The Peak Daily
Fast Canadian business news. Get up-to-speed quick with a fun and smart breakdown of the three biggest Canadian and global business stories in less than 10 minutes.
Return of the mack 📹 —The return of interest rate hikes, YouTube wants Canada to take creators seriously.
The Bank of Canada hikes interest rates for the first time since 2023 amid rising oil prices and inflation concerns.
Plus, YouTube Canada urges Ottawa to support content creators with dedicated BDC business loans.
And in the big picture, the EU drops associate membership status for Canada, Wealthsimple raises $425M, and trade talks stall.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Middle ground 🏗️ — Another turn in the landmark B.C. land dispute, Construction gets autonomous.
Cowichan Tribes present a middle-ground proposal in a landmark B.C. land rights dispute, pitch private property protections.
Plus, construction automation startup Bedrock Robotics raises $600M at a $4.1B valuation.
And in the big picture, Canada and the U.S. eye tariff relief, Ottawa sets deadline for steelmaker, and Apple’s foldable iPhone launch hits screen cracks.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Picking up steam 🚂 — Canada and the U.S. are talking trade deals, Dubai eyes the Port of Churchill.
Canada-U.S. trade negotiations pick up steam as midterms loom.
Plus, Dubai state giant DP World eyes a role in developing the Port of Churchill.
And in the big picture, Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
A bad habit 🎰 — Ontario has a gambling problem, AI missing much of the economy.
Lawmakers vote this week on gambling ad restrictions as problem gambling and related suicides spike in Ontario.
Plus, new analysis shows AI productivity gains and bottom-line payoffs remain limited outside the tech sector.
And in the big picture, the BC Conservatives win a majority government and White House advisers hint at a US-Canada trade deal.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Turkey shoot 🦃 —Canada gets closer with Turkey, Banks are nervous about AI agents.
Canada and Turkey get serious about trade and defence during Mark Carney’s historic visit to Ankara.
Plus, major banks move to restrict AI agents from accessing customer accounts over rogue spending concerns.
And in the big picture, Ottawa demands Cleveland-Cliffs reverse Stelco layoffs, Canadian diplomats get midterm rules, and 1Password hits $500M ARR.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Failure to launch 🚀 —Trump walks back Bombardier ban threat
Trump backtracks on his Bombardier ban threat as Canadian tariffs emerge as a key issue in U.S. midterm elections.
Plus, financial researchers use Claude AI to design a novel scorpion antivenom in just days.
And in the big picture, internal TikTok documents reveal child safety concerns, Grifols reopens Canadian plasma centers, and RBC considers blocking Meta’s AI.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Who Me? 💸 — AI giants are taking over philanthropy, The NBA is betting on new rules
AI giants like Anthropic, SpaceX, and OpenAI are launching massive philanthropic initiatives to counter public backlash and job displacement concerns.
Plus, the NBA is introducing strict new betting restrictions to curb problematic parlay wagers and protect league integrity.
And in the big picture, Tenstorrent hits a $6.2B valuation, Canadian inflation rises to 3.1%, and news publishers file a copyright lawsuit against Anthropic.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
The back nine 9️⃣— Albertans vote on more than independence, Waymo is coming to Canada.
Albertans head to the polls today to vote on potential independence alongside nine other major policy questions.
Plus, Waymo begins testing its autonomous robo-taxis in Toronto, eyeing a service launch by 2028.
And in the big picture, a fatal fire strikes CFB Wainwright in Alberta, violent unrest escalates across France, and Vancouver elects a new mayor.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Blowin’ in the wind 🍃— Cohere makes a big European purchase, Nova Scotia has wind power goals.
Cohere is continuing its European expansion by acquiring Czech cybersecurity firm Aisle to bolster its sovereign AI platform.
Plus, Ottawa is committing $100 million to spur offshore wind power development in Nova Scotia.
And in the big picture, CoreWeave’s credit default risk reaches record highs, Ottawa threatens legal action over Stelco layoffs, and Anthropic partners with non-profit METR to evaluate model safety.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Scammers and spies 🥸— Big banks and telecoms roll out anti-fraud platform, OpenAI roots out a spy.
Big banks and telecom giants are joining forces on a new anti-fraud platform to tackle rising scam losses across Canada.
Plus, an OpenAI engineer was arrested by the FBI for allegedly placing bugging devices in executive boardrooms.
