Power trip

Good morning. Tomorrow is the last day of the FIFA World Cup group stage, which means this is your reminder that round two of The Peak’s Knockout Challenge is starting soon!

On Saturday, June 27 at 11:00 p.m. eastern standard time, you can submit your picks for the round of 32 matches. Make sure you get them in quickly, because the window closes on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. Each correct prediction will net you 10 points in the challenge!

Click here to check the state of your bracket and bookmark it for quick picking this weekend. 

Today’s reading time is 5 minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index was up yesterday, lifted by the mining sector, industrial stocks, and BlackBerry, shares of which soared 19.3% on a rock-solid earnings beat.

Can Canada’s energy capital become a data centre hub without sending power bills up 200%?

Driving the news: Alberta’s energy grid operator is set to roll out new rules for tech companies building data centres in the province, allowing developers to temporarily tap into the province’s electricity grid as they build their own long-term power source. 

Why it matters: An October report found that the province’s 33 data centre proposals would consume over 20,000 megawatts of power — roughly equal to the capacity of the province’s entire electricity grid. This new bring-your-own-power (BYOP) policy is the first sign of how Alberta plans to balance its data centre ambitions without putting the power grid at risk. 

Zoom out: Public opinion has soured on data centres, particularly because of their impact on power grids — electricity prices have surged in areas near significant data centre activity in the U.S. A recent Angus Reid poll found that 68% of Canadians would oppose a large AI data centre within a few blocks of their home. 

Bottom line: As one clean energy expert told The Logic, “If we don’t get the balance right, I can tell you right now electricity in the next 10 years will be impossible for most people to afford without subsidies.”—LA

BlackBerry might be back. The Waterloo tech firm saw its stock surge nearly 20% yesterday after reporting strong earnings for last quarter. BlackBerry’s operating earnings were up 144% year-over-year, thanks largely to its booming car software and secure communications businesses. The one-time smartphone champion has quietly become one of Canada’s best-performing tech stocks, climbing 181% on the year. (Reuters)

Apple is raising prices by 20% on some of its products. Grappling with a memory chip shortage, the company announced that it’s increasing prices of all Mac computers, iPads, home devices, and the Vision Pro headset (which is already $5,299 in Canada). The price hikes range from US$30 for small home devices to US$1,300 for some computer models. (CBC News)

Carney says B.C. condo conversions will cost ~$1.45 billion. The prime minister defended Ottawa's decision to jointly purchase 2,200 vacant Vancouver condos with the provincial government and convert them into affordable housing, adding that the feds would only foot 10% of the bill. Critics have called the program a bailout for developers, but Carney insists the condos are being bought at a discount and that it’s an opportunity to boost affordable housing supply. (The Canadian Press)

📡 What else is on our radar: 

It’s a question that we’re always asking ourselves. And in each edition of The Peak World Dispatch, we do our best to answer it.

Every other Saturday, we break down one of the day’s most pressing geopolitical issues — no fluff, no jargon, just easy-to-follow analysis (and a pinch of good humour as always).

It’s all part of our Peak Premium package, which also grants you:

If you’re interested in supporting independent Canadian journalism, you can try it out now for as little as $1.75 a week. Heck, if you get a year subscription, we’ll even send you a free hat.

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MDA Space inks $688 million satellite contract with the Canadian Space Agency. The Canadian spacetech company will build a synthetic aperture radar satellite — a powerful satellite that can produce detailed images using radar pulses. The deal came less than a week after MDA announced plans to buy U.S. satellite-maker Blue Canyon for $874 million.

Why it matters: MDA has been making big money moves all year, and has in turn become a central fixture in Canada’s broader push for space defence and sovereignty. The company is also building on-the-ground space surveillance telescopes for the Canadian Armed Forces.

For the first time in its 130-year history, the Olympics will pay its athletes. 

What happened: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) established a US$140 million fund to pay athletes. Every competitor at the Summer and Winter Games can now apply to get $10,000, regardless of performance, as long as they follow ethics and anti-doping rules.

Zoom out: The matter of Olympic athlete compensation has been debated for years, but the tide started to turn in 2024 when World Athletics — the global body in charge of track and field — started paying Olympic gold medallists $50,000 across the 48 track and field events.

Why it matters: Financial constraints are almost certainly the biggest hurdle facing Olympic competitors, who often have to pay much of their own way to get to the Games and fight for limited cash available through national sports bodies, sponsorships, and other funding arms.  

Our take: Handwringing over the death of Olympic amateurism feels pretty played out considering pro athletes have dominated the most high-profile events for years — soon even NFLers will be competing! Ten grand might not mean much to Connor McDavid, but for a random Bosnian fencer or Burundian marathoner, it could make a world of difference.—QH

🌎 Hint: Set on the shores of the world's largest lake, this capital earned its country the nickname Land of Fire — a nod to the flames that still flicker from its gas-rich hillsides and the ancient temples once sacred to Zoroastrians. Today it draws tourists for its Formula 1 street race and its medieval walled old town with a mysterious stone tower.

Do you think you know this foreign land? Then lock in your guess here.

🩺 1.5 million. Canadians who waited over 14 hours to receive care in emergency departments over the past two years, according to a new report — that’s a 28% increase in wait times from 2018-2019. Researchers and doctors blamed staffing shortages in emergency departments and a lack of primary care physicians. 

Congratulations to the winners of last week's cartoon caption contest and thanks to everyone who submitted!

Want to see this week's cartoon and try your hand at another caption? Click here and give us your best witticism.

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TGIF! Celebrate by playing The Peak’s Weekly News Quiz. 

And that’s not all! Here comes today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who!