Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
- The Big Story
Why Canada's infrastructure planning phase never ends
In 2021, then-Infrastructure minister Catherine McKenna announced a process to assess all of Canada's existing infrastructure in order to better use $180…
- The Big Story
A strange truck and an ambitious target: EVs in 2024
It's shaping up to be a very strange year for electric vehicles. The market leader by a mile has just launched a much-ridiculed truck. Despite growing market…
- The Big Story
Will Saskatchewan's fight with Ottawa end in handcuffs?
Starting this month, Saskatchewan has stopped collecting a carbon levy on home heating. This is, of course, against the carbon tax legislation passed by the…
- The Big Story
Canada's Dry: "We’re in a new game here"
Winter on the prairies is not usually a time to worry about drought, and fire. At least, it wasn't. But large swaths of the country, from BC through Ontario…
- The Big Story
Pay Back CERB...or Go Bankrupt?! In This Economy?!
Kara is being asked to pay back all the money she received from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit back in 2020. But she’s making less now than she was…
- The Big Story
Why are Canada's passenger trains so slow?
If you compare us to peer countries, it's an embarrassment. Other nations have high-speed rail corridors shuttling thousands of people across distances between…
- The Big Story
A "miraculous" landing raises systemic airline safety questions
None of the 177 passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight was seriously hurt, despite a panel blowing out of the middle of the aircraft at 16,000 feet shortly…
- The Big Story
Why tent cities are becoming more permanent
They're in every city and town in Canada—the visible evidence of overlapping crises and a lack of resources to help people in need. In the past, most…
- The Big Story
The pay-for-care loophole that hands out Ozempic prescriptions
You're not supposed to be paying to be prescribed drugs in Canada. You're also not generally supposed to get those prescriptions without being examined and…
- The Big Story
How conspiracy theories went mainstream
Conspiracy theories used to be weird, and kinda fun. Now they're everywhere, and pretty dangerous. Last year marked a significant evolution in the…
- The Big Story
Stick to a Budget?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
- The Big Story
Seeking superyachts. Signed, Sydney, Nova Scotia
Now that Sydney—a town of 30,000 people on Cape Breton Island—has put its toxic sludge behind it, it's looking for a fresh economic start. Many towns in…
- The Big Story
Why is everyone so sick this winter?
It certainly seems like this season has been worse for illness than most previous years. But has it? If it has, is it the pandemic? Is it the "triple-demic"?…
- The Big Story
From polling to populism: A 2024 Canadian political primer
For the first time in years, 2023 saw Canadian voters shift their federal vote intention in a meaningful way, giving the Conservative Party a huge lead in the…
- The Big Story
Why do food prices keep rising?
Canadian grocery giants have long claimed that they've only raised food prices to offset their increased expenses. But now, with many supply chain issues…
- The Big Story
Staff Pick: Can humans hibernate their way to Mars?
To mark the end of 2023, we're taking a look back at some of our favourite episodes from this past year. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, and…
- The Big Story
Staff Pick: The "parental rights" debate, and the fight over the notwithstanding clause
To mark the end of 2023, we're taking a look back at some of our favourite episodes from this past year. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, and…
- The Big Story
Staff Pick: Why are some orcas suddenly attacking boats?
To mark the end of 2023, we're taking a look back at some of our favourite episodes from this past year. We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane, and…
- The Big Story
Good News: We're learning how to save the coral reefs
Before we break for the holidays, The Big Story team decided to try to end our year on a positive note with a week of good news stories. We hope this week…
- The Big Story
Good News: You can fix your broken stuff
Before we break for the holidays, The Big Story team decided to try to end our year on a positive note with a week of good news stories. We hope this week…
- The Big Story
Good News: We're finally finding new antibiotics
Before we break for the holidays, The Big Story team decided to try to end our year on a positive note with a week of good news stories. We hope this week…
- The Big Story
Good News: Plovers in a dangerous time
Before we break for the holidays, The Big Story team decided to try to end our year on a positive note with a week of good news stories. We hope this week…
- The Big Story
Good News: The pandemic didn't make us meaner
Before we break for the holidays, The Big Story team decided to try to end our year on a positive note with a week of good news stories. We hope this week…
- The Big Story
Avoiding Debt?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
- The Big Story
How a Canadian prepares for a stint on the ISS
In 2025, Canadian astronaut Josh Kutryk will take to the stars for a stint on the International Space Station, the latest in a long string of examples of…
- The Big Story
The mystery of a Canadian visionary killed in Dominica
Even if you didn't know his name, you knew Daniel Langlois' work. Everyone who likes movies did. Langlois was the man who ushered Hollywood into an era of 3-D…
- The Big Story
Toronto vs. Uber, and the future of rideshares everywhere
It started as a way to earn a few extra bucks on the side—or at least that's how Uber was pitched to potential drivers when it came to Canada in 2014. But now…
- The Big Story
How to tell fact from fiction in reports from Gaza
If you've been fooled by a viral photo or video out of Gaza in the past two months, you're far from alone. In fact you're in the company of journalists and…
- The Big Story
Is climate-friendly beef even a possibility?
