📈 The Peak on Saturday

Good morning. WestJet is backtracking on its unpopular plan to reduce legroom in its economy cabins after considering “customer feedback” — that’s corporate speak for ‘getting mercilessly roasted online after viral videos showed just how pathetic the seats are.’ 

Let this be a lesson: you can enact real change if you complain hard enough.

—Quinn Henderson, Lucas Arender, Taylor Scollon

✈️ Canada’s air travel complaint system is facing a backlog of over 88,000 claims, and new complaints can take over two years to resolve. (Winging It)

📉 Canadian venture capital firms raised just $2.1 billion last year according to a new RBCx report, the worst showing since 2016. (Down Round)

🕶️ Meta is looking to double the production of its AI smart glasses by the end of the year amid surprisingly high demand. (Look Sharp)

🍔 Two-thirds of Canadians plan to pare back spending this year per a new TD Bank report, and the top budget sacrifice is eating out. (Bad McVibes)

💉 There are an average of 4.8 drug-related deaths every day in B.C., lower than before its decriminalization pilot, but still alarmingly high. (Pilot Over)

Well, that was fast. After just a couple of days in China, Mark Carney is walking away with a new trade deal — and already facing some political blowback at home. 

What happened: The agreement, announced after Carney met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, will see Canada allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to be imported at a tariff rate of 6%. Any EVs imported above that quota would face the current 100% tariff level.

Why it matters: The decision to allow any Chinese EVs into the Canadian market is controversial, and already setting off an intense debate about the future of Canada’s auto sector. 

And what about the elephant in the room? Surprisingly, Donald Trump (at least for now) sounded positively chill about the whole thing. “That’s OK, that’s what he should be doing,” Trump responded when asked about the agreement. “It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China you should do that.”

Our take: Carney’s goal of doubling non-U.S. trade in the next 10 years was almost universally popular when considered in a vacuum, but now that the rubber is hitting the road, it’s going to prove more controversial. There’s a diverse set of regional, economic, and political interests in play, and pleasing them all will not be possible. The question is, can the prime minister keep enough people happy for long enough to execute his pivot?—TS

🇮🇷 Iran protests wane as Trump backs off strike threats. Donald Trump said that Iran assured him the killing of protesters had stopped and no executions were planned as he pulled back from threats to launch a missile strike against the country. It’s believed that the president looked at all of the potential strike options, but felt that no one attack would result in regime change. (Guardian) 

🇻🇪 Venezuela’s Nobel Peace laureate gives prize to Trump. Exiled Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize — an honour openly coveted by the president. It appears she’s trying to curry favour with Trump to give her a chance to run Venezuela, even though he appears content so far to work with the ruling regime. (Reuters)   

🇯🇵 Japan headed for snap federal election. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly plans to trigger a snap election, seeking to capitalize on high approval ratings early in her leadership and win seats for her otherwise struggling Liberal Democratic Party. Two of Japan’s top centrist parties have since joined forces to present a larger challenge. (ABC News)  

🇰🇷 South Korea’s former president faces death sentence. Yoon Suk Yeol, the ex-prez who was impeached after a botched declaration of martial law, received a five-year sentence on charges related to his alleged coup attempt. But things could get even worse for him: in a separate trial, an independent counsel recommended the death sentence if he’s found guilty. (Associated Press)  

🇧🇷 Brazil’s Bolsonaro is hitting the books to cut jail time. Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, was authorized to take part in a program where inmates can reduce their sentences by four days for each book they read. The far-right Bolsonaro likely won’t enjoy the social justice-focused pre-approved reading list. (Guardian)—QH 

Good news! Our brains might not be turning into plastic after all. 

Driving the news: A recent analysis found that many of the high-profile studies on the impact of microplastics on humans are highly flawed, with scientists now pointing to a number of problems with the methodology and results of the research. 

Why it’s happening: Those in academia say the race to put out studies can incentivize shortcuts and oversights that inevitably lead to unreliable results. The sheer volume of new studies has also made it impossible to peer review all of them properly. 

Why it matters: We rely on these studies to inform public policy and determine what is and isn’t safe. The recent flood of flawed — if not entirely fake — research undermines how we are able to collectively make those decisions. 

Bottom line: As one chemist told the Guardian, “This is really forcing us to re-evaluate everything we think we know about microplastics in the body. Which, as it turns out, is really not very much.” That said, we still won’t be microwaving our Tupperware (just in case).—LA

Eat a dumpling lasagna. We love to see different cultures coming together, and this viral dish looks like a perfectly tasty example. First devised by creator April Liang, it deconstructs soup dumplings to create a lasagna-like layered casserole. Here’s a recipe for you to try out.  

Read Polar War by Kenneth R. Rosen. With all the Greenland news, this new book is a bracingly relevant read — mixing travelogue, foreign affairs reportage, and climate journalism to demonstrate how the Arctic became the staging ground for a new Cold War. 

Watch 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, now in theatres. 28 Years Later was one of 2025’s best cinematic surprises: a long-gap horror sequel that built upon the original, packed with startlingly unique image-making. We’re pumped to see part two on a huge screen.

Listen to Valentine by Courtney Marie Andrews. The Americana singer-songwriter is a true blue expert in the field of songcraft. Each track on her new album is a finely honed sonic object, animated by her gripping, pensive lyricism and her lovely, ethereal voice.—QH

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Get the weekend going with The Peak’s Saturday Crossword and the daily sudoku. 

Also, we sincerely apologize for accidentally repeating the mini-crossword yesterday. To make up for it, here’s a bonus mini.

And after all that, there’s a fake headline running loose that needs to be caught. 

Keep scrolling for the answer.

There is no Swedish robot king — headline #3 is a fake.