OAKVILLE, ONTARIO —
Summer is just weeks away, but millions of Canadians are focused on the ice in Vancouver instead. As the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins prepare for the opening face-off of the Stanley Cup finals, MADD Canada is urging fans to make safe and sober driving part of their game.

“Stanley Cup fever has hit, not just in British Columbia but across the country,” said MADD Canada National President Denise Dubyk. “Whether you’re lucky enough to be going to a game in Vancouver, watching on the big screen in your local pub or enjoying the game at home with friends, we ask everyone to be responsible. If you’re going to be drinking, leave the driving to someone sober.”

Getting behind the wheel impaired endangers not only you and your passengers, it puts everyone on the road with you at risk. Every day, an average of 4 Canadians are killed and 190 are injured in impaired driving crashes.

MADD Canada urges fans to plan ahead if they’re going to enjoy some drinks while watching the games. Take a cab or a bus or arrange a designated driver.

“When the final buzzer sounds after each game, let’s be sure everyone gets home safely,” Ms. Dubyk said. “Do not drive impaired, do not let family members or friends drive impaired, and if you see a driver you suspect is impaired, call 911 to report it to police.”

About MADD Canada

MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is a national, charitable organization that is committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime. With volunteer-driven groups in more than 100 communities across Canada, MADD Canada aims to offer support services to victims, heighten awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and save lives and prevent injuries on our roads.

© MarketWire 2011

Article source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43228335

May 31, 2011, 11:40 AM EDT

By Greg Quinn

(Updates with bankers acceptance trading in seventh paragraph, strategist comment in 12th paragraph.)

May 31 (Bloomberg) — Bank of Canada policy makers kept their key interest rate unchanged today and added language about a potential increase for the first time since September, saying they will raise rates “eventually” as the economy recovers.

The target for overnight loans between commercial banks remained 1 percent, where it has been since September, as projected by all 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Canadian dollar rose the most since December on the language about a future increase.

“To the extent that the expansion continues and the current material excess supply in the economy is gradually absorbed, some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will be eventually withdrawn,” Governor Mark Carney, 46, and his five deputies said in a statement from Ottawa today. “Such reduction would need to be carefully considered,” the statement said, echoing words used in every interest rate announcement since September.

The bank said today Canada’s recovery is “proceeding largely as expected,” adding that any interest rate increase would be “consistent with achieving the 2 percent inflation target.” It said last month that growth may slow in the April- June period to about half the pace seen in the first quarter as indebted consumers and governments pull back and auto production slows after disruptions linked to natural disasters in Japan.

‘Rough Spot’

“It does point to getting through a rough spot and then raising rates,” said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto. She expects a September increase.

The Canadian currency rose as much as 1.2 percent to 96.55 cents per U.S. dollar, and traded for 96.86 at 10:42 a.m. in Toronto, compared with 97.71 cents yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0324. Bond yields jumped, with the 2-year benchmark rising as much as 6 basis points to 1.58 percent after the announcement.

The yield on the December 2011 bankers acceptance contract, a barometer for short-term rate expectations, jumped 3 basis points to 1.38 percent, indicating traders are increasing bets on a rate increase this year. The yield had declined to 1.35 percent yesterday, the lowest since August.

Japan’s output interruptions will “restrain growth sharply” in Canada this quarter while Europe’s expansion is “maintaining momentum” even as risks in some peripheral economies have “increased,” the Bank of Canada said today.

Growth to Slow

Canada’s economy, the world’s 11th-largest, expanded at a 3.9 percent annualized pace between January and March, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The Bank of Canada said last month growth is likely to slow to a 2 percent annual pace in the April-June period, and that the rise in inflation to 3.3 percent in March and April was driven by temporary factors such as higher taxes and food and energy costs.

Trading in swaps contracts showed investors began betting on balance that a rate increase wouldn’t happen until October following a May 20 report that showed inflation was less than economists forecast.