If you know one food that's bad for the planet, it's probably beef. It's one of the worst polluters in the entire food industry, and its popularity means the…
- The Big Story
Hosting a Party?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
The Big StoryNormal Gossip's Kelsey McKinney unwraps Spotify's strategy
Most of you probably at least glanced at it. And many of you were excited and eager to share your Spotify Wrapped details with your friends and followers…
- The Big Story
The past, present and future of birth control
"The pill" has been around for more than 60 years now. And while it changed society, sparked a sexual revolution and helped reshape the workforce ... it still…
- The Big Story
Can Alberta just refuse to follow federal regulations?
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith doesn't think the federal government's proposed clean energy regulations are fair, and last year she gave herself the tool she…
- The Big Story
Will carbon capture save the climate, or just let us keep burning fuel?
Very soon, Canada will introduce legislation to offer massive tax credits for projects that include a significant amount of carbon capture. In theory, this is…
- The Big Story
Are we witnessing the end of retirement?
The concept of retirement used to be a few years at the end of your life, between when you stopped working and when you died. But the average lifespan kept…
- The Big Story
A Social Life?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
- The Big Story
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on cutting deals with Doug Ford, fixing a broken city and putting pressure on Ottawa
When Olivia Chow was running for mayor, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said a Chow victory would be an "unmitigated disaster". Almost six months later, he was on…
- The Big Story
"Super pigs" took over the prairies. Now they're spreading further, quickly.
For years, some researchers have been sounding the alarm, about the spread of wild boars—called 'super pigs" for reasons that will become clear—on Canada's…
- The Big Story
Why are magic mushroom retail stores popping up across the country?
If you squint, it could be a trip back to 2017, when cannabis was on the cusp of becoming legal and most cities in Canada were inundated with…
- The Big Story
Why are some tenants using the 'last resort' of rent strikes?
Rent in large Canadian cities is at ridiculous highs. It's hard to find a decent apartment. and sometimes even harder to keep it. Landlords can afford to…
- The Big Story
We can genetically modify pests. But should we?
Picture it: Mosquitoes that don't spread disease. Aphids and potato beetles that stay away from our crops. Biting insects that don't bite humans. There's an…
- The Big Story
Quit My Job?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
- The Big Story
RCMP official found guilty of selling intelligence secrets
Cameron Ortis was once seen as a fast-rising RCMP intelligence official. This week, he was found guilty of offering up Canadian intelligence to people for…
- The Big Story
Is this really the end of Ontario's Beer Store monopoly?
It's one of the world's strangest alcohol sales arrangements. Since the end of prohibition, beer in Ontario has primarily—sometimes nearly exclusively—sold at…
- The Big Story
What does the government's new "anti-scab" legislation mean for the labour movement?
If you haven't noticed yet, Canada's labour movement is undergoing a bit of a resurgence. Workers are unionizing more, and those that are already unionized are…
- The Big Story
A guilty verdict, and a community can begin to heal
In June 2021, Nathaniel Veltman intentionally ran his truck into the Afzaal family, who were simply out for a walk. All but one member of the family was…
- The Big Story
Is the Canadian Dream still attainable?
Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants come to Canada, looking for a better future for themselves and their children. The federal government is aiming…
- The Big Story
Buy a Car?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
- The Big Story
Are we missing the city for the trees?
If there's been one progressive assumption about cities over the past couple of decades, it's that they need to be greener—more trees, more parks, more green…
- The Big Story
Hate crimes, campus fights and division: How the Hamas-Israel conflict is changing Canada
Shots fired at Jewish schools in Montreal. Slurs screamed as Muslims outside a mosque. Clashes of protesters on Canadian campuses and at weekend marches…
- The Big Story
How to change hockey culture from the ground up
It's not the old former players in charge of the NHL—the guys who thought banning pride jerseys and tape was a smart idea—who will determine the future of…
- The Big Story
Local news is at a tipping point. Will it survive?
Every week brings more layoffs and closures to local news outlets across the country, especially newspapers. It's a result of a business model that simply…
- The Big Story
Restaurant revenues are booming, so why are so many losing money?
Last year, Canadian restaurants took in roughly $100 billion in revenue, more than the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This year it's pegged to be $110 billion. Yet…
- The Big Story
Healthy?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…
- The Big Story
Canada's veterinarians are not OK
Everyone knows by now about health-care worker burnout. Nurses fleeing the profession. Doctors retiring early. And the absence of so many of both leaving more…
- The Big Story
Should Trudeau step down? Who would take his place?
For months now, recent polls have been terrible for the federal Liberals—and specifically so when it comes to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A recent survey…
- The Big Story
Why it's so hard to fight the airlines. And how to do it anyway.
Airline passengers in Canada have rights. They're called the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, and they determine how much you're owed if your flight is…
- The Big Story
Will BC's short-term rental crackdown really work?
Regulating short-term rentals like AirBnB to ease the housing crisis isn't a new idea. It's been tried in plenty of cities in North America and beyond. But…
- The Big Story
How one woman's fight for justice empowered a city
Jane Doe was assaulted by a police officer. That's never an easy case to win, but she wasn't without allies. Even still, her case was lost. At least, at first…
- The Big Story
Home Ownership?! In This Economy?!
The Big Story has been telling the stories that matter to Canadians for over five years, and through all of our coverage, one thing has become abundantly…