Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
- The Big Story
What does the latest interest rate cut mean for you?
The jumbo cut expected by the Bank of Canada actually happened - but what does it mean for you? Host Kris McCusker speaks with Senior Economist Jules Boudreau…
- The Big Story
Breaking down the latest developments in Syria
After 50 years of the oppressive Assad regime, the people of Syria will get a new government. In just two weeks, rebel forces swept through the country and…
- The Big Story
A look at how much more you could be paying for food in 2025
While inflation may have cooled in Canada this year, the price of groceries is still increasing faster than before the pandemic. According to the 2025 Canadian…
- The Big Story
What airline travel will look like in 2025
Taking a flight can be expensive, and you could be facing new fees in the new year. Air Canada has announced new charges for passengers picking their lowest…
- The Big Story
Is it okay to skip the presents this holiday season?
Times are tough for many Canadians - and maybe spending money you don't have doesn't fit into your plans this year. Or maybe you want the money you do spend on…
- The Big Story
Digging into the future of Canada's maple syrup industry
It's not just something you put on your weekend pancakes - it's a huge industry in Canada that's been under threat in recent years. What's the deal with…
- The Big Story
What's changed 35 years after the Montreal Massacre?
On December 6, 1989 a lone gunman walked into Montreal’s École Polytechnique and began shooting female students. The young man was motivated by his…
- The Big Story
Why is interest in electric vehicles waning?
There are more electric vehicles on the market than ever before. But, Canadian car shoppers are showing less interest in buying an E-V, citing a number of…
- The Big Story
Is Canada at risk of becoming the 51st state?
It may have been a joke at the Mar-a-Lago dinner with PM Justin Trudeau and President-elect Donald Trump, but the question is out there: is there a risk of…
- The Big Story
Is our food supply safe? Breaking down our country's latest recalls.
A recent string of food recalls from cucumbers to almond milk have a lot of Canadians wondering: are the products we buy at the grocery store as safe as they…
- The Big Story
Is our economy fluctuating because of "vibes"?
After some consumer optimism earlier this fall, new research now shows positive views on the economy are on the decline after the U.S. election. Finance…
- The Big Story
It costs HOW MUCH to raise a kid in Canada?!?
If it feels like your kids are bleeding you dry, there's evidence that it's actually true. A new story in the Walrus suggests the average amount to raise 2…
- The Big Story
What does the convoy verdict mean for our country?
It's been one week since Pat King, one of the key organizers of the convoy protest, was found guilty of 5 of the 9 charges against him. The verdict came as we…
- The Big Story
Is Canada a NATO freeloader?
Canada's NATO allies have called us out. Our defence partners, especially the United States, want Canada to increase defence spending to at least 2% of annual…
- The Big Story
Are we entering another trade war?
He's not even president yet, but Donald Trump's promises around tariffs are sending shockwaves and even some panic across the country. Are these empty threats?…
- The Big Story
Will the feds' stimulus plan actually help the economy?
The holidays are coming and times are tough. We're digging into whether the federal government's 2 month GST holiday and upcoming rebate will actually help the…
- The Big Story
Why are so many immigrants leaving Canada?
After years of increasing immigration to Canada and record population growth, the Trudeau government has reversed course. The Prime Minister now admits they…
- The Big Story
How do you get the ultimate view of Earth?
Torontonian Henry Wolfond is traveling into space today as a paying customer aboard Jeff Bezos' New Shepard rocket. He joins The Big Story with host Richard…
- The Big Story
Are we at risk of a nuclear war?
This week marked 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has updated Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine in response to Joe Biden authorizing…
- The Big Story
Will the Canada Post strike ruin the holidays?
Guest: Patrick Groom, labour lawyer with McMillan LLP We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through…
- The Big Story
Will Donald Trump come for Canada's water?
According to the former and future US President, Canada's water is like a 'very large faucet' that one could turn on, say, to help California in a drought, or…
- The Big Story
What are your parents worth? Meet the Jackpot Generation
For decades, it's been the dream that children will grow up to have more opportunities and a better life than their parents did. Not many young people see that…
- The Big Story
The hunt for millions of counterfeit toonies
We've had an update to one of our most popular episodes -- the counterfeit toonie. Enjoy! --------------------------------- They call it the "camel-toe…
- The Big Story
Winter tires are expensive. But are they worth the investment?
This episode first aired on November 14, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
The reasons clothing sucks now
Many of us have a favourite garment — a sweater we've been wearing for the last ten years, or a pair of sweatpants we throw on every night before cozying up in…
- The Big Story
Why a rape trial in France has transfixed the world
The crime is horrific. The details are as bad as you can imagine. The woman at the centre of it, though? Exhibiting incredible bravery, under the worst…
- The Big Story
What if there was a better way to fight the climate crisis?
We tend to see the challenge we face in terms of raw numbers and targets that need to be hit. The number of dead from extreme weather. The all-time highs in…
- The Big Story
These are the scams costing Canadians hundreds of millions
If the entire online ecosystem feels like it's trying to scam you these days, well, you're not alone. And you're not wrong either. The past few years have seen…
- The Big Story
What do we know about the impact of online sports gambling?