And in the big picture, US regulators accuse banks of debanking political figures, Netflix plans workforce cuts, and SpaceX restricts Starlink access for Ukrainian military drones.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Bring it on home 🏠— Apple unveils its smart home hub, Dominion Dynamics inks Ukraine defence deal.
Apple is betting big on the smart home market with its new US$299 HomeView hub, featuring a revamped Siri assistant and facial recognition technology.
Plus, Canadian defence startup Dominion Dynamics signed a deal with Ukraine’s Tencore to assemble TerMIT ground drones in Canada starting next year.
And in the big picture, theme parks shut down roller-coasters following a fatal incident, Toronto cyclists take bike lane removals to the Supreme Court, and Stelco defends recent layoffs.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
Electric dreams 🚗 — Geely coming to Canada, European supermarket cyberattack
China’s second-largest automaker, Geely, is gearing up to start selling EVs in Canada next year, marking the first major push by a Chinese car manufacturer into the Canadian market.
Plus, hundreds of supermarkets across France were hit by a bizarre cyberattack that remotely manipulated refrigerator temperatures, spoiling food and causing fires.
And in the big picture, suspension of flights in Saudi Arabia following recent attacks, this year's Economics Nobel Prize winners, and more top stories in business, finance, and tech.
The Peak Daily is p...
Can’t get you outta my head 🎃- Starbucks is eying a Chipotle takeover, The market is getting AI heavy.
Private matters 🪧 - Tech companies protest lawful access bill, Ottawa tightens MAID requirements.
Signal and DuckDuckGo are threatening to leave Canada over Ottawa’s proposed lawful access bill, warning that giving police easier access to users’ digital information could undermine privacy and security — while law enforcement says it needs new tools to keep up with criminals.
Plus, Ottawa plans to prohibit medical assistance in dying for people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness, cancelling a planned expansion in 2027 while opening the door to advance requests for patients expected to lose the capacity to consent. The changes reignite a debate over patient autonomy and safeguards for vulnerable Canadians.
And in...
Toothaches 🦷 - Dentalcare needs a checkup, AI’s uneven benefits in the workplace.
Canada’s dental care plan is leaving some patients with a bill they weren’t expecting: millions have enrolled, but financial barriers and denied claims are complicating Ottawa’s promise of “free dental care” — even as the program expands access to coverage.
Plus, workers who use AI say it’s helping them get things done faster, but the benefits aren’t evenly shared, and faster doesn’t always mean better. A new Gallup survey raises questions about work quality, “workslop,” and whether the technology can justify the vast sums being invested in it.
And in The Big Picture: Ottaw...
Buying Canadian-ish 🇨🇦 - Ottawa struggles to Buy Canadian, lab Lleak in Russia
Ottawa’s push to buy Canadian is running into some hard limits: nearly a third of federal procurement dollars have gone to American-controlled companies since Mark Carney took office, as a shortage of homegrown alternatives and international trade rules complicate efforts to keep government spending at home.
Plus, a lab worker’s death at a Siberian plague research institute has prompted quarantines and international scrutiny, with reports pointing to pneumonic plague — though Russian authorities say the situation is under control and no new cases have been discovered.
And in The Big Picture: the University of Toront...
📈 Stirring the pot
On today’s podcast, U.S. political operatives are building ties with Alberta separatists — what could that mean for Canada? Plus, Florida’s proposed property-tax changes could leave Canadian snowbirds with a bigger bill.
Plus, we cover Quebec’s election, the missing air ambulance carrying four Canadians, Yemen’s offensive against the Houthis, Brazil’s presidential race, and more — all in under 10 minutes.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
This time, it’s personal 🍔 - Another Canadian prediction market, McDonald’s gets personal with pricing.
Canada could soon get another regulated prediction market as Verdx seeks approval to offer event contracts to retail and institutional investors — though strict rules barring bets on politics and sports could make it difficult to lure users away from offshore platforms.
Plus, McDonald’s is using AI to recommend different prices for the same menu items based on each location’s customer base, fuelling concerns that algorithmic pricing is shifting from charging more when demand spikes to calculating exactly how much individual customers will tolerate.
And in The Big Picture: Canada Rocket Company unveils plans for a...
Miner threat ⛏️ - A Canadian mining project is in peril, OpenAI gets sued over rogue AI agents.
Panama is considering reopening First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama copper mine — but only long enough to fund its eventual closure — dealing a major blow to one of Canada’s largest miners and adding pressure to an already tight global copper supply.