“The expectations got way off I think and now things are more aligned to reality” said Jimmy Jean, a strategist in the fixed-income group at Desjardins Capital Markets in Montreal. “It’s the kind of report I would have liked to have seen in April,” he said, referring to the last rate decision.

Difficult to Control

Jean pointed to the bank’s view that the economy will reach full capacity by the middle of next year as a sign that it would be difficult to control inflation if policy makers kept rates unchanged until late this year.

Inflation will move toward the bank’s 2 percent target by the middle of next year, policy makers reiterated today, adding that growth of the consumer price index will exceed 3 percent “in the short term.”

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has also said in recent speeches that the threat from accelerating prices will be “transitory.” Central bankers there are discussing how quickly to begin tightening policy after completing the purchase of $600 billion in U.S. Treasuries by the end of June.

Canada’s announcement today will be followed in June by policy makers from the other Group of Seven nations, starting with the European Central Bank and Bank of England June 9. Carney led the group with three increases last year before pausing to judge the strength of the world economy.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict no move by the Fed until the first quarter of next year, and that the Bank of Canada will raise its rate at its Sept. 7 meeting. The European Central Bank raised rates in April for the first time in almost three years to 1.25 percent.

U.S. Shipments

Canada sends about 75 percent of its exports to the U.S., and those shipments are at risk as the Canadian dollar rallied to 94.46 cents on April 29, the strongest since November 2007, Carney has said.

“The persistent strength of the Canadian dollar could create even greater headwinds for the Canadian economy, putting additional downward pressure on inflation through weaker-than- expected net exports and larger declines in import prices,” the bank said today, echoing its last statement.

Trade was a drag in the first quarter as imports rose faster than imports, even as shipments abroad of energy rose 8.9 percent, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Consumer and government spending were both flat after previous gains, which economists said suggests weaker future growth momentum.

Margins Squeezed

“Our margins were squeezed by a combination of lower volume, higher input cost and a significant strengthening of the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar and euro,” Tom Velan, chief executive officer of industrial valve maker Velan Inc., said on a May 17 earnings call.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper won the May 2 election, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he will present a June 6 budget that will show Canada set to eliminate its budget deficit by 2014. During the election campaign, Harper said the government could find C$4 billion a year in program spending reductions.

–With assistance from Ilan Kolet in Ottawa and Chris Fournier in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Editors: Paul Badertscher, Vince Golle

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net; David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-31/canada-keeps-key-lending-rate-1-says-will-rise-eventually.html

TORONTO – Canada’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive time.

The Bank of Canada, which held its benchmark rate at 1 percent, said Tuesday some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus will be eventually withdrawn but says a reduction would need to be carefully considered.

The bank says greater household borrowing and spending is a risk to inflation but says the persistent strength of the Canadian dollar acts as a headwind.

Last summer, Canada became the first Group-of-Seven nation to raise interest rates since the global economic crisis. It raised rates again in July and September, but has kept the rate unchanged in six consecutive announcements since then.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/43223163

Tue May 31, 2011 6:11pm EDT

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/markets-energy-nymex-idUSN3163459420110531

Tue May 31, 2011 4:57pm EDT

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/markets-canada-dollar-bonds-idUSN319969720110531

May 31, 2011, 6:06 PM EDT

By Sean B. Pasternak

(Updates with analyst’s comment in the fourth paragraph, financing details in fifth.)

May 31 (Bloomberg) — Intact Financial Corp., Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer, will buy Axa SA’s Canadian business for C$2.6 billion ($2.7 billion) to increase its premiums in the country by almost 50 percent.

The cash purchase will generate an internal rate of return of 20 percent and increase annual operating earnings per share by 15 percent in the “mid-term,” Toronto-based Intact said today in a statement.

The takeover, the largest by a Canadian property insurer, will increase Intact’s premiums by C$2 billion, to more than C$6.5 billion, and save at least C$100 million a year, according to the statement. The purchase is the first by Intact, the former Canadian insurance unit of ING Groep NV, since its 2006 acquisition of Grey Power Insurance Brokers Inc.

