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Hello and welcome to Best Of Maclean’s.

Each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we deliver the top stories from Maclean’s directly to your inbox, showcasing the most interesting people, places and stories from across Canada.

Who is Changpeng Zhao?

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Changpeng Zhao was named the richest Canadian earlier this year and joined Bloomberg’s Billionaire’s Index in January with a reported net worth of $96 billion. When the crypto crash came, he reportedly lost $85 billion. But crypto, he maintains, is like the internet and will eventually change our lives completely.

“The first time I spoke with Changpeng Zhao,” writes Ethan Lou, in this profile from the latest issue of Maclean’s, “he was explaining the intricacies of Chinese martial arts. It was March of 2021, and I had joined the Vancouver billionaire and CEO of Binance—the world’s largest platform for buying and selling cryptocurrency—on a group audio call on Clubhouse, then an exclusive chat app. ‘A junior kung fu student will have a plan,’ said Zhao. For Zhao, that kind of thinking is entirely too rigid. ‘If the opponent is dynamic,’ he said, ‘a preset of moves does not work very well.’”

Full story here

The Big Idea: Physician assistants can help solve the health-care crisis

Only three universities across Canada train physician assistants and graduate just 70 students each year, writes Katharine Smart, the former president of the Canadian Medical Association who currently practises pediatric medicine in Whitehorse. Hiring and training more physician assistants can ease the burden on doctors and provide better care for patients. Here’s why: Read More

The Curious Case of Gina Adams: A “Pretendian” investigation

In 2019 Gina Adams joined the faculty at Vancouver's Emily Carr University as part of an effort to increase Indigenous representation at the school. But soon questions arose about her Indigenous identity. Last week, shortly after this piece was published, the school announced that Adams had resigned from her position—but the issue of “Pretendians” at Canadian institutions persists. Read More

Why is Pierre Poilievre so angry?

“Pierre Poilievre didn’t have to be the internet troll of Canadian politics, because he had ample other capabilities at his disposal, but here we are. Poilievre has been the spiritual leader of the Canadian conservative movement for some time.” Earlier this year, we profiled the new CPC leader to find out how Pierre Poilievre became the champion of the anti-Trudeau mob. Read More

The Interview: Wes Hall

The Canadian business titan and newest dragon on CBC’s Dragon's Den sat down with Maclean's to discuss his upcoming memoir, No Bootstraps When You’re Barefoot, and explain why he’s betting big on Canada’s Black entrepreneurs. “Change is very slow,” he says. “I’ve been on Bay Street for 30 years, and I think that people now might not get the kind of opportunity I got way back then.” Read More

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On newsstands now:

Big Lies On Campus

Gina Adams was hired by Emily Carr University in an effort to recruit Indigenous faculty. She rose to the role of assistant dean. Then questions arose about her identity...

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