University challenge

Markets: Faltering hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal sent Canada’s main stock index slightly downward yesterday. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit new record highs as tech shares surged, including Nvidia rising 6.3% after unveiling a new chip (more on that below).

There’s a good chance your alma mater's reputation has taken a hit lately. 

Driving the news: Almost every Canadian post-secondary school tumbled in the World University Rankings this year, with 37 of the 38 schools in Canada losing ground compared to 2025. The University of Toronto, which is Canada’s top-ranked school at No. 23, was the only university to hold its position.

Why it’s happening: The president of the Center for World University Rankings — who is clearly not one to mince his words — explained that: “the decline of Canadian universities reflects years of inadequate funding… Canadian universities are struggling to deliver high-quality education, attract and retain talent, and produce quality research at scale.” 

Why it matters: For a long time, the money coming in from international students allowed schools to grow their programs and bring in top researchers without added government funding or domestic tuition hikes. Now that the program has been curtailed, many universities and colleges have had to lay off workers, freeze new hires, and cut programs.

Zoom out: The cash crunch could hurt Canadian universities' ability to poach academics from the U.S., which is seeing an exodus of research talent under the Trump administration. While grant funding from Ottawa has helped bring in some researchers from the States, Canadian schools aren’t necessarily in a position to sign blank cheques to world-class professors right now.—LA

Anthropic filed for an IPO. The AI company, which was recently valued at nearly US$1 trillion, has started the process of going public, setting the stage for an IPO as early as this fall. Anthropic is one of three blockbuster public offerings slated for this year, including its rival OpenAI, as well as SpaceX, which is expected to hold the largest IPO in history next week at a valuation as high as US$2 trillion. Anthropic has grown at breakneck speed over the past year, with its revenue run rate surpassing $47 billion last month, up from just $9 billion at the end of 2025. (TechCrunch)

Ottawa will spend $100 million to expand an AI healthcare project. The feds announced plans to expand an Ontario health data program called Vital to eight more provinces, aiming to use its AI-generated insights to improve healthcare systems across the country. Vital says its program has already helped researchers in Ontario improve patient outcomes, while saving the healthcare system money and freeing up hospital beds. (Globe and Mail)

Canada Post workers agreed to a new contract. After two long years of labour disputes, national strikes, and billions in losses, ~55,000 Canada Post workers voted to approve a new five-year contract from the Crown postal service. The new deal includes wage increases for the next five years, a new model for weekend delivery, and better benefits. (CBC News)

📡 What else is on our radar: 

Close your eyes and picture the dish you always order. The one you recommend to friends. The one that makes a place feel like your place.

Now imagine it quietly disappears from the menu because the restaurant can’t find enough people to keep up.

That is what labour shortages put at risk.

Restaurants are Canada’s 4th largest employer, supporting 1.2 million jobs and a $125 billion sector. Yet today, 70,000 foodservice jobs are vacant.

Eventually, that pressure lands somewhere we all notice: the plate.

So, what happens when those hands are harder to find? We think Canadians should know.

What they’re saying: "We joke in Sweden and say that Canada is the most Nordic country in the world outside the Nordics. For us it's really a way of saying that we appreciate Canada because we think we have so many common denominators," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told CTV’s Question Period over the weekend. His comments followed news that Ottawa is reportedly planning to buy 60 fighter jets from the Swedish aerospace firm Gripen.

Why it matters: This comment echoes another that Mark Carney made early in his tenure as prime minister, when he called Canada “the most European of non-European countries." What both these comments seem to mean in practice is ‘we have aligned views and want to do defence deals.’ Soon we might be hearing that Canada is also the most German or Korean nation. 

The world’s most valuable company wants to usher in a new age of laptops where trackpads and keyboards are obsolete. 

What happened: Nvidia is barging into the PC market, unveiling the RTX Spark Superchip, a new processor meant to supercharge laptop AI capabilities. It will feature in products from six initial partner brands — including Microsoft, Dell, and Lenovo — and is expected to ship in the fall, creating a new challenger for leaders in the PC chip space like Intel and Apple. 

Why it matters: Nvidia might be king of the hill right now, but it's heavily reliant on providing compute for data centres, with that segment accounting for more than 91% of sales last quarter. With its new PC chip, Nvidia is preparing for a shift in demand toward personal devices.

Zoom out: The new chip is the first step in a grand future envisioned by Huang where laptops are personal hubs where AI agents complete all your tasks. "For 40 years, you launched apps. Click. Type. With RTX Spark and Microsoft Windows, you ask — and the PC does the work,” Huang said in a statement. Time will tell if his prediction comes true.—QH

💊 $5 billion. Valuation that Canadian generic drugmaker Apotex Health is seeking in its IPO, which would mark the largest public offering on Canada’s stock market in five years. The Toronto-based company, which was founded in 1974, has become one of the world’s biggest generic drug manufacturers.

You deserve some fun. Go and get it with today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who!