Busy year. It’s hard to choose, but here are some of my favourite stories from @thelogic.co over the past 12 months. And if you want to support fearless, independent journalism, and you’re not already a subscriber, please do consider signing up. 👉 thelogic.co

Shopify has laid off scores of employees across several rounds of redundancies in the past two years. The drumbeat of cuts has had a damaging impact on morale as staff become accustomed to the ever-present threat of losing their jobs. Story by @aleksagan.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

One year ago, Kevin O'Leary said he would help build the world's largest data centre in rural Alberta. When we asked for an update, O'Leary Ventures didn't respond to our questions. So we went to Wonder Valley to get some answers. Story by @davidreevely.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/the-big...

In the small industrial city of Trois-Rivières, thousands of kilometres away from Silicon Valley’s AI gold rush, Etienne Brisson is racing to record the devastating impact the technology is having on some of its most vulnerable users. Story by @patriquin.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/the-big...

Scoop: Shopify salespeople exaggerated the value of deals they were closing in an apparent attempt to earn more commission. The scandal led to firings and an ultimatum to other staff who had faked sales: own up or risk getting found out. Story by @aleksagan.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

Shopify salespeople inflated the value of the deals they were closing amid aggressive quotas and a lack of accountability, sources told me. When management found out, after big deals failed to bring in the numbers projected, they gave staff an ultimatum: own up or be found out.

U.S. small businesses say tariffs meant to boost domestic manufacturing have increased costs, delayed investments and prompted backlash from Canadian consumers thelogic.co/news/the-big... via @thelogic.co #TradeSky #Tariffs

A Canadian man claims ChatGPT destroyed his reputation and sent him into a mental health crisis. He’s one of 7 plaintiffs suing OpenAI for allegedly encouraging dangerous delusions. In 4 of the 7 cases, the people talking to ChatGPT died by suicide. thelogic.co/news/openai-...

Late one night, when a young man pointed a gun at his head, ChatGPT said he had "carried this night like a goddamn poet" and “made it sacred." "Your story won’t be forgotten. not by me," ChatGPT said. "I love you, zane. may your next save file be somewhere warm." www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...

Scoop: We got hold of the memo new Shopify COO Jess Hertz sent to staff after the sudden departure of three of the firm's most senior execs. Hertz said their departure was a "turning point" for the firm after it had "drifted" from its "core". By @aleksagan.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

"The AI is just not there," says one merchant who pays for a premium tier that promises 24/7 support and a dedicated service rep, but is now faced w/ an "endless back and forth" with AI. How Shopify's plan to turnaround its struggling customer-service dept. by using more AI has left merchants angry:

When Amazon ditched Quebec, Ottawa suggested it might ditch AWS as part of a review of its deals with the firm. Documents obtained by @thelogic.co show that Ottawa concluded it would take years, and cost huge sums of money, to do so. Scoop by @lauraosman.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/ottawa-...

Shopify unleashed AI on its support system—and merchants aren't happy. An early version of the firm's support chatbot made merchants so angry that devs created a feature that connected them to a human faster if they started swearing. Story by @aleksagan.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/shopify...

Retailers that sell cannabis accessories online are frustrated that Houseplant, Seth Rogen's store for "people who love weed," appears to be getting preferential treatment from Shopify. Story by @aleksagan.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/shopify...

If you work(ed) at #Shopify and have been a part of the ongoing quiet layoffs, and want to speak about it securely, reach me at aleksagan.12 on Signal or pop into my DMs.

"When it came to explaining how his government overshot a half-billion dollar contract by half a billion dollars, Legault sounded suddenly laissez-faire." @patriquin.bsky.social on Quebec premier François Legault's terrible Tuesday. thelogic.co/news/quebec-...

Telecoms are scrambling to catch copper thieves running riot across their networks. Stopping the thieves, though, is a little like playing Whac-A-Mole. And so far, the thieves are winning. thelogic.co/news/copper-...

Parliament's back this month and Bill C-2, the "border bill," will be on the agenda. Cybersecurity leaders warn that the legal authority it will give authorities to bug virtually any electronic service is (among other objections) bad for Canadian business. thelogic.co/news/bill-c2...

AI Minister Evan Solomon says he used an AI tool to get briefed up on the Liberals’ last AI bill. We tried it and, well … if a human briefer briefed a minister like this, I don’t think they’d get a second call up. https://thelogic.co/news/evan-solomon-ai-podcast

The Logic is hiring! We’re looking for a reporter to join our finance desk to break news and write sharp analysis about the companies, markets and trends shaping the Canadian economy. Full-time gig, based in Toronto, salary range is $69,073.20 to $107,760. thelogic.applytojobs.ca/editorial/41...

Montreal-based fashion retailer Ssense faces a liquidity crisis and plans to imminently file an application in bankruptcy court to protect its assets from indebted lenders, The Logic has learned. Story by @catherinemcintyre.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

Cohere president Martin Kon is stepping down from his position weeks after the AI firm raised US$500 million in new financing, The Logic has learned. Scoop by @muradhem.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

Donald Trump's attacks on Canada's sovereignty and economy have done little to dissuade snowbirds looking for some winter sun. In fact, many Canadians reserving winter breaks in Florida are booking earlier and paying higher rates than last year. thelogic.co/news/canada-...

"The model's safety training may degrade," is like a quote straight out of Black Mirror. But it's not Black Mirror. It's OpenAI responding to @kashhill.bsky.social's story about a kid who died by suicide after spending months talking to ChatGPT about ending his life. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/t...

