The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced it will slap tariffs ranging from 1.6 to five per cent on fresh mushrooms from Canada, according to a preliminary decision in its investigation into whether farming operations are unfairly subsidized. (The Logic)
Thrive reportedly told stakeholders that it’s a bet on how artificial intelligence can boost the retail business, as Shopify positions itself as a leader in agentic commerce. (Bloomberg)
The governments and the Shell-led joint venture behind the major export facility for liquefied natural gas agreed on “enhanced investment co-operation and actions to collectively progress closure of final items” before a massive expansion goes ahead. LNG Canada will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to keep the plans on track, a joint announcement of the agreement said. (The Logic)
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak of the Assembly of First Nations is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney against moving too quickly to shorten the review process for major projects and changing the way the Crown consults with Indigenous Peoples. (Toronto Star)
Last month, the U.S. chip giant released AI models designed to help quantum computing firms calibrate their processors and correct errors. “It’s great to see Nvidia in this space,” CEO Christian Weedbrook said on Xanadu’s first-ever earnings call Thursday. But the software it unveiled “wasn’t as interesting for us.” (The Logic)
San Francisco-based Synthetic said it has raised a US$10-million seed round from investors including Tobi Lütke and former Shopify chief operating officer Kaz Nejatian. Khosla Ventures led the round for Synthetic, founded by Ian Crosby, the former CEO of the now-defunct Vancouver startup Bench Accounting. (The Logic)
Brookfield will combine its insurance and wealth businesses, expanding its offerings to the growing population of retirees and giving its insurers more access to capital, the financial giant said in an earnings report. Its asset management businesses bought $2 billion in SpaceX shares ahead of its IPO, about $1 billion of which is owned by the Brookfield parent company, the report said. The price of its Toronto-listed shares rose nearly six per cent on Thursday afternoon. (The Logic)
A trial scheduled for November is to put vendors’ land and air drones to work in a simulated emergency, assessing how well they can stream feeds to and receive direction from a bi-national command centre using commercial 5G networks. The Department of Homeland Security is working with Defence Research and Development Canada on the experiment. (Wired)
The infrastructure unit of the U.S. bank’s alternative asset management arm will control QScale following the deal, with the firm’s management team retaining a stake. (The Logic)
Justice Shaina Leonard ruled that Alberta’s chief electoral officer never should have issued the referendum petition because the province has a duty to consult with First Nations. (The Logic)