savings, several studies have found that clean electricity can enable lower and more stable electricity bills, since the shift away from fossil fuel electricity also protects ratepayers from volatile electricity prices caused by global price shocks associated with coal and natural gas-powered electricity. For example, Manitoba, Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario largely operate cleaner electricity grids that provide stable and affordable power and energy reliability during the coldest winter days.

Related Information

Statement: Ensuring Access to Affordable, Reliable and Clean Electricity in New BrunswickJoint Policy Statement on Developing and Transmitting Clean, Reliable and Affordable Power in Nova Scotia and New BrunswickSmart Renewables and Electrification Pathways ProgramCanada Infrastructure Bank’s Clean Power Priority Sectors Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)Powering Canada Forward: Building a Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Electricity System for Every Region in Canada2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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Cboe Clear U.S. Receives SEC Approval to Expand Clearing Capabilities

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SEC registration enables Cboe Clear U.S. to clear binary securities options alongside futures, positioning it to support innovation across the market

CHICAGO, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading global markets operator and pioneer in equity and index derivatives, today announced that Cboe Clear U.S., LLC (CCUS) has received temporary registration from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to operate as a Covered Clearing Agency.

The registration expands CCUS’s clearing capabilities beyond its existing authorities as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-registered Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) to clear securities products in addition to futures and swaps products. Together with recent enhancements to its regulatory framework and product scope, the milestone positions CCUS to support innovation and emerging opportunities across a broad range of assets and markets.

CCUS will initially use its SEC registration to clear Cboe’s binary securities options tied to specified corporate key performance indicators (KPIs), which are planned to list on Cboe Options Exchange and be available on Robinhood in the fourth-quarter 2026. CCUS also recently received CFTC approval to clear margined futures broadly and continues to clear digital asset derivatives under its DCO designation.

“Clearing plays a critical role in bringing innovation to market,” said Dale Michaels, Head of Cboe Clear U.S. “These expanded capabilities position Cboe Clear U.S. to become an innovation lane to support new products and meet evolving customer needs, while maintaining the rigorous risk management standards that are fundamental to our business.”

These efforts complement Cboe’s longstanding partnership with The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)® and Cboe’s continued commitment to supporting the established clearing infrastructure for traditional equity options.

The development builds on the growth of Cboe’s established European clearing business, where Cboe Clear Europe has become the leading pan-European equities central counterparty, while expanding into new services such as securities financing transaction clearing. Together, these advances demonstrate Cboe’s ability to extend its clearing capabilities across markets and asset classes.

To support its own future growth, CCUS has strengthened its infrastructure over the past year, including electing in June to become a Subpart C DCO. In doing so, CCUS is voluntarily adopting the enhanced standards the CFTC applies to systemically important DCOs for financial resources, risk management and operational resilience, aligning with those applied to leading global clearing organizations.

About Cboe Global Markets

Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE) is a leading global markets operator with a long history of innovation in equity and index derivatives. Since launching the world’s first listed options exchange in 1973, Cboe has pioneered landmark products, including the introduction of S&P 500® index options and the creation of the VIX® Index, the world’s leading gauge of market volatility, reshaping how investors manage risk and access opportunity. Today, Cboe operates derivatives, equities, and FX markets, providing trading, clearing, and investment solutions for customers worldwide. To learn more, visit www.cboe.com.

Cboe Media Contacts

 

Cboe Analyst Contact

 

Angela Tu

+1-646-856-8734

atu@cboe.com

Tim Cave

+44 (0) 7593-506-719

tcave@cboe.com

Kenneth Hill, CFA

+1-312-786-7559

khill@cboe.com

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Cboe®, Cboe Global Markets®, and VIX ® are registered trademarks or service marks of Cboe Exchange, Inc and S&P 500® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. 

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue,” and the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price and new products and services competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in tax regimes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security vulnerabilities and breaches; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel; increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our business and operational dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; factors that impact the quality and integrity of our and other applicable indices; our ability to manage our global operations, growth, and strategic acquisitions, wind downs, divestitures, or alliances effectively; increases in the cost of the products and services we use; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to minimize the risks, including our credit, liquidity, market, investment, counterparty, and default risks, associated with operating our  clearinghouses; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing our business interests and our regulatory responsibilities; the loss of key customers or a significant reduction in trading or clearing volumes by key customers; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets; the accuracy of our estimates and expectations; and litigation risks and other liabilities. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC.

We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

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SOURCE Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

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Hears Everything, Uploads Nothing: VoxNexus Launches Android’s First Low-Power On-Device Always-On Voice Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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VoxNexus’ new on-device ambient listening solution runs for 12 hours on 2.49% of a phone’s battery and never sends audio to the cloud

MADRID, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — VoxNexus (www.VoxNexus.ai) released VoxEdge, an on-device voice stack that brings speech recognition, translation and speech synthesis to affordable Android devices, entirely offline. VoxEdge supports speech recognition in 36 languages, translation in 103 languages, and speech synthesis in 45 languages—all running with no connection, no data bundle, and no cloud token bills.

