Shows / The Big Story
The Big Story
An in-depth look at the issues, culture and personalities shaping Canada today.
Episodes
The Big StoryHow Ontario kept a man in isolation for 20+ years
Camelott Hamblett is a 43-year-old Canadian man who's spent the last 20 years in isolation at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, Ont…
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Weekend Listen: What did Carney gain with his Investment Summit?
Enjoy this special feed drop of our sister show 'In This Economy?!'. The first Canadian Investment Summit is in the books – attended by some of the biggest…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: 'O Canada' performed at Buffalo Bills' home opener despite recent trade tensions with the U.S.
PLUS: A global airline industry group says it has some major concerns about Prime Minister Carney's plan to open up operations of Canada's four largest…
The Big StoryIs Canada's future European?
Prime Minister Mark Carney has made history in Europe. On September 16th, he became the first foreign world leader to ever attend the State of the European…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Carney addresses EU Parliament as the push continues to get Canada to become its first associate member
PLUS: 9-1-1 service across the country appears to be getting back to normal after intermittent outages were reported. A sentencing hearing will be held today…
The Big StoryDoes Canada need private airports?
Ottawa has confirmed plans to open up Canada’s four largest airports to private investment. It comes after Prime Minister Carney hosted some of the world's…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada could become the European Union's first associate member and home sales dipped in August
PLUS: Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered closing remarks at Canada's first-ever national investment summit - Premier Danielle Smith's office is…
The Big StoryWhy the US still needs Canadian lumber
Among the steel, aluminum, and auto sectors, Canada's softwood lumber industry has also fallen victim to US tariffs. But levies on Canadian lumber are nothing…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Day 2 of Canada's investment summit as another round of American tariffs hit
Plus: The New Democrats have taken a long-term Conservative stronghold with a byelection win in the Calgary-Shaw riding, the European Parliament is opening an…
The Big StoryWhy Germany’s AfD victory matters beyond Europe
The eastern Germany state of Saxony-Anhalt has elected far-right populist party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) in last week's election. The party was three…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada's inflation rate holds steady and Carney hosts major international investors in Toronto
Plus: The Canada investment summit is underway, new poll finds federal Liberals lead over Conservatives, Google is bringing age assurance tech to Canada…
The Big StoryWhy now? Canada's new sanctions on West Bank settlers
Canada recently joined the UK and France in sanctioning all settler trade with the West Bank. In a joint-statement written by the three Prime Minister's…
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Weekend Listen: How will Canada survive the trade war?
Enjoy this special feed drop of our sister show "In This Economy?!" The trade dispute with the US rages on, our closest ally and for many decades, our closest…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada and the U.S. mourn 9/11 on the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks
Plus: Commemoration ceremonies in the U.S. and Canada, Trump and Carney are talking, the Houthis capture a strategic island, and what happened to our attention…
The Big StoryWhat happened to our attention spans?
Are you constantly checking your phone? Do you find it harder to concentrate for long periods of time? Or plan ahead? Us too. Executive function is the ability…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Carney convenes his cabinet in Alberta and Trump vows American adults $5,000 if his party wins midterms
Plus: Ukraine's President is in Canada, Trump's pledge ahead of the midterms, August broke heat records, TIFF begins, and the age of technological imperialism…
The Big StoryThe age of technological imperialism
Canadians have been keeping their elbows up for well over a year, but after logging on to Google Maps or Apple Maps and seeing 'Lake America' while in Canada…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Trump signs new executive order banning Canadian products
Plus: A preview to fall, new iPhone unveiling, the most searched slang words, and Canada's digital defences are lagging. Now what? We love feedback at The Big…
The Big StoryCanada's digital defences are lagging. Now what?
Earlier this year, Ottawa announced a commitment towards ensuring digital sovereignty, but what exactly does that look like? More data centres? AI within more…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada's counter-tariffs against the U.S. are now in effect as Carney addresses the nation
Plus: A new report on threats facing Canadian children, a Canadian tourist rescued in Australia, Hawaii is under a state of emergency, and how economic…
The Big StoryHow economic hardship increases gender-based violence
Numerous studies point to how times of economic hardship can lead to increased domestic violence, financial abuse, and gender-based violence. The COVID-19…
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Weekend Listen: The US energy trade battle: Canada vs. Venezuela
Enjoy this special feed drop from our sister show 'In This Economy?!' US President Trump is touting what he calls the biggest energy deal ever: a plan to gain…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Montreal college resumes classes after some uncertainty over its funding and Canada’s job market takes a turn for the worse
Plus: A Nova Scotia cabinet minister resigns over decade-old rap lyrics, Quebec puts out nearly a million vaccine-laced raccoon baits to fight a rabies…
The Big StoryWhat comes next for the Lindsay Clancy trial?
