The Peak Weekender Reader

Good morning. A few weeks ago, we launched the Canadian Salary Index as a way to bring more transparency and real compensation data to our readers. When you submit your salary, you can also check a box if you’d like to be contacted to share more about your job history and earnings, anonymously. Those conversations have inspired our new series, Six Figures, launching next week. It’s a candid snapshot of the career trajectory of, say, a head of finance earning $300,000 a year or a hospitality designer earning less than half that. One recurring theme in these chats — I’ve had half a dozen so far — is that almost no one feels like they’re earning “enough.” That feeling is the focus of today’s feature.

“For many under 40, the expectation that their careers will carry them at least as far economically as their parents has faltered,” writes Ali Amad. He spoke to four Canadians across the salary spectrum (some make more than their parents ever did, some much less) to find out how their subjective feelings about their comp square with statistical data. It’s relatable stuff.

Next week, we’ll continue to bring our Premium readers two long-read stories: a first-person report from the AI doomsday debate at Dreamforce in San Francisco and how niche businesses are faring amid the tariff escalations. 

Happy(?) reading,
Liz

😻 There’s a new cat, and it’s purr-fect. For the first time in more than a century, researchers have identified and classified a new cat species. Called the Tilcayo (scientific name: Leopardus tilcayo), the kitty lives in Bolivia’s cloud forest, has leopard-like spots, and is smaller than the average housecat. Only two living individuals have been confirmed so far.

🛩️ A plane just flew across the U.S. by itself. Aviation company Joby Aviation says that one of its aircraft — a converted Cessna Caravan — completed the first-ever autonomous flight across the U.S. The plane travelled 3,199 miles from Concord, California, to Outer Banks, North Carolina, without any inputs or manoeuvres from the onboard safety pilot.

📖  Vibe coding is officially a word. The term was one of 1,400 new words added to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary as the English-language gatekeeper keeps up with the times. Other words welcomed into the fold include: looksmaxxing, parasocial, superfood, California sober, and — our personal favourite — yacht rock. Cue the Michael McDonald!

😬 That’s one way to tokenmax, we suppose. David Hsu, the CEO of an enterprise software company called Retool, admitted at a Wall Street Journal tech summit that his company accidentally spent US$10,000 a day on AI that scheduled automatic OOO replies. Personally, even spending $10 a day on that simple task would be a little rich for our blood.

Since 1991, Somaliland has been a self-governing breakaway state within the nation of Somalia. The area has a distinct history from the rest of Somalia, and was a British protectorate while the other regions were under Italian rule. After Britain pulled out in 1960, it was briefly an independent state, before merging with the rest of Somalia just five days later. However, Somaliland’s different history led to decades of tensions, which ultimately crescendoed in the rebel Somali National Movement overthrowing Somalia’s government and the signing of a declaration of independence in 1991. 

Ever since, Somaliland has sought formal recognition from other countries, to no avail. That was until last year, when Israel became the first UN member nation to officially recognize it as an independent state. Energized by this breakthrough, Somaliland’s government is now chasing recognition from a real global power: the United States. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi — better known as “Irro” — has been in D.C. since September 6 wheeling and dealing as he looks to build support for his nation’s cause. And he’s willing to sweeten the pot to make things happen.

The state is located right on the Gulf of Aden near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — an area that has become particularly important as the war in Iran drags on. Somaliland’s allyship in the region was a major factor in gaining recognition from Israel, and it's hoping the same promise of cooperation could coax U.S. recognition. The two already have an existing military relationship, and while the U.S. does have access to the Gulf of Aden through its base in Djibouti (its largest base in Africa), that nation is increasingly coming under Chinese influence, and the U.S. might want a back-up. But before offering greater military access, Somaliland is looking to win favour by offering U.S. investors access to its port and its potential mineral riches. And, in a direct appeal to known megalomaniac Donald Trump, Irro has even teased that Somaliland could name an airport after the president or build a Trump Tower in the capital of Hargeisa.

It should be noted that Somaliland has many of the bona fides of a ‘real’ country. It holds its own elections (which are typically considered to be free and fair), it has its own armed forces, its own currency, and its own passports. Generally speaking, it’s a lot more stable than the rest of Somalia. So why are countries so reluctant to recognize it?

Some fear that official recognition could inspire other disgruntled states in Africa to launch their own breakaway campaigns, causing undue disruption and unrest across the continent. It would also be a betrayal of Somalia, an actual UN member, that hardly needs another crisis. There is also a widely held belief that recognition should first come from the African Union, a group that has more authority over what constitutes an African nation. And, thus far, the bloc has ignored Somaliland’s membership petition for two decades.

Right now, U.S. recognition is still unlikely to happen, even though the state has some powerful supporters on Capitol Hill. Hopes were high last year after Israeli recognition and a Trump spat with Somalia, but the moment may have passed — a belief that was reaffirmed in July when the U.S. reaffirmed “the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Somalia. There could still be years of building its relationship with the U.S. to come, and proving itself as a useful ally in the Middle East. And, even if the U.S. were to recognize it, that doesn’t mean global recognition would immediately follow. It’s not like the U.S. and Israel have exactly acted in line with the rest of the UN as of late.

📡 What else is on our radar:

Some Canadians working today will never out-earn their parents. Others already do. And yet neither group feels like they “made it.” Writer Ali Amad spoke to four Canadians earning from $52,000 all the way to $325,000 about why a bigger paycheque doesn’t always mean a bigger life.

Also below the fold today…