“This is by far the biggest splash they’ve ever made,” said Craig Fehr, an analyst at Edward Jones Co. in St. Louis. Until today, Intact has “done some small deals” and “tacked things on and built out a little bit.”

Intact will finance the purchase with C$500 million of excess capital, issue C$800 million of stock and access C$1.3 billion of credit facilities, the company said.

The Canadian unit of Paris-based Axa SA sells home, auto and business coverage and is the sixth-largest insurer in the country.

Axa will record an exceptional capital gain of about 900 million euros ($1.3 billion) on the sale, which will be accounted for in net income, the company said in a separate statement.

CIBC World Markets advised Intact on the sale.

Intact fell 40 cents to C$49.77 before trading was halted at 3:23 p.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

–With assistance from Doug Alexander in Toronto. Editors: David Scanlan, Peter Eichenbaum

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net; David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net.

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-31/intact-financial-to-buy-insurer-axa-canada-for-2-7-billion.html

May 31, 2011, 11:40 AM EDT

By Greg Quinn

(Updates with bankers acceptance trading in seventh paragraph, strategist comment in 12th paragraph.)

May 31 (Bloomberg) — Bank of Canada policy makers kept their key interest rate unchanged today and added language about a potential increase for the first time since September, saying they will raise rates “eventually” as the economy recovers.

The target for overnight loans between commercial banks remained 1 percent, where it has been since September, as projected by all 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Canadian dollar rose the most since December on the language about a future increase.

“To the extent that the expansion continues and the current material excess supply in the economy is gradually absorbed, some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will be eventually withdrawn,” Governor Mark Carney, 46, and his five deputies said in a statement from Ottawa today. “Such reduction would need to be carefully considered,” the statement said, echoing words used in every interest rate announcement since September.

The bank said today Canada’s recovery is “proceeding largely as expected,” adding that any interest rate increase would be “consistent with achieving the 2 percent inflation target.” It said last month that growth may slow in the April- June period to about half the pace seen in the first quarter as indebted consumers and governments pull back and auto production slows after disruptions linked to natural disasters in Japan.

‘Rough Spot’

“It does point to getting through a rough spot and then raising rates,” said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto. She expects a September increase.

The Canadian currency rose as much as 1.2 percent to 96.55 cents per U.S. dollar, and traded for 96.86 at 10:42 a.m. in Toronto, compared with 97.71 cents yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0324. Bond yields jumped, with the 2-year benchmark rising as much as 6 basis points to 1.58 percent after the announcement.

The yield on the December 2011 bankers acceptance contract, a barometer for short-term rate expectations, jumped 3 basis points to 1.38 percent, indicating traders are increasing bets on a rate increase this year. The yield had declined to 1.35 percent yesterday, the lowest since August.

Japan’s output interruptions will “restrain growth sharply” in Canada this quarter while Europe’s expansion is “maintaining momentum” even as risks in some peripheral economies have “increased,” the Bank of Canada said today.

Growth to Slow

Canada’s economy, the world’s 11th-largest, expanded at a 3.9 percent annualized pace between January and March, Statistics Canada said yesterday. The Bank of Canada said last month growth is likely to slow to a 2 percent annual pace in the April-June period, and that the rise in inflation to 3.3 percent in March and April was driven by temporary factors such as higher taxes and food and energy costs.

Trading in swaps contracts showed investors began betting on balance that a rate increase wouldn’t happen until October following a May 20 report that showed inflation was less than economists forecast.

“The expectations got way off I think and now things are more aligned to reality” said Jimmy Jean, a strategist in the fixed-income group at Desjardins Capital Markets in Montreal. “It’s the kind of report I would have liked to have seen in April,” he said, referring to the last rate decision.

