TORONTO (Bloomberg) - Canadian stocks fell a third day, led by industrial and energy shares, on speculation a delay to the US's $700 billion bank bailout plan will curb economic growth and corporate spending in Canada's biggest trade partner.

Bombardier Inc. slid on concern that tighter credit will curtail travel and demand for new aircraft. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. dropped along with the price of crude oil. Barrick Gold Corp. gained on expectations the credit crunch will limit access to capital to the biggest raw-materials producers and boost commodity prices.

"People are focused on economic growth," said Laura Wallace, who helps oversee about $300 million as managing director at Coleford Investment Management Ltd. in Toronto. "If we can't get the credit markets unstuck it will have a big effect on business. The oil price is largely dependent on the outlook for global growth."

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent to 12,513.36 in Toronto, after rising as much as 1.1 percent earlier.

The main Canadian stock benchmark has declined 9.1 percent in September and is poised for its worst monthly decline since February 2001, after investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy last week and the government had to take control of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer American International Group Inc.

Bombardier, the third-largest maker of commercial aircraft and biggest train manufacturer, declined 4.9 percent to C$6.08.

Canadian National Railway Co. fell 2.5 percent to C$51.90 on speculation that its purchase of a US railroad faces regulatory hurdles. US federal officials would be required to consider how nearby towns would be affected by the $300 million acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co., a Chicago-area regional carrier, under a measure approved today by the US House transportation committee in Washington.

Magna International Inc., North America's biggest car-parts maker, retreated 3.9 percent to C$59.25.

"Economic activity appears to have decelerated broadly," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional hearing on the proposed bailout yesterday, downgrading the Fed's assessment of September 16. "Stabilisation of our financial system is an essential precondition for economic recovery."

Canadian Natural, the country's fourth-largest energy company by market value, dropped 2.2 percent to C$82.15. Suncor Energy Inc., the world's second-largest oil-sands mining company, fell 1.1 percent to C$47.53.