Today’s newsletter is brought to you by DoorDash
Every day, DoorDash helps make a difference for hardworking Ontarians across the province.
Whether it’s creating real growth opportunities for local merchants to reach more customers, providing Dashers with real flexibility to earn extra income, or helping all of us find time for what really matters, DoorDash empowers Ontario communities.
By supporting local businesses, creating new opportunities, and helping Ontarians thrive,
DoorDash is delivering real impact that goes beyond delivery.
Real Insight of the Day: Nearly all Canadian Dashers (95%) believe that any changes in law should not take away their ability to choose when, where, and how they work.
Learn more at: DoorDash
A tale of two scandals…
In the United States, they are talking all about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. In Canada, we are talking about a Stellantis plant in Brampton that hasn’t been producing vehicles in three years.
I’m sure you’ve heard that Huang has had some zipper problems. Affairs with two women in his employ and an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.
You might normally say this isn’t anyone’s business, but Jensen Huang was the CEO of the most valuable company in the world. If you have any sort of retirement investments, you likely owned a small piece of Nvidia or the companies his company was powering.
Nvidia is the driving force behind the AI revolution. They produce some of the best chips going for the kind of compute power needed for AI. He and his company also invested heavily in AI companies like OpenAI, the folks behind ChatGPT, and Anthropic, the people behind the current king of the hill, Claude.
There is surely more than meets the eye to this story, and also a certain amount of male idiocy. Men are built a certain way, and it can help us rise to new heights or be our downfall.
Due to the Chinese spy allegations, there are national security concerns in this story. Due to how many people are invested in Nvidia, or in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track it, there are personal financial concerns in this story.
Nvidia stock is down 26.5% from a month ago but up 446% from five years ago, so it depends when you got in.
I expect that China was behind some of this story: the spy, the leak of the story, the attempt to take down a rival. I don’t say that lightly. I lived in Ottawa when Nortel was taken down, and in my view, China had a lot to do with that.
Huang was also an advocate of open AI models, not to be confused with the firm OpenAI. He wanted things to be freer and more open, and the big companies didn’t like that idea.
From groundbreaking chips to a struggling auto company…
I heard someone say on CBC on Thursday that Stellantis is the weakest of the auto companies. That’s been true for decades. Previously known in North America as Chrysler, the company has had bailout after bailout.
Stellantis has been in the news of late for its decision to sell its Brampton auto assembly plant to defence firm Roshel.
The Brampton plant was announced as a project of American Motors Corporation in 1984 and opened in 1986. Despite the name, American Motors Corporation was controlled by Renault in France, and the company was having trouble.
In 1987, American Motors Corporation was purchased by Chrysler.
As much as I have loved many Chrysler products over the years, from my first car, a 1984 Dodge Omni, to a Chrysler LeBaron my grandparents gave me, to a great Caravan that carted around my kids, Chrysler, and American Motors before it, were always the sick car companies on the block.
I give you this background to explain that this plant has long been on the brink.
For the past several years, I’ve had politicians and auto executives push back on that idea, but I’ve known people who have been working in that plant on and off — far too often off — since the 1990s.
Could the Carney government have done something to try to save this plant?
Sure, they absolutely could have, but Carney doesn’t want to. He wants to call what Stellantis is doing a betrayal. He wants to pick a proxy fight with European-owned Stellantis by making it about Trump.
All that said, the surest way to bring this plant back would have been to try to strike a deal with the Americans. As I wrote in the Toronto Sun today, that was not in the cards for Mark Carney, who doesn’t want to score a deal if it will hurt him politically.
He chooses politics over economics time and again. Strange, considering he’s an economist and former central bank governor.
A complete lack of transparency on Stellantis…
I had a great conversation about the other side of this story today with Warren Kinsella and Adrienne Batra. The Carney government just isn’t telling us the whole story. In fact, they aren’t telling us much of the story at all.
Truth. Your video with Ms Batra and Mr Kinsella was very good.
Carneys arrogance is beyond belief. His constant deception makes me believe that if the budget fails November 19 I would be surprised if he gets reelected.
But you know the inside scoop I bet
Stellantis is on shaky financial ground. History goes back to Chrysler days. Stellantis will take the free money who ever is offering. Trump was the latest with Tariff wars, made it public wanted auto production in states. Stellantis couldn’t resist
Canada needs to tighten loop holes on those bail outs. Fine print that goes in Canadas favour if these companies want to pull out and leave or close plants
Something else they could try, put tarrif or tax on every vehicle Stellantis wants to ship out of Canada or bring into Canada. Recoup there money and punish Stellantis