Difficult to Control

Jean pointed to the bank’s view that the economy will reach full capacity by the middle of next year as a sign that it would be difficult to control inflation if policy makers kept rates unchanged until late this year.

Inflation will move toward the bank’s 2 percent target by the middle of next year, policy makers reiterated today, adding that growth of the consumer price index will exceed 3 percent “in the short term.”

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has also said in recent speeches that the threat from accelerating prices will be “transitory.” Central bankers there are discussing how quickly to begin tightening policy after completing the purchase of $600 billion in U.S. Treasuries by the end of June.

Canada’s announcement today will be followed in June by policy makers from the other Group of Seven nations, starting with the European Central Bank and Bank of England June 9. Carney led the group with three increases last year before pausing to judge the strength of the world economy.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict no move by the Fed until the first quarter of next year, and that the Bank of Canada will raise its rate at its Sept. 7 meeting. The European Central Bank raised rates in April for the first time in almost three years to 1.25 percent.

U.S. Shipments

Canada sends about 75 percent of its exports to the U.S., and those shipments are at risk as the Canadian dollar rallied to 94.46 cents on April 29, the strongest since November 2007, Carney has said.

“The persistent strength of the Canadian dollar could create even greater headwinds for the Canadian economy, putting additional downward pressure on inflation through weaker-than- expected net exports and larger declines in import prices,” the bank said today, echoing its last statement.

Trade was a drag in the first quarter as imports rose faster than imports, even as shipments abroad of energy rose 8.9 percent, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Consumer and government spending were both flat after previous gains, which economists said suggests weaker future growth momentum.

Margins Squeezed

“Our margins were squeezed by a combination of lower volume, higher input cost and a significant strengthening of the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar and euro,” Tom Velan, chief executive officer of industrial valve maker Velan Inc., said on a May 17 earnings call.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper won the May 2 election, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he will present a June 6 budget that will show Canada set to eliminate its budget deficit by 2014. During the election campaign, Harper said the government could find C$4 billion a year in program spending reductions.

–With assistance from Ilan Kolet in Ottawa and Chris Fournier in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Editors: Paul Badertscher, Vince Golle

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net; David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-31/canada-keeps-key-lending-rate-1-says-will-rise-eventually.html

“To the extent that the expansion continues and the current material excess supply in the economy is gradually absorbed, some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will be eventually withdrawn,” Governor Mark Carney, 46, and his five deputies said in a statement from Ottawa today. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Bank of Canada policy makers kept
their key interest rate unchanged today and added language about
a potential increase for the first time since September, saying
they will raise rates “eventually” as the economy recovers.

The target for overnight loans between commercial banks
remained 1 percent, where it has been since September, as
projected by all 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The
Canadian dollar rose the most since December on the language
about a future increase.

“To the extent that the expansion continues and the
current material excess supply in the economy is gradually
absorbed, some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus
currently in place will be eventually withdrawn,” Governor Mark Carney, 46, and his five deputies said in a statement from
Ottawa today. “Such reduction would need to be carefully
considered,” the statement said, echoing words used in every
interest rate announcement since September.

The bank said today Canada’s recovery is “proceeding
largely as expected,” adding that any interest rate increase
would be “consistent with achieving the 2 percent inflation
target.” It said last month that growth may slow in the April-
June period to about half the pace seen in the first quarter as
indebted consumers and governments pull back and auto production
slows after disruptions linked to natural disasters in Japan.

‘Rough Spot’

“It does point to getting through a rough spot and then
raising rates,” said Dawn Desjardins, assistant chief economist
at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto. She expects a September
increase.

The Canadian currency rose as much as 1.2 percent to 96.55
cents per U.S. dollar, and traded for 96.86 at 10:42 a.m. in
Toronto, compared with 97.71 cents yesterday. One Canadian
dollar buys $1.0324. Bond yields jumped, with the 2-year
benchmark rising as much as 6 basis points to 1.58 percent after
the announcement.

