C-suite scapegoat

Good morning. Yesterday was Groundhog Day — one of our favourite collective delusions — and Canada's most famous furry forecaster, Wiarton Willie, predicted an early spring. His Quebecois counterpart, Fred la Marmotte, was aligned and also foresaw warmer weather. 

Nova Scotia’s Lucy the Lobster also made a prediction, but what does a crustacean know about weather forecasting? That’s strictly the domain of burrowing mammals.

Today’s reading time is 6 minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index rebounded yesterday after a recent tough spell. Elsewhere, Disney shares dropped 7.4% after the company’s quarterly earnings report showed slumping profits in film and TV and warned of a drop-off in international visitors to U.S. parks.

The promise of AI has become every C-suite’s favourite cost-cutting scapegoat.  

Driving the news: A new report found that companies cited AI as the reason for over 50,000 layoffs in 2025, despite little evidence that roles were actually being replaced by the technology. Experts say it’s part of a growing trend of ‘AI-washing’: pointing to the promise of eventual AI implementation to justify layoffs. 

Why it’s happening: There aren’t many things investors love hearing in an earnings call more than “leveraging AI.” For companies that have simply overhired or are in precarious financial situations, citing AI is an easy way to justify layoffs in a way that markets also celebrate.

Why it matters: AI-washing goes beyond justifying job cuts. More companies are exaggerating their AI capabilities, whether it's to appease shareholders, drum up consumer excitement, or attract investment. 

Our take: It’s not that companies are lying about using AI — many are just overstating how useful it is right now. A McKinsey report found that while almost every company invests in AI to some degree, only 1% have actually been able to “drive substantial business outcomes” with it.—LA

SpaceX and xAI merge to create a US$1.25 trillion company. The two Elon Musk-owned companies have merged ahead of what’s expected to be the biggest IPO in history later this year. The deal brings together two of the most valuable private companies in the world and further consolidates Musk’s sprawling businesses. The idea of Tesla being folded into the same company has reportedly been explored by management. (Reuters)

The U.S. is creating a US$12 billion critical mineral stockpile. In a bid to reduce dependence on China, the U.S. will begin stockpiling minerals for automakers and tech companies. It will be the first-ever resource stockpile for the U.S. private sector, a strategy that China has used. (Bloomberg News)

The Trump administration is cutting tariffs on India after it agreed to quit Russian oil. Tariffs on Indian imports will drop from 25% to 18% as part of the new deal, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also committed to stop buying Russian oil. (Bloomberg News)

Scotiabank gets into the defence business. The lender will join RBC as the first two Canadian banks to sign on in support of the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a new international institution dedicated to bankrolling defence projects. (Globe and Mail)

The refurbishment of Ontario’s Darlington nuclear plant is done ahead of schedule and under budget. Those are words you don’t often hear when it comes to large infrastructure projects. (CBC News)

Disney is getting a new head honcho. The world’s largest entertainment company is reportedly tapping the head of its theme parks division, Josh D’Amaro, as its next CEO. Bob Iger, who has held the top job for nearly two decades, will step down from the role before the end of the year. (Reuters)—LA

What they’re saying: “The ink is not even dry on that federal budget, and this is another $12 billion of unaccounted spending… and so, we absolutely do have concerns about it,” Melissa Lantsman, co-deputy leader of the Conservatives, said about Ottawa’s new GST credit. Despite this, her party will fast-track the measure through the House of Commons. 

Why it matters: The parliamentary budget officer projects the plan will cost $12.4 billion over six years, higher than the government’s $11.7 billion estimate — that’s a decent chunk of change. It could be worth it if the credit meaningfully helps more families put food on the table; however there’s concern it doesn’t address the root of the food affordability problem. 

Salt is famously the only rock we eat, but is it the only thing we can use to melt road ice?

Driving the news: Western University researchers are compiling the findings of a study into alternatives to road salt (or sodium chloride) for melting ice. The results of the study, which looked at nine substances including beet juice, are expected to be released this summer. 

Big picture: Our roadways are saltier than a bag of movie theatre popcorn, with Canadian municipalities spilling ~7 million tonnes of road salt on public roads annually, per a 2020 study. That number might be even higher this year due to the particularly wintry winter. 

Why it matters: Road salt does a pretty good job at melting ice, but comes with serious trade-offs. For one, it eats away at infrastructure by corroding metals, causing an estimated $5 billion in damages a year. It’s even led to an entire bridge in Ottawa needing to be replaced.

What’s next: It’s unlikely that road salt will ever be replaced entirely until a cheaper alternative is found, but while it may be more affordable in the short-term, the environmental and infrastructural damage caused by salt comes with harder-to-see long term costs.—QH

It seems these days that nobody can stop talking about AI, and that got us thinking: how are our Peak readers using the hottest technology of our brave new world? And what do they actually think of it?

So we put together a little survey to find out. We want to know how you’re using AI, whether for fun, work, or something else we haven’t even thought of yet.

And as a bonus, our friends at Penguin Canada have offered to send two lucky readers who complete the survey a pack of three books: The Fairfax Way by David Thomas, Gimme a Crisis by Howard Green, and Meditation for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

Take the survey and we’ll share the most interesting results in the newsletter next week.

💰 $2 billion. Value of government cheques that Canadians have left uncashed. Over the past four years, an estimated 3.9 million physical cheques have been mailed out by federal departments to Canadians that remain uncashed. A pretty strong case for direct deposit!

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Wakey wakey! It’s time to play the mini-crossword and the daily sudoku! 

And after that, a new round of Codebreakers is ready to be played.