The Peak Daily

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 rate holds at 3%, Africa’s largest-ever IPO is set to make Aliko Dangote even richer, Google adds AI-powered protections for Canadian minors, companies race to trademark “Elbows Up,” Kawhi Leonard’s return to the Raptors is finalized, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com 

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 parliamentary election, attacks shut down a key Saudi oil pipeline, Texas halts approvals for new data centres, Canadian boxing legend George Chuvalo dies at 89, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 160 projects, Canada and Ukraine sign a 100-year defence and trade pact, Iran reportedly resumes ballistic missile production, Ontario expands tariff relief, the Canadian Armed Forces undergo a major reorganization, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 that shift Canadian production to the U.S., Iran and the U.S. escalate attacks around the Strait of Hormuz, OpenAI adds a government AI safety adviser to its board, Enbridge nears a major pipeline deal, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 retaliatory tariffs take effect, Houthi strikes on Saudi oil facilities escalate the Middle East conflict, and Meta launches a new AI agent for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 build technology for Ukraine and its allies.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 smart glasses, Ottawa extends its fuel-tax holiday, Canadian Tire and Tim Hortons link loyalty programs, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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, OpenAI limits its newest models, U.S. attacks on Iran escalate, solar overtakes coal in China, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 faces a major advertising lawsuit, Ssense expands into the U.S., another B.C. Conservative MLA defects, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com

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 Ontario naming battle escalates, pharmaceutical and biotech stocks surge, Canadians remain missing after flash floods in Asia, GM adds pickup production in Ontario, and more.

The Peak Daily is produced in partnership with reframevid.com