The yield on the December 2011 bankers acceptance contract,
a barometer for short-term rate expectations, jumped 3 basis
points to 1.38 percent, indicating traders are increasing bets
on a rate increase this year. The yield had declined to 1.35
percent yesterday, the lowest since August.

Japan’s output interruptions will “restrain growth
sharply” in Canada this quarter while Europe’s expansion is
“maintaining momentum” even as risks in some peripheral
economies have “increased,” the Bank of Canada said today.

Growth to Slow

Canada’s economy, the world’s 11th-largest, expanded at a
3.9 percent annualized pace between January and March,
Statistics Canada said yesterday. The Bank of Canada said last
month growth is likely to slow to a 2 percent annual pace in the
April-June period, and that the rise in inflation to 3.3 percent
in March and April was driven by temporary factors such as
higher taxes and food and energy costs.

Trading in swaps contracts showed investors began betting
on balance that a rate increase wouldn’t happen until October
following a May 20 report that showed inflation was less than
economists forecast.

“The expectations got way off I think and now things are
more aligned to reality” said Jimmy Jean, a strategist in the
fixed-income group at Desjardins Capital Markets in Montreal.
“It’s the kind of report I would have liked to have seen in
April,” he said, referring to the last rate decision.

Difficult to Control

Jean pointed to the bank’s view that the economy will reach
full capacity by the middle of next year as a sign that it would
be difficult to control inflation if policy makers kept rates
unchanged until late this year.

Inflation will move toward the bank’s 2 percent target by
the middle of next year, policy makers reiterated today, adding
that growth of the consumer price index will exceed 3 percent
“in the short term.”

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has also said
in recent speeches that the threat from accelerating prices will
be “transitory.” Central bankers there are discussing how
quickly to begin tightening policy after completing the purchase
of $600 billion in U.S. Treasuries by the end of June.

Canada’s announcement today will be followed in June by
policy makers from the other Group of Seven nations, starting
with the European Central Bank and Bank of England June 9.
Carney led the group with three increases last year before
pausing to judge the strength of the world economy.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict no move by the Fed
until the first quarter of next year, and that the Bank of
Canada will raise its rate at its Sept. 7 meeting. The European
Central Bank raised rates in April for the first time in almost
three years to 1.25 percent.

U.S. Shipments

Canada sends about 75 percent of its exports to the U.S.,
and those shipments are at risk as the Canadian dollar rallied
to 94.46 cents on April 29, the strongest since November 2007,
Carney has said.

“The persistent strength of the Canadian dollar could
create even greater headwinds for the Canadian economy, putting
additional downward pressure on inflation through weaker-than-
expected net exports and larger declines in import prices,” the
bank said today, echoing its last statement.

Trade was a drag in the first quarter as imports rose
faster than imports, even as shipments abroad of energy rose 8.9
percent, Statistics Canada said yesterday. Consumer and
government spending were both flat after previous gains, which
economists said suggests weaker future growth momentum.

Margins Squeezed

“Our margins were squeezed by a combination of lower
volume, higher input cost and a significant strengthening of the
Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar and euro,” Tom Velan, chief executive officer of industrial valve maker Velan
Inc., said on a May 17 earnings call.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper won the May 2 election, and
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he will present a June 6
budget that will show Canada set to eliminate its budget deficit
by 2014. During the election campaign, Harper said the
government could find C$4 billion a year in program spending
reductions.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Greg Quinn in Ottawa at
gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Chris Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net;
David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-31/canada-keeps-benchmark-lending-rate-at-1-says-it-will-rise-eventually-.html

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)—Canada is winning big in just about every
arena of hockey lately.

A year after the Canadian men and women won double Olympic gold medals, the
league-leading Canucks are preparing to face the Boston Bruins in the Stanley
Cup finals on the same Vancouver rink. The Canucks are favored to return the Cup
to Canada after an 18-year absence, starting in Game 1 on Wednesday night.

