📈 In orbit

Good morning. Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly purchased a megamansion on Miami’s “Billionaire Bunker” island for US$170 million; that’s actually a steal considering it was listed for $200 million. The sprawling abode, which is still under construction, is the work of famed Canadian architect and designer Ferris Rafauli (he also designed Drake’s Toronto mansion).

We’re sure it'll be a nice retreat for Zuck when he’s not in his $270 million Hawaiian bunker. 

Also, a quick note: Tomorrow’s weekend edition is going to look a little different. So you’re going to want to open it to see what’s new and get the first scoop on a big announcement.

Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index fell to a two-week low yesterday, dragged down by ​metal mining shares, which fell 3.9%. This drop was stoked by investor fears over the conflict in the Middle East and concurrent worries about inflation. 

MDA Space is primed for a stratospheric production bump.

Driving the news: MDA Space CEO Mike Greenley told BNN Bloomberg the Canadian spacetech company will make up to two satellites per day when its new Montreal plant goes online, up from its current rate of just one a week. 

Why it matters: MDA is projecting increased demand for its satellites amid a global defence boom. The satellites are particularly coveted because of their advanced design, which, unlike traditional satellites, allows for in-orbit reconfiguration to adapt to mission changes on the fly.  

Zoom out: MDA is also bringing its defence business down to Earth (literally), with a new subsidiary called 49North that’s focused on land, air, maritime, and joint operational defence. 

What they’re saying: “[Space and defence capabilities are] a great soft-power trade tool for us,” Greenley told Bloomberg News. “If Canada buys this from your country, how about you buy some space-based surveillance or space-based communications from Canada?”—QH

Ottawa relocates military members in the Middle East. As the war in Iran escalates across the region, some of the 200 Canadian Armed Forces members deployed in the Middle East are being brought home or moved to other locations. Ottawa has also arranged commercial and private flights to bring home Canadians who are stranded across the Middle East. Prime Minister Mark Carney said he couldn’t rule out Canadian military intervention in the region, while President Trump said that the U.S. will play a role in picking Iran’s next leader. (Globe and Mail)

Feds tell OpenAI that Canadian experts need to assess flagged ChatGPT interactions. AI Minister Evan Solomon told CEO Sam Altman that the company must allow mental health experts in Canada to determine whether suspicious ChatGPT conversations should be brought to law enforcement. The feds have also asked OpenAI to sift through any flagged messages from the past year and reevaluate whether they need to be referred to police. (The Logic)

Meta is being sued over alleged smart glasses spying. The company is facing a lawsuit in the U.S. following reports that its workers in Kenya have been watching footage from customers' smart glasses, including videos of them having sex and using the toilet. Meta has claimed the videos are blurred, but from the sounds of it, they might be overselling how effective their blurring tool is. (TechCrunch)

📡 What else is on our radar: 

The 2026 Proof Strategies CanTrust Index™ reveals trust in Canada is resilient.

“The past year has seen hostility and bullying from the White House. If we can’t trust the world, we can trust ourselves,” said Bruce MacLellan, Chair of Proof Strategies. “In the face of a ruptured world, trust in Team Canada is rallying.”

The report shows that Canadians value companies that put the country first. For companies, investing in Canadian jobs and building the economy is a top trust driver (67%). In addition, almost two-thirds (65%) of Canadians say that being Canadian-owned increases their trust. Shared values and taking care of employees remain the top drivers of trust in corporations, at 70%.

Trust in each other is also rising with 66% of Canadians agreeing that “most of the people I deal with are honest and trustworthy,” compared to 63% in 2025.

Learn more about what’s driving trust in Canada.

Elliott Investment Management takes a US$1 billion stake in Pinterest. The preeminent name in activist investing nabbed a big chunk of the legacy social media company. Pinterest has been struggling as of late, with its stock shrinking as tariffs impact its business. But Elliott is betting Pinterest will turn its fortunes around with its audacious AI-powered revamp.

Why it matters: Elliott is on a tear right now. Over the past few months, it’s taken a $1 billion stake in Lululemon, installed new directors at jam-and-jelly giant J.M. Smucker, strong-armed Toyota into upping an acquisition bid, and much more. That’s a lot of fingers in a lot of pies, and it's indicative of an activist investing renaissance. Per Cooley M&A, 2025 was a record year for activism, with 255 campaigns, surpassing the previous record in 2018.

Quebec is trying to do for cheese curds what France did for champagne.

What happened: Following in the footsteps of Bordeaux wine and Scotch whisky, Quebec’s dairy industry is requesting the same special geographical identification (GI) for its cheese curds. The unique designation would allow local producers to exclusively market their squeaky cheese curds as “Quebec poutine cheese.” 

Why it matters: Holding the official poutine cheese title not only protects against copycats making inferior curds, but it could also be a huge economic boon for Quebec producers. One study found that, on average, goods with the GI protection have double the sales value of products without it. 

Our take: The cheese curd market might not be in champagne territory, but poutine is quickly gaining popularity internationally. From Tokyo to New York, restaurants, street stalls, and social media chefs are putting their own twist on the Canadian delicacy. What better way to lend these dishes authenticity than with some properly squeaky Quebec curds?—LA

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💊 3 million. Estimated number of Canadians who now use GLP-1 weight loss drugs, a shift that has caused a ripple effect on restaurants across the country. A recent survey found that ~30% of GLP-1 users are eating out and getting takeout less often. Adoption of weight loss drugs has been even more severe in the U.S., where 11% of Americans now take a GLP-1. 

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It’s Friday, you know what that means. It’s time for The Peak’s Weekly News Quiz!

Then, the fun continues with the mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, and Codebreaker.