AI should work for everyone, not just for speakers of a handful of mainstream languages. Yet across much of Africa, voice AI has been held back by scarce training data and the lack of targeted fine-tuning. Everyday speech also includes code-switching and dialect variation, while cloud-based inference costs can make deployment at scale expensive. 

VoxNexus’s solutions run entirely on device, and every query is free once the model is installed on the device. Its speech recognition model has as few as 65 million parameters and achieves a lower word error rate than open-source models nearly ten times its size.

“Under-resource languages aren’t small languages. Hundreds of millions of people speak them. Until now, AI models just haven’t learned them yet,” said Charles Shi, CEO of VoxNexus.

VoxNexus also launched VoxSense, an on-device ambient listening solution that uses only 162 mAh for 12 hours of continuous listening, around 2.5% of a 6,500 mAh phone battery. By keeping all processing on device, VoxSense makes always-on listening practical without draining the battery and without sending any audio to the cloud. Developers and device makers can easily integrate it through a license and a simple SDK. Developers can request a free trial here: www.VoxNexus.ai.

VoxSense and VoxEdge were unveiled at the MediaTek Dimensity 9600 launch in Madrid on October 19.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VoxNexus AI. 

About VoxNexus:
VoxNexus builds AI that hears and speaks — for everyone, everywhere, all the time. Its audio intelligence runs entirely on-device, delivering low latency, built-in privacy, and zero token cost across any device with a chip. VoxNexus is headquartered in Singapore. Website: www.VoxNexus.ai. Contact: public@voxnexus.ai  

VoxNexus demonstrates live on-device speech recognition at the MediaTek Dimensity 9600 launch in Madrid on Oct. 19, 2026. Spanish and English conversations were transcribed in real time on the phone, with no cloud connection. (Photo: VoxNexus) 

Speaks Your Language, No Internet Needed: VoxNexus Brings On-Device Voice Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 100+ Languages to Affordable Android Devices

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SOURCE VoxNexus AI

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team.blue extends €1.1 billion of its Term Loan B to 2032 in the largest software Euro term loan issuance in the last 12 months

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GHENT, Belgium, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — team.blue, a leading pan-European provider of digital solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) backed by Hg, CPP Investments and Sofina, today announces the successful pricing of an amendment and maturity extension for €1.1 billion of its existing €1.35 billion Term Loan B. The transaction priced on 22 October 2026, with the refinanced tranche extended from September 2029 to July 2032, reinforcing the Company’s prudent capital structure approach.

Strong demand from a broad group of institutional investors enabled team.blue to upsize the transaction twice in-market, taking the final deal size to €1.1 billion from a minimum initial launch size of €500 million, despite recent credit market volatility. Pro forma for the transaction, c.90% of team.blue’s term debt now matures in 2032.

The transaction comes at a time of significant momentum for team.blue, with continued double-digit revenue growth and strong cash generation supporting its deleveraging trajectory. Its products help Europe’s SMBs get online, get customers, get paid and stay compliant, and AI-enabled products are increasingly driving new customer growth. team.blue continues to innovate across its portfolio, from smarter tools within its brands to secure European cloud hosting built for customers’ growing AI workloads. Its category-leading SaaS brands are also integrating with leading AI assistants, bringing team.blue’s products to customers wherever they work.

Transaction highlights

The largest software Euro term loan issuance in the last 12 months€1.1 billion Term Loan B, borrowed by team.blue Finco S.à r.l., maturing July 2032Priced at E + 425bps with a 0% floor and an OID of 98.5Upsized twice from an initial €500 million, reflecting a heavily oversubscribed order bookCorporate and facility ratings of B3 (Moody’s) and B (S&P), both with stable outlooksBofA acted as Global Coordinator and Left Lead Physical Bookrunner, alongside Barclays. ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Citi, ING and J.P. Morgan acted as Bookrunners

Jonathan Thackray, Chief Financial Officer of team.blue, said:
“We set out to extend €500 million of our Term Loan B, and the depth of support from our institutional investor base allowed us to go much further. This reflects confidence in team.blue’s highly recurring, cash-generative model and our position as a leading digital partner for Europe’s SMBs. It gives us the flexibility to keep innovating and investing in the digital and AI-enabled tools our customers rely on.”

About team.blue
team.blue is the pan-European digital partner for small and medium businesses, serving more than 3.5 million customers in 24 countries. From web hosting, domains, email and cloud and AI infrastructure to e-commerce, engagement, payments and compliance tools, team.blue helps SMBs get online, get customers, get paid and stay compliant. Supported by more than 4,000 employees, team.blue’s vision is to make online business success simpler, with artificial intelligence at every step. 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/teamblue-extends-1-1-billion-of-its-term-loan-b-to-2032-in-the-largest-software-euro-term-loan-issuance-in-the-last-12-months-302918306.html

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