With a strong Canadian dollar and eager investors, Canada is even on the
verge of regaining a seventh NHL franchise: An announcement of the Atlanta
Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg is imminently expected.

Yet the national pride over Canada’s hockey surge doesn’t cover the Canucks.

Although Canadian fans have a history of rallying behind the last Canadian
franchise standing in the NHL playoffs, the Canucks don’t think they’ll ever be
Canada’s Team. They’re too isolated, too slick, too Vancouver—and the Canucks
don’t mind if their bandwagon stays empty.

“Not at all,” Canucks forward Alex Burrows said. “We get a lot of support
from people here in Vancouver, and I’m sure in the province of (British
Columbia), but for Canada, I don’t feel it.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper publicly got behind Vancouver after the Bruins
knocked out Montreal last month, leaving the Canucks as the last Canadian team
standing. But it’s tough to get regular Canadians behind the Canucks—or
anything from Vancouver, with its less-than-frigid climate, remote beauty,
high-tech economy and multicultural society setting it apart from the rest of
the Great White North.

“I think we’re Vancouver’s team and B.C.’s team,” said Ryan Kesler(notes), the
Canucks’ high-scoring forward from Michigan. “It’s obviously a culture (in
Canada), but I think we’re playing for the 23 guys in here. We know how much
each and every one of us wants it in here, and we can’t look at all the other
stuff outside.”

The Edmonton Sun decided earlier this month that the Canucks aren’t Canada’s
Team, with a majority of its readers saying they’ll root against Vancouver. A
Vancouver Sun writer jumped into the fray with a column headlined: “Dear rest
of Canada: please get your own hockey team.”

Defenseman Dan Hamhuis(notes) was consumed by the Canucks while growing up in a
small town 700 miles northwest of Vancouver. He believes every hamlet in British
Columbia is behind this creative, sophisticated team with international flair
and resplendent green-and-blue sweaters.

Vancouver fans don’t care if their team has never won a title—and they
don’t mind if the Canucks don’t get love from the rest of the country.

“It was my team, so it didn’t really matter a whole lot,” Hamhuis said.
“I was crushed when they didn’t win the Stanley Cup in ’94, but I was still a
fan. To the north, to the small towns up there, I still go there every year, and
I know how much the Canucks mean to everybody. They’ve been behind us for a long
time.”

They might not be Canada’s Team, but the Canucks are a remarkable reflection
of their distinctively un-Canadian hometown.

The Canucks’ three best skaters are two identical Swedes and Kesler, the
American who once said he hated Team Canada. Their fan base draws from
Vancouver’s sizable Asian population as much as the rural province.

And when the Canucks are on their game, they inspire envy with every stride.

Vancouver led the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 262 goals,
many originating on the preternaturally talented sticks of Daniel and Henrik
Sedin(notes), yet the Canucks also allowed a league-low 185 goals with a cadre of eight
solid defensemen in front of Roberto Luongo(notes), playing tough defense that belies
their high-scoring reputation.

“We’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of guys who can do different things for
us,” said Christian Ehrhoff(notes), the Canucks’ German defenseman. “It doesn’t mean
anything if you don’t use it, but we’re definitely eager to get started.”

Even Vancouver’s own fans occasionally fall off the bandwagon.

Vancouver partied in the streets after the Canucks held off the defending
champion Blackhawks in Game 7 of the first round, but the mood fizzled in the
second round. A dismaying number of lower-bowl fans simply went home during a
double-overtime second-round game against Nashville, and the Vancouver players
noticed.

But the Canucks’ 8-3 blaze through the past two rounds has captured
Vancouver’s attention again. An estimated 20,000 people congregated downtown
when the Canucks ran the San Jose Sharks out of the Western Conference finals
last week, and the police have budgeted an extra $500,000 for the Cup finals,
hoping to avoid the ugly riot that followed the 1994 loss in New York.

