The Peak Daily

 In today's Peak Daily...first up, Cohere adds Ottawa to its cap table.  Next, Canada gets first new national security strategy in decades.  And in our big picture, Google lost a cool half trillion dollars. EU's president chimes in on Canada's EU associate membership. What Canada's banks think of AI, and  more. 

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.c...

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...

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  

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 re...

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 w...

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 par...

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 cop...

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 w...

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 ev...

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 mil...

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 cy...

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 Sa...

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,...

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 b...

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 quarantine...

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...

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, fuelli...

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 legal...

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 gr...

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 wealthies...

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 c...

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 barri...

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 o...