The Week in Canadian Press Releases: 10 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the most newsworthy press releases from Cision Distribution this week

TORONTO, Aug. 1, 2025 /CNW/ - With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on Cision. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

Cision Canada - The Weekly Round-Up (PRNewsfoto/Cision Canada)

1. First National Financial Corporation agrees to be acquired by Birch Hill Equity Partners and Brookfield, with existing shareholders Stephen Smith and Moray Tawse maintaining minority ownership 
   "This Transaction represents the start of an exciting new chapter for First National," said Jason Ellis, CEO of First National. "Birch Hill and Brookfield bring significant expertise in the Canadian financial services industry, and we are excited to partner with them to grow our platform, drive innovation, and deliver for our customers, employees and institutional partners."
2. Air Canada Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results
   "Our distinctive product offerings and the unwavering dedication of our employees were recognized at the Skytrax World Airline Awards. We are proud to have been recognized as the Best Airline in North America and as the sole North American carrier ranked among the global top 20. Additionally, we have received additional accolades, including Best Cabin Crew in both Canada and North America. I extend my heartfelt thanks to our employees for their commitment to excellence and professionalism in safely transporting our 11.6 million customers this quarter with care and class."
3. Bell Canada and Cohere forge strategic partnership to deliver sovereign AI-powered solutions for government and business 
   Bell will also deploy Cohere's North agentic AI platform throughout the company, enabling employees to build and manage AI agents built on proprietary Bell data to meet specific needs and drive efficiencies across the organization. Bell's deployment of North will also enable it to offer better managed and professional services to its government and enterprise customers. Ateko will leverage Bell's own experience with North in its work with clients on their AI deployment.
4. Saltire Capital Ltd. Announces Proposed Acquisition of SanStone Investments Limited, Credit Facility With Sagard Credit Partners II, LP, Concurrent Private Placement and Intention to Seek Written Shareholder Consent 
   "The acquisition of SanStone is a unique and extremely exciting opportunity for Saltire. SanStone is a pre-eminent operator of heavy equipment and agricultural dealerships in Canada, which has served its markets for generations. I am delighted that the existing management team at SanStone is continuing and bringing their decades of experience to Saltire," said Andrew Clark, CEO of Saltire.
5. Bell launches HGTV, Food Network and Discovery on Bell TV; signs deal with Rogers for specialty channel distribution across platforms 
   As part of the agreement, Bell Fibe TV and Satellite TV subscribers will now have access to popular Rogers Sports & Media channels HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, Magnolia Network and Investigation Discovery, along with continued access to Bravo. These channels will be available to all customers in free preview beginning today.
6. Xanadu and HyperLight unveil groundbreaking advancements in photonic chips, setting new benchmarks for quantum computing performance
   "Our long-standing collaboration with HyperLight has been instrumental in achieving our hardware roadmap," said Zachary Vernon, CTO of Hardware at Xanadu. "The unprecedented performance we've achieved with these new photonic chips sets a new benchmark for performance in the industry and brings us closer to delivering utility-scale photonic quantum computers."
7. Tourmaline Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow in Q2 2025, Updates EP Plan, Announces New Long-Term Lng Feed Gas Supply Agreement and Declares Special Dividend 
   Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TSX: TOU) ("Tourmaline" or the "Company") is pleased to release financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2025 and an updated multi-year EP growth plan (the "EP Plan"), announce a new long-term LNG feed gas supply agreement and declare a special dividend.
8. Air Canada Expands Landline Luxury Motorcoach Service, Connects Kingston to its Global Network 
   "We're thrilled to expand our partnership with Air Canada into Eastern Ontario," said Nick Johnson, Vice President, Commercial at Landline. "This new Air Canada service allows Kingston travellers to seamlessly book one-stop journeys on aircanada.com from Kingston Airport (YGK) through Toronto Pearson to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, and hundreds of Air Canada destinations worldwide, just as they would with a traditional connecting regional flight." 
9. Specsavers to Open 111 New Optical Locations in Loblaw Grocery Stores Across Canada 
   New Specsavers locations will operate within existing Loblaws stores, providing customers and patients with convenient access to comprehensive eye examinations, prescription eyewear, contact lenses, and specialized eye care services. All locations will be staffed by qualified independent optometrists and opticians.
10. Galaxy Executes One of the Largest Notional Bitcoin Transactions Ever 
    Galaxy completed the sale of more than 80,000 bitcoin—valued at over $9 billion based on current market prices—for a Satoshi-era investor, representing one of the earliest and most significant exits from the digital asset market. The transaction was part of the investor's broader estate planning strategy.

Read more of the latest releases from Cision, see our resources for journalists, and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @cnwnews.

About Cision Canada

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SOURCE Cision Canada

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