Vancouver’s sometimes-tentative embrace of the Canucks reflects a vibe
familiar to American sports fans who see thousands of late-arriving Lakers
supporters or half-empty Oakland Raiders games. West Coast fans, so the feeling
goes on both sides of the border, just aren’t consumed by sports.

The Canucks’ fans usually don’t wave as many Canadian flags as their
counterparts in Calgary or Ottawa, but anybody who attended the gold-medal win
over the U.S. team at Rogers Arena knows Vancouver supports Canada—even if
Canada doesn’t always support Vancouver.

“We’re playing for each other and our fans,” Raffi Torres(notes) said. “That’s
all you need to do.”

Article source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-stanleycup

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canada is winning big in just about every arena of hockey lately.

A year after the Canadian men and women won double Olympic gold medals, the league-leading Canucks are preparing to face the Boston Bruins [team stats] in the Stanley Cup finals on the same Vancouver rink. The Canucks are favored to return the Cup to Canada after an 18-year absence, starting in Game 1 on Wednesday night.

With a strong Canadian dollar and eager investors, Canada is even on the verge of regaining a seventh NHL franchise: An announcement of the Atlanta Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg is imminently expected.

Yet the national pride over Canada’s hockey surge doesn’t cover the Canucks.

Although Canadian fans have a history of rallying behind the last Canadian franchise standing in the NHL playoffs, the Canucks don’t think they’ll ever be Canada’s Team. They’re too isolated, too slick, too Vancouver — and the Canucks don’t mind if their bandwagon stays empty.

“Not at all,” Canucks forward Alex Burrows said. “We get a lot of support from people here in Vancouver, and I’m sure in the province of (British Columbia), but for Canada, I don’t feel it.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper publicly got behind Vancouver after the Bruins knocked out Montreal last month, leaving the Canucks as the last Canadian team standing. But it’s tough to get regular Canadians behind the Canucks — or anything from Vancouver, with its less-than-frigid climate, remote beauty, high-tech economy and multicultural society setting it apart from the rest of the Great White North.

“I think we’re Vancouver’s team and B.C.’s team,” said Ryan Kesler, the Canucks’ high-scoring forward from Michigan. “It’s obviously a culture (in Canada), but I think we’re playing for the 23 guys in here. We know how much each and every one of us wants it in here, and we can’t look at all the other stuff outside.”

The Edmonton Sun decided earlier this month that the Canucks aren’t Canada’s Team, with a majority of its readers saying they’ll root against Vancouver. A Vancouver Sun writer jumped into the fray with a column headlined: “Dear rest of Canada: please get your own hockey team.”

Defenseman Dan Hamhuis was consumed by the Canucks while growing up in a small town 700 miles northwest of Vancouver. He believes every hamlet in British Columbia is behind this creative, sophisticated team with international flair and resplendent green-and-blue sweaters.

Vancouver fans don’t care if their team has never won a title — and they don’t mind if the Canucks don’t get love from the rest of the country.

“It was my team, so it didn’t really matter a whole lot,” Hamhuis said. “I was crushed when they didn’t win the Stanley Cup in ’94, but I was still a fan. To the north, to the small towns up there, I still go there every year, and I know how much the Canucks mean to everybody. They’ve been behind us for a long time.”

They might not be Canada’s Team, but the Canucks are a remarkable reflection of their distinctively un-Canadian hometown.

The Canucks’ three best skaters are two identical Swedes and Kesler, the American who once said he hated Team Canada. Their fan base draws from Vancouver’s sizable Asian population as much as the rural province.

And when the Canucks are on their game, they inspire envy with every stride.

Vancouver led the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 262 goals, many originating on the preternaturally talented sticks of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, yet the Canucks also allowed a league-low 185 goals with a cadre of eight solid defensemen in front of Roberto Luongo, playing tough defense that belies their high-scoring reputation.

Article source: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/hockey/bruins/view/20110531canucks_bring_unique_flair_to_canadas_cup_chase/