The back nine

Good morning. Scholars have uncovered new evidence conclusively establishing that the anonymously published 16th-century play “Edward III” was mainly written by Shakespeare in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe.

You have to hand it to ol’ Billy Shakespeare: 462 years old and still putting out new material.

Today’s reading time is 5 minutes.

Markets this week: Last week saw pressure build on the AI boom in the stock market, with shares of data ‌centre operators like CoreWeave and neoclouds like Iren plunging. We’ll be watching to see if that weakness persists this week as big tech companies begin to report earnings, including SpaceX and Meta.

Albertans have some big decisions to make about the future of their province today. 

What’s happening: Voters in the province will cast up to 10 ballots today, each on a different question put forward by Premier Danielle Smith’s government. 

Zoom out: The other nine questions have been overshadowed by the separation issue, but they’re also a pretty big deal. 

What’s next: If the polls are accurate, Albertans are set to convincingly reject separation. But voters appear much more likely to opt for yes on the other nine questions (though recent polls show these tightening).

Why it matters: Even if Alberta decides not to start down the road of separating from Canada, yes votes on the other nine questions will set up a showdown between the province and Ottawa on key issues — immigration, health care, and the Constitution — that will likely form the basis of Premier Smith’s re-election campaign next year.

Four Canadian service members were killed in a fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta. The fire broke out in a training and quickly spread across other parts of the base, the Canadian Armed Forces said, killing four and leaving dozens injured. Prime Minister Carney called it one of the  “worst tragedies for the forces in Canadian soil in peace time.” A spokesperson for the Department of National Defence said the incident was under investigation, but there were no indications that it was a terrorist attack. (CBC News)

Violent unrest in France escalated. More than 2,000 people were arrested after more riots and looting took place in cities across the country. Government buildings were looted in multiple cities, and rioters in Limoges burned down the historic town hall. Tens of thousands of people protested peacefully, as well, in a continuation of weeks-long demonstrations calling for improvements to public education; organizers of these marches distanced themselves from the weekend’s violence. (The Guardian)

The White House threatened Europe over Starlink limits. The U.S. ambassador to the European Union said the bloc would face “devastating” retaliation if it tries to restrict Starlink in the European market. The comments came after Ukraine said Starlink had throttled its access to the service, hampering its military efforts against Russia. (Financial Times)

📡 What else is on our radar: 

Pay transparency is not just about compliance. It can shape whether candidates trust an offer and whether employees see a future at the company.

Canadian employees told us what they want: 78% say pay transparency matters, but only 36% say the criteria used to determine their pay are written down and shared. 24% say their company has never explained how pay decisions are made.

That gap creates uncertainty at the moments that matter most: joining, growing and deciding whether to stay. A clear, explainable system gives people something better than guesswork.

Our practical guide draws on what 700+ people across Canada told us, plus ten years of transparent pay at Alan. It breaks down the key mistakes Canadian companies are making right now and offers a practical five-step roadmap for moving from compliance to culture.

Get the free guide →

🗳️ B.C. chooses its next premier. Voters in British Columbia will elect a new government on Saturday. The polls show a close contest, with the Conservatives holding on to a narrow lead in most surveys. It’s a remarkable turnaround for Conservative fortunes under leader Lorne Doerkson, a relatively unknown figure, who replaced Kerry-Lynne Findlay after her chaotic (and brief) reign, which saw almost a third of her caucus quit the party.

🇹🇷 Prime Minister Carney heads to Turkey. The PM will be in Istanbul and Ankara from Wednesday to Saturday this week meeting with his Turkish counterpart, President Erdoğan, as well as business leaders in the country. Carney, who is the first Canadian prime minister to make a bilateral trip to Turkey, formally launched negotiations on a free trade agreement with the country back in July. 

📊 New inflation data. Statistics Canada will publish its September inflation reading today, with high gas prices triggered by the war in Iran expected to be the biggest inflationary driver. The Bank of Canada has warned that the longer oil prices are elevated, the more likely it is that inflation starts spreading beyond the gas pump and into the rest of the economy. The BoC’s next interest rate decision is slated for October 28.

Driving ourselves places could soon be a quirky “back in my day” story we tell our grandkids. 

Driving the news: Robo-taxi operator Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicles across Toronto this week, with plans to launch its ride-hailing service in the city by 2028. If the rollout goes to plan, it would be the first robo-taxi service to operate in Canada. 

Why it matters: While Waymo is not without its critics (and has experienced some high-profile blunders), it claims that the upside of autonomous ride-hailing far outweighs any negatives — mainly for safety reasons. The company says its cars are 95% less likely than human drivers to be involved in a crash causing a serious injury or worse. Another study by a Swiss insurance firm found Waymos had 92% fewer bodily injury claims than human-driven vehicles.

Yes, but: Ontario might’ve given Waymo the green light to start testing, but the path to actually offer paid rides is still unclear. The province doesn’t currently have any policy framework around autonomous vehicles beyond temporary pilot tests, and would need to create one from scratch by 2028. And given the potential job displacement and growing hostility towards giant tech companies, that could be an uphill political fight.

When the stakes are highest, you want people who always ask what more they can do. At St. Michael’s Hospital, that mindset has a name: Be Like Mike.

See it in real stories:

Watch the 90-second film and support life-changing care, share your story, or pick up a limited-edition hat at belikemike.ca.

💵 47%. Share of Canadians who say they have a side hustle or are considering starting one outside of their full-time job, according to a new report by Ownr. Those who do already have one are spending an average of 13 hours per week working on it.

Get your week rolling with today’s mini-crossword, daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who.