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Loblaw launches AI-powered health chat tool. PC Chat promises to provide trusted, practical healthcare information Loblaw Companies hopes to answer Canadians' health questions with its new AI-powered tool, PC Chat. Created for PC Health - Loblaw's digital health platform and mobile app - Loblaw said the chat bot is informed by Canadian clinical guidelines and backed by an advisory board of Canadian medical professionals. Canadians can use the tool to ask health questions - like, "Should I take a daily vitamin?" or "Is this something I should speak to a doctor about?" - and get plain-language information in real time. Answers are designed to be relevant for users across every province and territory, "including underserved patient populations," Loblaw said. A more "personalized experience" is available when a user connects their PC Health or Shoppers Drug Mart digital pharmacy profile, giving the chat more context about their health history and informing responses. "Canadians are asking health questions every day, but more information doesn't always bring more clarity," said Lauren Steinberg, executive vice-president and chief digital officer, Loblaw Companies Ltd., in a press release. "We built PC Chat to give Canadians a place to find trusted information and a clear path to next steps." Loblaw said the tool isn't intended to replace doctors, pharmacists, or other healthcare providers, but instead to provide Canadians with "more options" to "find the care they need and feel better-equipped for their healthcare appointments." "Pharmacists tailor patient conversations based on their clinical knowledge and that patient's medication history," said Nabil Chikh, senior vice-president, pharmacy, Shoppers Drug Mart. "PC Chat helps users navigate next steps based on the questions they ask, such as when to visit a healthcare provider, and deciding where to go, so they can come to healthcare conversations feeling even more prepared." PC Chat is currently available in most Canadian provinces. It will roll out in New Brunswick and Quebec this fall. To celebrate the tool's launch, PC Health is rolling out a new campaign called "Ask Away." The platform will be brought to life through a public aerial drone experience over Toronto on Thursday night (Sept. 10), inspired by the health questions many Canadians find themselves asking late at night.

How to protect your portfolio as carney and trump dig in. Trade tensions between Canada and the United States are becoming harder for investors to ignore. Washington has taken a tougher stance on Canadian trade, while Ottawa is responding with dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion of U.S. goods effective September 8. If this dispute drags on, higher costs, weaker business confidence, and more market volatility could follow. For Canadian investors, this may be a good time to add some defensive strength without giving up on long-term growth potential. That is especially true of top Canadian stocks linked to everyday necessities or assets that could hold their value during uncertain periods. Loblaw stock. If you want more stability as trade uncertainty builds, Loblaw (TSX: L) could be a reliable stock to consider. This Brampton-based company is Canada's largest food and pharmacy retailer. After gaining 12% over the last 12 months, Loblaw stock currently trades at $63.31 per share with a market cap of $73.3 billion and a 1% annualized dividend yield. A big part of that resilience in Loblaw stock comes from the nature of Loblaw's business. Consumers still need groceries, prescriptions, and other everyday essentials even when economic conditions become less certain. That strength showed up again in its latest results. Loblaw's second-quarter retail revenue climbed 4.1% year over year (YoY) to about $15 billion. Its food retail sales increased 3.3%, supported by higher customer traffic, larger basket sizes, and e-commerce growth. At the same time, the company's drug retail sales rose 6.1%, helped by continued strength in specialty and chronic prescriptions as well as beauty and over-the-counter products. As a result, the retailer's adjusted earnings rose 11.9% YoY to $0.66 per share. Loblaw is also investing heavily to keep growing. It plans to spend about $2.4 billion on capital expenditures in 2026 and now expects to open roughly 75 new locations, up from around 70 previously planned. Interestingly, the company's newer stores are generating strong double-digit same-store sales growth as they mature. That gives Loblaw another growth driver even while consumers remain careful with spending. Overall, Loblaw's defensive business, strong cash flow, and expanding discount footprint make it an attractive Canadian stock for investors trying to reduce portfolio risk during a prolonged trade dispute. Agnico Eagle stock. While Loblaw brings stability through necessities, Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM) approaches portfolio protection from another angle by giving investors exposure to gold. This major Canadian gold producer has operations in Canada, Australia, Finland, and Mexico. At the time of writing, its stock traded at $283.22 per share with a market cap of $143.4 billion and a 0.9% annualized dividend yield. The company's shares have surged 38% over the last year. This rally has been supported by strong gold prices and solid operating execution. Agnico Eagle produced 855,816 ounces of gold and realized an average gold price of US$4,483 per ounce in the second quarter. The gold miner's net profit for the quarter climbed nearly 50% YoY to US$1.6 billion, mainly because higher realized gold prices boosted operating margins. Meanwhile, the miner continues to invest in projects such as Hope Bay, Odyssey, Detour Lake underground, and Upper Beaver. Its longer-term strategy targets a 20% to 30% increase in annual gold production over the next decade. For investors worried that the Canada-U.S. trade standoff could keep markets volatile, Agnico Eagle could provide gold exposure, strong cash generation, and a healthy balance sheet. Those qualities make it an attractive portfolio hedge while still leaving room for long-term growth.