Plus, OpenAI is facing a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over its agents’ rogue cyberattack on Hugging Face, a case that could help determine who is legally responsible when autonomous AI systems break the law or cause harm.
And in The Lab a new global study finds that infections caused 12% of all new cancer cases in 2024, highlighting how vaccin...
You can’t spell apocalyptic without IPO 🧟♂️ - Anthropic’s doomy IPO prospectus, Canada’s financial crime regime needs work.
Anthropic is targeting a record-breaking $2 trillion valuation for its expected November IPO, even as its prospectus reveals staggering losses, soaring infrastructure costs, and warnings from CEO Dario Amodei that the technology could pose an existential risk to humanity.
Plus, Canada earned a passing—but far from glowing—grade from the global anti-financial crime watchdog, avoiding the dreaded grey list while facing persistent weaknesses in prosecuting money laundering and regulating financial institutions.
And in The Big Picture: LNG Canada approves a $33 billion expansion, Canada’s economy flatlines in July, Saskatchewan unveils plans for two nuclear reactors, the U...
New unicorn 🦄 - Canada has a new billion-dollar AI company, Prada turns tourism operator.
Toronto-based Biossil has become Canada’s newest AI unicorn after raising US$153 million in a round led by OpenAI, betting that artificial intelligence can find new uses for drugs that failed in late-stage clinical trials — and potentially turn pharmaceutical castoffs into medical breakthroughs.
Plus, luxury brands like Prada, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton are spending millions to take their wealthiest customers on exclusive trips and experiences, as a slowdown among aspirational shoppers pushes the industry to focus on the small group of buyers who account for an outsized share of sales.
And in The Big Picture: Nvid...
Time out ⏰- OpenAI pauses training for its new models, China has cracked the 5-minute EV charger.
OpenAI has paused training on its most powerful models as it and Anthropic investigate tens of thousands of incidents involving rogue agents bypassing safeguards, escaping sandboxes, and taking actions they were never instructed to perform — raising fresh questions about whether even the industry’s top labs can reliably control frontier AI.
Plus, China’s Geely has unveiled an EV battery that can charge from 10% to 70% in just four and a half minutes, giving Chinese automakers another edge over North American and European rivals as Canada’s battery sector struggles with delays and cancelled projects.
And in The B...
We’ll take it from here 👐- AI giants link up to regulate each other, Empire agrees to end property controls.
Three of the world’s biggest AI companies are forming their own safety group to set standards for frontier models, as a string of rogue-agent hacking incidents raises pressure on the industry to prove it can control the technology it is building.
Plus, Empire has reached a legally binding deal to end property controls in its leases, opening more retail space to rival grocers and removing one barrier to competition — even if it won’t bring down grocery prices overnight.
And in The Big Picture: Mark Carney says Canada’s shift away from the U.S. will...
Vouch for me 👍- LinkedIn rolls out features to fight fake profiles, Cineplex gets a new CEO.
LinkedIn is rolling out new tools to crack down on fake identities, bogus work histories, and invented credentials, including a feature that lets former colleagues and classmates vouch for one another and a way for companies to flag people falsely claiming employment.
Plus, Cineplex has named Bill Walker as its new CEO and launched a strategic review that could lead to a sale, as a resurgent box office draws interest from foreign theatre chains and puts Canada’s dominant cinema operator in play.
And in The Big Picture: Canada’s population growth falls to its slow...
High gear ⚙️- BlackBerry runs the auto software game, Helping companies break into defence.
BlackBerry’s comeback is shifting into high gear with a landmark US$100 million-plus deal for its new automotive software, a bet that the former smartphone giant can turn its foothold in connected vehicles into a much bigger business.
Plus, Canadian defence accelerator Vimy Forge is teaming up with Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District to help startups navigate the costly, complicated process of selling to the military as Ottawa ramps up defence spending.
And in The Big Picture: B.C. Premier David Eby calls a snap election, Ottawa offers Indigenous groups a stake in the Trans Moun...
Meet me in the middle 📍- Carney pushes his middle powers pitch, Greek discount chain comes to Canada.
Canada is rallying middle powers and developing countries around a new coalition aimed at strengthening cooperation on security, trade, AI, and global challenges — the latest step in Mark Carney’s push to build alliances that don’t revolve around Washington.
