National Business

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely "stuck in a holding pattern" despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced changes to mortgage rules she says are aimed at helping more Canadians to purchase their first home.

MONTREAL — AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. says it has signed a deal with U.K. rail infrastructure owner Network Rail to help upgrade and digitize its signalling over the next 10 years.

WINNIPEG — Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.

VANCOUVER — The president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities says communities have billions of dollars worth of infrastructure that will need replacing in the next decade and the province needs to step in with new funding to help.

TORONTO — "The Life of Chuck," an offbeat drama from writer-director Mike Flanagan, is the People's Choice Award winner at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's premier is repeating his government’s calls for Ottawa to foot the full bill to protect a vital strip of land that connects the province to the rest of the country ahead of a new parliamentary session.

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

The Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award went to “The Life of Chuck,” handing Mike Flanagan's Stephen King adaptation one of the most-watched prizes of the fall film festival circuit.