Loblaw to invest approximately $1.2 billion in capital expenditures through remainder of 2026, opening more hard discount stores to help lower prices for more Canadians. Remaining 2026 capital expenditure investment will support additional new locations and planned store renovations as Loblaw responds to growing demand for value and convenient healthcare. BRAMPTON, Ontario, Sept. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L, "Loblaw" or the "Company") expects to invest approximately $1.2 billion in capital expenditures through the remainder of 2026 as it continues to expand and improve its grocery and pharmacy network in response to customer needs. The Company had previously announced plans to invest $2.4 billion in capital expenditures on a full year basis in 2026. With approximately half of that investment now deployed, the Company's remaining plans include accelerating the opening of new grocery stores and pharmacies, renovating existing locations, and continuing to develop new store formats and concepts. The Company now expects to open approximately 75 new locations in 2026, compared with approximately 70 planned at the beginning of the year. The increase reflects strong customer response to Loblaw's new locations and confidence in the formats where the Company is investing. The broader $2.4 billion capital investment program is expected to create approximately 9,700 retail and construction jobs in 2026. This is the second in Loblaw's 5-year plan to invest $10 billion in capital in Canada by 2030. "Canadians are being thoughtful about every dollar they spend. We see that in how they shop our stores, the brands they choose, and how they use our loyalty and ecommerce solutions," said Per Bank, President and CEO, Loblaw Companies Limited. "We have a significant investment program underway, and we're putting that capital behind the parts of our business that meets the needs of Canadians. That includes accelerating our network expansion efforts to reach more customers, faster." Building on strong first-half progress To date in 2026, Loblaw has opened 38 new grocery stores and pharmacies in Canada - 21 grocery stores and 17 Shoppers Drug Mart locations - with dozens more planned through the remainder of the year. "We're very happy with how our new stores are performing," said Mr. Bank. "As they mature, we're seeing strong double-digit same-store sales growth. That gives us confidence in our expansion strategy and in continuing to invest behind the formats customers are choosing." Investing in formats customers are choosing Loblaw's grocery expansion is focused predominantly on its No Frills and Maxi banners, as more Canadians choose hard discount formats to help manage their household budgets. The Company is also using new stores to test different concepts and operating models. In Komoka, Ontario, a new-look No Frills store combines the banner's focus on low prices with a refreshed design and expanded fresh and prepared-food offering. In Dutton, Ontario, Loblaw introduced a smaller rural format with a curated 4,000-product assortment designed to provide a full-value grocery shop more efficiently in smaller communities. Loblaw is investing in the stores Canadians already use as well. The Company's 2026 capital program includes renovations to more than 190 existing locations, with investments ranging from refreshed food and fresh offerings to improvements on the right-hand side of the store. The capital investment is part of a broader focus on customer value. Since 2022, the share of Loblaw grocery sales purchased on promotion has increased four percentage points, while No Name promotional sales have grown 18%. In the second quarter, ecommerce sales increased nearly 20% year over year. Expanding convenient access to healthcare Equally important is the Company's continued investment in its Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix network, opening new pharmacies while improving existing stores and expanding pharmacy and healthcare services. New concepts include refreshed Beauty and front-store experiences and a food realignment designed to bring customers more convenience, value and multicultural products. Seventeen locations have completed the food realignment to date, with 43 expected by year-end. Investing behind growth Beyond its Canadian investment program, Loblaw continues to expand banners with significant growth potential. In June, T&T Supermarket opened its first California location in San Jose, generating the highest first-week sales of any store opening in Loblaw history. Two additional California locations are planned in 2026, alongside T&T's continued growth in Washington state. Taken together, Loblaw's remaining 2026 investment reflects a strategy of putting capital behind areas where customer demand is strongest - expanding its network, improving existing stores and pharmacies, and testing new formats that can deliver greater value, convenience and access to care. About Loblaw Loblaw is Canada's food and pharmacy leader, and the nation's largest retailer. Loblaw provides Canadians with grocery, pharmacy and health services, other health and beauty products, apparel, general merchandise and wireless mobile products and services. With more than 2,800 locations, Loblaw, its franchisees and Associate-owners employ more than 220,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada's largest private sector employers. Loblaw's purpose - Live Life Well(R)- puts first the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion transactions annually in the Company's stores. Loblaw is positioned to meet and exceed those needs in many ways: convenient locations; more than 1,100 grocery stores that span the value spectrum from discount to specialty; full-service pharmacies at nearly 1,400 Shoppers Drug Mart(R) and Pharmaprix(R) locations and in close to 500 grocery stores; affordable Joe Fresh(R) fashion and family apparel; and four of Canada's top-consumer brands in Life Brand(R), Farmer's MarketTM, no name(R) and President's Choice(R). Questions? Email [email protected]. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This News Release contains forward-looking statements about the Company's objectives, plans, goals, aspirations, strategies, financial condition, and capital investment plans. Specific forward-looking statements in this News Release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's anticipated capital investments, store growth, store renovations, and store concepts. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "foresee", "could", "estimate", "goal", "intend", "plan", "seek", "strive", "will", "may", "should" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company and its management. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's estimates, beliefs and assumptions, which are based on management's perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. The Company's estimates, beliefs and assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and other uncertainties and contingencies regarding future events and, as such, are subject to change. The Company can give no assurance that such estimates, beliefs and assumptions will prove to be correct. Numerous risks and uncertainties could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed, implied or projected in the forward-looking statements, including those described in the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") in the 2025 Annual Report, and the Company's Annual Information Form ("AIF") for the year ended January 3, 2026. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's expectations only as of the date of this News Release. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. 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