📈 We’re so back-berry

Good morning. We have some exciting news: for the first time in its illustrious history, The Peak is opening up to freelance story pitches! So, if you’ve ever read the newsletter and thought to yourself, “I really wish they’d write about this,” now’s the chance to do it yourself.

We're looking for original reporting on the topics our readers care about: business, finance, the economy, and the spirit of enterprise in our great nation (admittedly a broad remit).

You can find all the information you need here. Now, on to the newsletter.

Today’s reading time is 5 minutes. 

Markets: Canada’s main stock index fell yesterday on lower energy shares and a 6.5% dip for Shopify. On the brighter side, BlackBerry was up 7.4% after an earnings beat (more on that below), and struggling retailer Roots showed signs of life, posting higher quarterly sales.

Its phones may be nothing more than relics for Gen Z to romanticize, but BlackBerry has managed to chart a new course. 

What happened: The Waterloo company reported a 71% year-over-year jump in its operating earnings last quarter, handily beating analysts’ expectations. After not posting a net profit for three years, BlackBerry has now done so for the third time in four quarters. 

Catch-up: BlackBerry once commanded 20% of the smartphone market, but after the iPhone took over the world, the Waterloo company struggled to redefine itself. Since peaking in 2008, its stock has plummeted over 96%. 

Why it matters: The glory days of the BlackBerry being the status symbol aren’t coming back, but with a pivot to a less-sexy, but fast-growing sector, the path for a comeback appears to be paved for the Canadian company. 

What’s next: QNX is currently developing software to power autonomous robots for factories and households. Maybe the next killer BlackBerry product will be a robot to do our chores?—LA

Trump weighs punishment for NATO allies that haven't supported the Iran war. The Trump administration is exploring different forms of retribution, including withdrawing U.S. troops from countries that have been unwilling to engage in the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the go-ahead to hold direct talks with Lebanon — a step that could solidify the shaky U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal. (Wall Street Journal)

First “nation building” project breaks ground in Quebec. Construction began yesterday in Contrecoeur on a major port expansion, the first so-called national interest project to be fast-tracked by Ottawa. The feds say that, once completed, it will be the largest eastern port expansion in Canadian history and will increase the Port of Montreal’s capacity by 60%. (The Canadian Press)

Average rental prices in Canada hit a near three-year low. The average asking price for a rental fell to $2,008 in March, marking the 18th consecutive month that prices have dropped nationally. The 5.3% decline from March 2025 was the steepest price decline in nearly five years. (The Canadian Press) 

What else is on our radar: 

Many leaders spend their time in a game of rapid reaction—to geopolitical events that reshape the market, undesirable regulations, or competitors they didn’t see coming.

DeGroote's Foresight Lab trains leaders who actively shape the gameplay, who anticipate a wide range of possible futures and steer organizations in the right direction.

The Foresight Lab equips leaders with futures literacy: the ability to see past your own assumptions, challenge the narratives shaping your decisions, and build strategies that not only hold up when the game changes, but shape the game itself.

Foresight gives you:

Learn more about the DeGroote Foresight Lab.

Montreal-based GridBank raises $6 million in a seed round backed by a slew of VCs. GridBank’s app allows anyone to upload videos from their camera roll to a marketplace, where ad agencies and companies can then pay to use the more authentic, unstaged videos (anything from skincare routines to sunrises) in their promotional material. 

Why it matters: The concept of getting paid for random videos sitting on your phone is compelling for people looking for an easy side hustle — and one that seems to have already caught on. GridBank said it was profitable even before its seed round and is now paying creators hundreds of dollars a month for their videos.

Canada’s federal investment bank wants to bring life sciences funding back to life.

What happened: The VC arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) — the Crown investment bank dedicated to small and medium businesses — launched a new $150 million fund for life sciences startups. It aims to invest in 10 to 15 seed and Series A firms.

Why it’s happening: The fund is something of a mea culpa for BDC, which turned its back on life sciences funding in 2019 when it spun out its health-focused Amplitude Ventures fund, which is now privately owned. Since then, VC funding for the sector has dried up.

Why it matters: Canada has long been a life sciences research powerhouse, but firms have struggled to become actual businesses due to a dearth of VC backing and lack of know-how for bringing products to market. 

Zoom out: BDC wasn’t the only Canadian lender yesterday unveiling funding for critical industries. RBC CEO Dave McKay said Canada’s largest bank is planning to launch a new growth fund that will spend up to $1 billion over the next several years with a focus on things like infrastructure, defence companies, and Canadian firms looking to expand globally.—QH

🌎 Hint: This European city is known as the diamond capital of the world, serving as a hub for global trade of the precious mineral. It is home to Europe’s second-largest port, some of the world’s best Renaissance art, and the famous Cathedral of Our Lady — the belfry of which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Think you have an idea where we brought you this week? Lock in your guess here.

New ServiceNow research surveyed nearly 1,900 Canadians across customers, service reps, and executives — and the gaps are hard to ignore. 59% of customers say lack of empathy from AI customer service agents is their top frustration, yet only 11% of organizations report meaningful AI progress on emotional connection. Meanwhile, 80% of service reps are toggling between three to five systems just to solve a single issue.

Closing this gap takes more than patching legacy tools. It requires unified platforms where AI handles the heavy lifting in the background while your people stay focused on what actually builds loyalty: genuine human connection.

See how ServiceNow is helping organizations get there.

🤖 US$100 billion. Revenue that OpenAI is projecting to bring in from ads by 2030. The company made $100 million from ads in less than two months during an initial pilot. OpenAI believes the market for chatbot ads will be particularly lucrative because users often tell bots exactly what they’re looking for. 

^{*This is sponsored content.}

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.

TGIF! You should celebrate by playing The Peak’s Weekly News Quiz.

And when you’re done that, move on to the mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and Who’s Who!

We wrote in yesterday’s newsletter that BYD will be allowed to ship 49,000 EVs into Canada tariff-free this year. Actually, Canada will allow 49,000 EVs to be imported from China in total, not just from BYD, with a tariff rate of 6.1%. We apologize for the mistake.