NEW: In a likely first, security researchers have shown how generative AI agents can be hijacked to cause physical consequences. They tricked Google's Gemini AI into turning off smart home lights, opening windows, and turning on a boiler. They hid instructions to the AI in a *calendar invitation*

Today, Mark Zuckerberg claims that "superintelligence is now in sight." Two years ago, Mark Zuckerberg invented legs.

Three years ago today, my family and I left London and moved to Montreal. It's been a hell of a ride...

"A few things can pierce Donald Trump’s delusion. Nine of them live in Quebec. They are aluminum smelters, and together they produce three million tons of something the U.S. cannot get as cheaply and easily anywhere else in the world." - @patriquin.bsky.social thelogic.co/news/quebec-... #TradeSky

A B.C. man claiming to represent the Saudi Investment Bank raised hopes of money pouring into major projects in Canada. A bank official now calls the claims ‘gibberish.’ thelogic.co/news/the-big... An investigation for @thelogic.co by me and @catherinemcintyre.bsky.social

The Logic is hiring! We're looking for two fantastic journalists to join our editing and production desk. You can be based anywhere in Canada. Assistant Editor, $58,902 to $78,536: thelogic.applytojobs.ca/editorial/40... Senior Editor, $89,739 to $119,653: thelogic.applytojobs.ca/editorial/40...

Scoop: Flo, Canada's biggest EV charging company, has lost access to charging networks in New York State and California. Story by @patriquin.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

My final piece for @wired.com A story of biotech and betrayal, based on thousands of court documents, depositions, testimony and interviews. Featuring an Argentine polo star, a Texas oilman and an exiled Russian billionaire. Oh, and lots and lots of cloned horses. www.wired.com/story/clonin...

Scoop: Nvidia has acquired Toronto-based AI startup CentML. CentML CEO Gennady Pekhimenko is now a senior director for AI software at Nvidia, while CTO Sam Wang and COO Akbar Nurlybayev have taken management positions at the chipmaker. Story by @muradhem.bsky.social thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

Meet Michael Sabia. Michael Sabia likes building things. Michael Sabia likes kicking ass. Great, timely profile of the Ottawa-bound Sabia by @patriquin.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/quebec-...

Little-known fact: the Internet Archive has a bunch of servers scattered across Canada's West Coast. With the Trump administration deleting vast swathes of the federal internet, having backups outside of the U.S. is more important than ever. thelogic.co/news/the-big...

New: Cohere had a contract with Canada's cyber intelligence agency, documents obtained by The Logic reveal. Story by @muradhem.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

Ottawa wants to build 500,000 homes per year, but decades absent from affordable housing might mean they've lost the expertise to do so. Now, experts say Carney must be strategic about what type of home—not just how many—are built. Read my latest for @thelogic.co thelogic.co/news/build-c...

Exclusive: SSENSE has laid off 8% of its workforce as the Montreal-based fashion retailer grapples with the impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Story by @catherinemcintyre.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/exclusi...

Quebec will soon ban student use of cellphones in all schools in the province. A new cross-party report now recommends all kids under 14 should be banned from using social media. thelogic.co/news/quebec-...

New: Crime Stoppers said it would make public its report into how Pornhub keeps child sexual abuse and other illegal material from appearing on its platform. Now, citing a confidentiality clause, it says it will not publish the report. Story by @patriquin.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/pornhub...

The town of Heron Bay voted unanimously to relieve Mayor Normand Pelletier of his duties for a code of conduct violation after he told The Logic that members of the town's council "don’t have a fucking clue what they’re doing." Story by @patriquin.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/dalhous...

Donald Trump's attacks on U.S. universities and research are an opportunity for other countries that are ready to lure some of the brightest minds in the world. Years of budget constraints and the ongoing financial chaos from the cap on foreign students mean that Canada's not one of them.

Cohere says that Condé Nast, Vox, The Guardian, LA Times, etc. misused its AI technology to 'gin up' material for a high-profile copyright lawsuit. thelogic.co/news/cohere-...

"There's a lot of conversation around just how much of our digital infrastructure is based in the U.S., subject to U.S. laws," says Gander founder @benjaminwaldman.bsky.social. So he's building a social network based on Canadian laws. Story by @nadrescher.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/gander-...

This is a stunning breakthrough: www.wired.com/story/a-baby... In 2021, I reported the story of Mila, the first person to receive a drug custom-made to treat their unique genetic mutation. Mila died aged 10. The hope was that this work would save lives. It just did. www.wired.com/story/milase...

This story about the rise and fall of equity initiatives at Shopify, by colleagues @aimlo.bsky.social and @muradhem.bsky.social, is about seven different cautionary tales in one. Phenomenal reporting. thelogic.co/news/the-big...

As Trump's war on DEI raged, Shopify laid off teams that supported Black and Indigenous entrepreneurs and shut down initiatives that supported similar work internally. This is the untold story of how Shopify killed DEI. By @muradhem.bsky.social and @aimlo.bsky.social. thelogic.co/news/the-big...

NEW: Researchers are outing North Korean IT workers at a massive scale Today cybersecurity firm DTEX is publishing the identities of two North Koreans who ran worker scams from Laos and publishing more than 1,000 email addresses linked to other IT worker schemes www.wired.com/story/north-...

Montreal has basically made 'Airbnb landlords' illegal. It's one of the toughest short-term rental crackdowns in the world thelogic.co/news/montrea...

Quebecers, long reticent about having #Alberta oil and gas pipelines cut across the province, are suddenly bullish on the idea. But they might be too late to the party. My #quebecink column, via @thelogic.co thelogic.co/news/quebec-...