The ride-hailing firm’s new service, which it’s offering in partnership with Cornershop, is also available in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and it intends to launch within the U.S. in the next month. “We look forward to expanding to more Canadian cities in the future,” Uber spokesperson Laura Miller told The Logic. Meanwhile, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman, who had been trying to get Uber in his city since 2017, welcomed the company’s decision to finally launch there. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Canadian product launches come after Uber cut staff in the country, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Logic, as part of a 3,700-person reduction to its global workforce. The grocery platform is part of a broader bet by Uber on food delivery. On Monday, Uber announced plans to acquire Postmates for US$2.65 billion, which would give it a 37 per cent stake of the U.S. food-delivery market. Uber has been preparing for its Canadian grocery launch for some time. In January 2019, The Logic reported that the company was hiring “for a new team that will transform how people get their groceries.” It’s entering an increasingly crowded Canadian grocery-delivery market that includes Instacart, Sobeys, Loblaw, Walmart and Costco. The surge in interest comes as between 1.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent of Canadians currently get their groceries online. That’s compared with seven per cent of people in the U.S. and 10 per cent in the U.K.