It's been three years now since single-game sports betting was legalized in Canada. And since that time, it's become available...everywhere. Especially on your…
- The Big Story
Why we’re all paying different prices online
With some already starting their holiday shopping, we bring you an episode from our vault on dynamic pricing. Enjoy! --------------------------------- You and…
- The Big Story
How to limit spending without ruining the holidays
This episode first aired on November 7, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
Inside a bitter battle to bring down butter bandits
It's been a tough news week, let's end it on a butter note. Thieves in Guelph, Ontario—but not just in Guelph, Ontario—have been stealing hundreds of pounds of…
- The Big Story
What does Donald Trump's return mean for Canada?
In the end, it wasn't even particularly close. And now Canada and the world can only prepare for what a second term of President Donald Trump might look like…
- The Big Story
Why has Canada's productivity taken a nosedive?
Over the past several years, measures of economic productivity have seen Canada tumbling. First slowly, then rapidly. Once nearly at par with the United…
- The Big Story
Will the US election also decide Ukraine's fate?
With the invasion of Ukraine nearing the 1000-day mark, there are questions about where Ukraine's defenders find themselves. Russia has been making a strong…
- The Big Story
Will Quebec sovereignty rise again?
It's been almost 30 years since a narrow vote in the 1995 referendum ended the last threat to Canadian unity. And while it's not as though there hasn't been…
- The Big Story
How Toronto lost its war with raccoons. Badly.
This week, with all of the wrappers and candy scattered around after Halloween, we're revisiting a episode from 2023 about Toronto's so-called trash bandits…
- The Big Story
Everything you need to know about switching banks
This episode first aired on October 31, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
How Taylor Swift takes over a city (and an industry)
Two weeks from today, Taylor Swift will land in Toronto for the first of six shows in the city on the Eras Tour's Canadian leg. In December she'll play three…
- The Big Story
How did a Canadian snowboarder end up allegedly running an international drug ring?
In 2002, Ryan James Wedding was a member of Team Canada at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Today, if you know where he is, the police will pay you $50,000. In the…
- The Big Story
Inside BC's incredibly close election
If anyone ever tries to tell you that your vote doesn't matter, you can tell them about this election. The final results of BC's vote took a week to…
- The Big Story
Mice, neuroscience and the debate around "curing" autism
One of the tools scientists have used in autism research has been lab mice, genetically engineered to display similar behavioural characteristics as some…
- The Big Story
How consumer rage defines Canadian politics
For our guest, it was a sandwich. For you it might be a box of cereal or a favourite candy bar. It doesn't matter what it is. What matters is that it makes you…
- The Big Story
Canada and the world get serious about UFOs
This week, in honour of Halloween, we're revisiting an episode from 2023 about a quintessentially spooky topic: UFOs. Enjoy!…
- The Big Story
Is the Canadian job market really improving?
This episode first aired on October 23, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
What's it like inside a park encampment?
You've walked past them or through them. They're in every Canadian city and town. The result of the housing crisis colliding with the opioid crisis and…
- The Big Story
Are BC's salmon farms doomed?
For years, advocates have been citing the damage open-net salmon farming does to the environment off the BC coast. And in recent years the government has…
- The Big Story
Is this latest mutiny the end for Justin Trudeau?
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Liberal MPs are voicing concerns about Justin Trudeau's ability to lead the party in the next election, saying that he…
- The Big Story
Profane rallies, podcasts and McDonald's: The US election's homestretch
With two weeks to go before America votes, it may seem that nothing at all can possibly move the polls. But what about a story about the size of a dead…
- The Big Story
Canada's bail reform debate, explained
The stories of crimes committed by people out on bail are horrific. And they hit close to home. So of course they get outsized attention. But they're also…
- The Big Story
A tragic conclusion to a mysterious disappearance
Two years ago, the host and creator of Island Crime, Laura Palmer, appeared on The Big Story to detail the case of a missing young woman named Amber Manthorne…
- The Big Story
How to choose a credit card that makes sense for you
This episode first aired on October 17, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
The flying car is here! There are…a few issues
At this point, so many facets of old science fiction have become reality, from AI to robots and gene editing technologies. But one classic sci-fi signifier of…
- The Big Story
What does the new era of hurricanes mean for Canada?
We all watched in horror as America was pummelled by two massive storms in the span of ten days, the second of which gained intensity incredibly quickly before…
- The Big Story
The pros and cons of pharmacists prescribing drugs
Millions of Canadians don't have a family doctor. Walk-ins and ERs are packed. Access to primary care can be almost impossible for many of us. In an attempt to…
- The Big Story
How a New Brunswick Policy enflamed the 'parental rights' debate in Canada
At the time it was implemented, there was nothing at all remarkable about Policy 713. It was an update to previous guidance, based on research, and very…
- The Big Story
Feedback: Rogers, Tip Creep and Convenience Store Booze
It's a long weekend, and that means it's time to go back into the bag of listener feedback and pull out some of the most thought provoking responses we've…
- The Big Story
Ghost Town Ghosts: The Avenging Skull of Saint Leonards
Saint Leonards, Newfoundland, is a community with more than its fair share of ghost stories. Headless dogs are said to wander the abandoned churchyard at…
- The Big Story
Why are Canadian insolvencies close to record highs?
This episode first aired on October 10, 2024 over at In This Economy?!, our sister show at the Frequency Podcast Network. The show helps Canadians understand…
- The Big Story
Why more Canadians will be hungry this holiday
On Sunday and Monday, many of us will celebrate Thanksgiving with family and a full table. But so, so many of us—a staggering number that keeps climbing—will…