Canadian Tire reveals new AI platform for detecting consumer trends

Canadian Tire reveals new AI platform for detecting consumer trends

TORONTO - Canadian Tire Corp. says a new platform it's been developing with Microsoft will help the retailer's staff better detect patterns in customer demand.

The platform will be used at Canadian Tire as well as the Mark’s and SportChek banners.

The retailers will use it to help identify trends, such as spring-thaw floods, back-to-school move-ins and new weekend fitness routines. 

They will then use those insights to better co-ordinate inventory, product assortments, promotions, digital content and services.

Sweeney’s sexist U.S. gambling-site ad isn’t the real problem

Until very recently, there was no reason to connect actress and model Sydney Sweeney with online sports betting. But the degrees separating these two culture trends evaporated in short order this week.

Sweeney, a pop culture icon who is a source of endless speculation in political circles, made a big splash with a provocative advertising campaign for Novig, a new-generation sports gambling site in the United States. In a promotional video, Sweeney appears largely nude, with strategically placed sports equipment and her long, blonde hair providing just enough cover to keep from being classified as pornography.

“Think you know sports?” Sweeney says seductively in the opening of the video, with two footballs hiding her breasts. “Prove it.”

Novig is a “peer-to-peer” gambling app that allows people south of the border to bet against each other on the outcomes of professional sports, as opposed to betting against “the house,” as is the case with traditional sports books. And it just so happens that Sweeney, either from a direct investment or as payment for her participation in the ad campaign, is now an equity partner in Novig.

RCMP charge N.D. man after driver flees Emerson border crossing

A North Dakota man faces a string of charges after police say he fled the Emerson border crossing, leading RCMP on a pursuit along Highway 75.

Emerson RCMP were notified just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday that a man entering Canada from North Dakota had sped away from the port of entry after Canada Border Services Agency officers flagged him for a secondary screening.

Officers from several RCMP detachments and the Integrated Border Enforcement Team were sent to to Highway 75.

Police said Morris RCMP tried unsuccessfully to stop the vehicle south of the town. Police later blocked Highway 75 at Provincial Road 210, but said the driver went around police vehicles, drove through a ditch and narrowly missed an officer before continuing north toward Winnipeg.

Suspension on the horizon for Hellebuyck as pre-season set to start

In this high stakes game of chicken, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Connor Hellebuyck or any of the potential suitors for the Winnipeg Jets franchise netminder appear ready to blink.

City wants short-term rental unit property owners to report all emergency-service responses

New rules could require the owners of short-term rental units, such as Airbnbs and VRBOs, to tell the city every time an emergency responder is called to their properties.