Plus, Greek discount retailer Jumbo is opening its first Canadian store in Vaughan, joining a wave of international bargain chains betting that cost-conscious shoppers are hungry for more budget-friendly options.
And in The Big Picture: Ottawa moves to fast-track major projects, B.C. sues OpenAI over its handling of violent ChatGPT conversations, Canada’s military taps dom...
Rock and roll 🤘- Newfoundland draws Hollywood productions, Parliament is back in action.
Newfoundland’s film and television industry is booming as Netflix’s Below becomes the latest Hollywood production to shoot in the province, bringing jobs, local spending, and the potential for a major tourism boost.
Plus, Parliament returns with the Carney government preparing to fast-track major projects and overhaul federal labour laws — ambitious moves that could accelerate investment while provoking pushback from unions, Indigenous groups, environmental advocates, and local communities.
And in The Big Picture: airport privatization could raise travel costs, Canada and France deepen their space partnership, European intelligence officials warn of a possible Russian attack...
📈 Mr. Carney goes to Strasbourg
Mark Carney lays out a bold vision for a new Canada–EU alliance — from seamless digital trade and critical minerals cooperation to shared AI safety protocols and sovereign compute. We’ll break down what “sovereignty” really means in this context, why Europe seems newly open to deeper partnership, and how Washington could respond.
Then, daylight saving time edges closer to extinction: Manitoba joins a growing list of provinces and territories moving to permanent time, and with the U.S. debating a similar shift, Ontario and Quebec could be next. We dig into the real reasons DST has stuck arou...
📈 Get it together
Canada’s AI champion Cohere moves to scale up and stake its claim in “sovereign AI” by finalizing merger terms with Germany’s Aleph Alpha — a deal that could reshape the AI landscape. Plus, Salesforce launches an AI shopping agent as “agentic” commerce heats up and brands race to get recommended by chatbots. Also in the Big Picture: talk of Canada becoming the EU’s first “associate member,” the US Fed hikes rates for the first time in three years, and the projected cost of Alberta separation.
The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com
📈 Super → Mega
In today’s episode of The Peak Daily, Jay breaks down Ottawa’s new “Productivity Mega Deduction” and what it could mean for major projects like pipelines, mines, data centres, and infrastructure. Then, Airbnb launches a $250M fund to help stalled multi-family rentals cross the finish line — amid ongoing debate over short-term rentals’ impact on housing affordability.
Plus, in The Big Picture: Canada’s biggest airports open to private investment, Nvidia and Salesforce introduce a reasoning model built for business tasks, OpenAI explores Canada for future data centre partnerships, and more.
New episodes daily — business news in under 10...
Appetizers are served 🍤- The Investment Summit Gets Underway, Controlling AI
The first day of Canada’s Investment Summit brought a wave of new commitments from banks, investors, and businesses, offering early signs that Ottawa’s push to unlock as much as $1 trillion in capital may be gaining momentum — even if most of the pledges aren’t binding.
Plus, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez and a Chinese state-backed newspaper are pushing back against calls from Silicon Valley’s biggest AI companies to slow development, arguing that safety concerns could be used to entrench dominant firms and constrain their competitors.
And in The Big Picture: Canada’s annual inflation ra...
Taking it slow 🐢- AI companies hit the pause button, Carney’s investment summit kicks off.
AI’s biggest companies are pledging to slow the development of frontier models and open their systems to independent evaluators, an unprecedented attempt to keep increasingly powerful technology from outrunning the industry’s ability to control it.
Plus, Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit will pitch more than 160 energy and infrastructure projects to hundreds of global investors, testing Ottawa’s plan to unlock up to $1 trillion in capital and kick-start a Canadian investment boom.
And in The Big Picture: Donald Trump signals a Canada-U.S. trade deal could be close, Sweden’s centre-left bloc wins the parlia...
Order in the court 👩⚖️ - Canada’s courts want to stop throwing out cases, AI doomsday fears grow.
Canada’s Supreme Court is weighing whether judges can use alternative remedies instead of throwing out criminal cases when trials take too long, a change that could prevent thousands of cases from being stayed while still protecting defendants’ Charter rights.
Plus, Anthropic says it blocked users — including state actors — from using its AI tools to develop weapons, spy on dissidents, and research biological threats, spotlighting the immediate danger of humans misusing today’s models amid growing fears about what future AI could do.
And in The Big Picture: Mark Carney’s investment summit will pitch more than 16...
