Winner takes all

Good morning. Egypt announced that archaeologists have uncovered a lost city in the Western Desert dating back to the era of Byzantine rule. The remarkably well-preserved site includes thoroughfares, houses, fortifications, and even kitchens with bread ovens. 

These discoveries always make us wonder about what future archaeologists will have to say about the cities we live in today. Probably something like, “wow, they sure had a lot of pot shops and No Frills.”

Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.

Markets: Canada’s main stock index fell yesterday on falling oil and gold prices. Meanwhile, top Wall Street indexes were up, particularly the Nasdaq, after a semiconductor stock rebound.

On the series finale of The Bachelor: Maritime Defence Edition, the federal government has chosen who gets the final rose (a.k.a. the lucrative submarine contract). 

What happened: Ottawa has selected Germany’s TKMS as its preferred bidder to provide the Canadian military with 12 new submarines. Talks will continue to hammer out the exact details, but the contract could ultimately be worth up to $120 billion over a 70-year period. TKMS is expected to make the first four deliveries by 2034.

Zoom out: This is the first time since the 1960s that Canada will buy newly made subs instead of sourcing them secondhand. It’s a long overdue purchase, as the current fleet is virtually inoperable and lacks the capabilities to participate in modern Arctic defence. 

Why it matters: Hanwha may have had the flashier bid — with its Peter Mansbridge ads and promises of a domestic hydrogen trucking industry — but this decision makes it clear that Ottawa is valuing closer ties to Europe and NATO above all else when it comes to defence deals. Siding with zee Germans is another means to make this happen.—QH

Ontario and Alberta are plotting a cross-country oil pipeline. Premiers Danielle Smith and Doug Ford unveiled a new proposal for a 3,300-kilometre pipeline running from Hardisty, Alberta, to Ontario’s oil refinery hub in the Sarnia region. The pipeline, which would have an initial capacity of 500,000 barrels per day, does not yet have a price tag, but the Ontario government is expected to wrap up its feasibility study on the project by the end of the year. (CTV News)

Reddit is using AI to fight fake AI recommendations. The company is (ironically) using an AI tool to crack down on the scourge of AI-generated product endorsements planted in Reddit threads — a now-common tactic from marketers looking to secure citations from popular chatbots like ChatGPT. Reddit, one of the most commonly cited sources by AI chatbots, says it's been able to reduce user exposure to these spam posts by 20% in the past year. (Bloomberg News)

Alberta issues oil permits at the highest rate in over a decade. More oil news! According to provincial data, the Alberta government issued 1,764 drilling licences between the start of the year and June 12, the most since 2014. A record share of those licences were issued for the Clearwater formation, which is a quicker, lower-cost drilling alternative to the oil sands. (Bloomberg News)

📡 What else is on our radar: 

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What they’re saying: “Canadian provinces cannot be allowed to hold American wineries, breweries, and distilleries hostage and attempt to ransom them,” Claudia Tenney said in a statement. The Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives put forward a bill that would trigger a U.S. trade investigation of provincial liquor board bans on U.S. booze. 

Why it matters: It seems that the booze bans (in every province except Saskatchewan and Alberta) are really starting to frustrate Team Trump, with U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra also recently making comments about how U.S. liquor must return to Canadian shelves. That makes sense given the economic toll they have taken on the U.S. alcohol industry, but this trade chip could become another headache if the U.S. launches a probe.

There’s now a single phone number to call with all of your complaints about Toronto sports. 

What happened: Rogers is paying $4.35 billion for the remaining 25% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), a deal that will consolidate almost all of Toronto’s pro sports properties and form one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment companies.

Catch-up: Once the deal closes, Rogers will be the sole owner of the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto FC, Toronto Argonauts, Sportsnet, and a host of other assets, including Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Centre.

Why it matters: Rogers’ next move is to sell a minority stake to private investors, a trend that has taken over pro sports in recent years (over two-thirds of NBA teams and one-third of MLB teams are backed by private equity). For Canadian sports fans who care more about their favourite team winning than the profit margins of ownership, that could be bad news.

Our take: Given how much cash Rogers splashed to take control of MLSE, it seems inevitable that we’re gonna see some price hikes for tickets, merch, Sportsnet subscriptions, and anything else it can slap a Toronto sports logo on.—LA

🏊‍♀️ 4. World records Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh now holds after breaking the women’s 200-metre butterfly world record — the longest-standing individual women's swimming record. In addition to her world records, McIntosh won three gold medals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

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