(Adds details, updates prices)
* TSX up 26.33 points, or 0.2 percent, at 13,523.40
* Seven of the TSX's 10 main groups rise
TORONTO, March 21 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose
on Monday as Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) International Inc's
VRX.TO shares surged after the drugmaker added an activist
investor to its board.
Valeant shares were up 12.3 percent at C$39.22 after Chief
Executive Officer Michael Pearson (LON:PSON) stepped down and the company
appointed William Ackman to its board.
It had traded at a peak nearing C$350 last August.
Other influential movers on the index included Bombardier
Inc BBDb.TO , which rose 3.9 percent to C$1.34 while awaiting a
federal government decision on whether to invest in the
struggling planemaker.
The Liberals on Tuesday will unveil their first budget since
coming to power in October, having promised stimulus spending to
boost economic growth.
At 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was up 26.33 points, or 0.2
percent, at 13,523.40.
Seven of the index's 10 main groups were in positive
territory, with only slightly more advancers than decliners
overall.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.6 percent. Barrick Gold
Corp ABX.TO advanced 1.7 percent to C$19.44.
The energy group barely rose, with oil prices stable after
touching a 2016 high above $40 a barrel last week. O/R
Enbridge Inc ENB.TO declined 1.5 percent to C$48.95.
The financials group slipped 0.1 percent, and industrials
rose 0.3 percent. The healthcare sector, a five-member group
including Valeant, jumped 4 percent.