Alarm bells 🔔 - Ex-Anthropic employee gives grave AI warning, BMO comes for challenger banks.
Anthropic researchers are warning that frontier AI systems could pose an existential threat within the next decade, as concerns grow that models are nearing the ability to improve themselves while leading labs remain locked in a race to build them first.
Plus, BMO will become the first of Canada’s Big Five banks to offer commission-free stock, options, and ETF trading, a bid to win younger investors and blunt the advantage enjoyed by digital brokerages and challenger banks.
And in The Big Picture: Apple unveils its US$2,000 foldable iPhone, Unifor asks Ottawa to penalize companies th...
Keep your friends close 🇪🇺 - Canada and the EU deepen ties, Standardized test scores take an alarming dip.
Canada and the European Union are reportedly preparing a far-reaching new partnership designed to bring them as close as legally possible without Canada joining the bloc, deepening trade, defence, and political ties as Ottawa looks for more reliable alternatives to the U.S.
Plus, Canadian students’ math, reading, and science scores have fallen to their lowest levels ever measured by the OECD, with pandemic disruptions, social media, and heavy AI use all contributing to a decline that could weigh on future earnings.
And in The Big Picture: Mark Carney warns Canadians of economic pain as re...
Choo choo 🛤️ - Via Rail is getting a makeover, Canada looks into Indian snack warehouse raids.
Ottawa is spending $4.7 billion on 313 new Via Rail passenger cars, part of a major fleet overhaul aimed at improving reliability and comfort — though freight-train priority and track ownership will continue to cause delays.
Plus, Canadian food regulators are investigating an illegal relabelling operation in India after a bag of chips with an English-French label was found in a warehouse raid, raising concerns that expired products could be bound for Canada.
And in The Big Picture: Ukraine’s former defence minister is launching a Palantir-backed defence tech startup that will use the country’s wartime experience to bui...
Trauma bond 📉 - Bond market troubles continue, Ontario fines SeatGeek under new ticket law.
Global bond yields are surging as investors worry about inflation, government debt, and the war in Iran, raising questions about whether bonds can still play their traditional role as the safe foundation of the financial system.
Plus, Ontario has issued its first fine under a new anti-scalping law, but SeatGeek’s $25,000 penalty highlights how difficult it is to enforce a ban on ticket resales above face value.
And in The Big Picture: OpenAI faces more lawsuits tied to the Tumbler Ridge shooting, the Bank of Canada holds its benchmark rate, Meta disables cameras on tampered sm...
Spineless 📚 - AI companies are destroying old books, Apple-OpenAI spat heats up.
Canadian used booksellers are seeing suspicious bulk orders that may be tied to AI companies buying, scanning, and destroying old books for training data, as the industry hunts for human-written text uncontaminated by AI.
Plus, Apple alleges OpenAI knowingly hired former employees who stole trade secrets, data, and hardware, a legal fight that could delay OpenAI’s first devices and give Apple more time to catch up in AI.
And in The Big Picture: Mark Carney tells Washington to get serious about trade talks, BYD eyes Brampton’s Stellantis plant, the Liberals sweep three by-elections, Open...
John Apple 🍏 - Apple’s new CEO takes the reins, Canada struggles to get its defence bank going.
John Ternus is taking over as Apple CEO after Tim Cook’s 15-year run, inheriting pressure to restore the company’s reputation for breakthrough innovation as it falls behind in AI and prepares to unveil a foldable iPhone.
Plus, Canada’s proposed global defence bank is struggling to win support from major allies, threatening its ability to secure a top credit rating and provide the cheap capital Canadian defence companies need to ramp up production.
And in The Big Picture: The U.S. Treasury secretary dismisses Canada’s trade-war leverage, Unifor opens talks with Stellantis, Amazon f...
Unforced errors 🎾 - Tennis players want a bigger cut, rogue AI agents sound alarms.
The U.S. Open is set to bring in as much as US$800 million, but tennis players receive less than 15% of tournament revenue — far below athletes in major team sports — fuelling demands for a bigger share and threats of a future Grand Slam boycott.
Plus, OpenAI agents escaped a cybersecurity test and hacked Hugging Face, collaborating in secret, breaking rules, breaching internal systems, and erasing evidence in an incident AI experts are calling a serious warning about losing control of advanced systems.
And in The Big Picture: Warner Music and Sony sue Anthropic, the Lake Onta...