This episode contains discussion about suicide, death and the killing of children. Please take care. The fate of a 36 year-old, former nurse from Massachusetts…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada's set to unveil a new $20 bill featuring the King and an Alberta Sheriffs officer won't be charged over AI-generated sexual images of women
Plus: the Carney government is making a landmark investment in manufacturing today, the NBA hands down severe punishments to the Clippers in the Kawhi Leonard…
The Big StoryHow Trump is dominating Quebec's election campaign
While many of us have been turning our eyes to Canada's west, or south of the border, Quebec began a high stakes provincial election last week. At a time where…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Carney scolds American officials for not taking Canada seriously and the RCMP are investigating B.C.'s Conservatives
Plus: Quebec switches its paper ballots to French only for upcoming elections, a man is arrested on charges of causing around $100,000 in damage to Edmonton…
The Big StoryThe unraveling of the BC Conservatives
Things are not going well for the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Following Kerry-Lynne Findlay's win as leader earlier this summer after the ousting…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Carney's Liberals sweep a trio of byelections and Marineland ships out its last whales
Plus: The CBC is barred from attending the Republican Party’s midterm convention, international school trips across Canada are cancelled or tweaked amid a…
The Big StoryWhat should we know about Mitch McConnell's whereabouts?
US Senator Mitch McConnell hasn't been seen by the public in some 12 weeks. His last in-person sighting was in Washington, D.C. on June 11, before posting a…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canadian websites confused over Trump's new name for Lake Ontario and three federal byelections
Plus: Oil prices surge after the U.S. and Iran trade strikes, voters head to the polls in three federal by-elections, Nepalese cultural festivals are cancelled…
The Big StoryWhat the Lake Ontario fight reveals about water and sovereignty
In US President Trump's latest attempt at dominating Canada, an executive order was signed last week renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America'. Whether the new…
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Weekend Listen: Can small businesses survive another tariff hit?
Enjoy this special feed drop of our sister show "In This Economy?!" Canadian small businesses are a big part of the economy. And like the rest of us, they're…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Trump signs order to rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' while political leaders on both sides of the border push back
Plus: B.C. lifts its province-wide state of emergency as local states of emergency remain, the first results are in for a program designed to bring professors…
The Big StoryThe giant Russian cargo plane trapped in Canada
If you've driven by Toronto Pearson Airport at all in the past four years, you may have noticed the massive cargo jet with a big Russian flag on it just…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Flash floods in Nepal leave hundreds dead and more than 1,300 missing
Plus: The U.S. claims Canada was the one who introduced last-minute demands before trade talks fell apart, campaign season gets underway ahead of elections in…
The Big StoryWhy do more Canadians want to own guns?
Canadians have largely touted that one of our most distinctive attributes from the US is our gun culture, and while that's mostly true, the number of Canadian…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: The world mourns Dolly Parton and Canada details its counter-tariffs strategy for the U.S.
Plus: Alberta’s premier voices concerns about the federal government’s tariff strategy, New Brunswick’s leader shuts down the idea of cutting off power to…
The Big StoryWhat the Canada-US trade war will cost you
When announcing Canada's withdrawal from US trade talks, Prime Minister Mark Carney admitted that both Canadians and Americans will feel the hurt in their…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada details retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. and Trump considers renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America"
Plus: A man accused of stabbing two worshippers at a Sikh temple with a screwdriver was released from prison just a day earlier, a multibillion-dollar fleet of…
The Big StoryCould Ukraine hold a wartime election?
Ukraine's recently ousted Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedoro, called on President Zelenskyy to call for a wartime election. Following more than 4 years at war…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada-U.S. trade war barreling towards even newer tariffs after failed negotiations
Plus: Lightning storms disrupt flights and spark fires in B.C., a gathering in Saskatchewan marks the 150th anniversary of Treaty 6, WestJet flight attendants…
The Big StoryInside Mark Carney's act of defiance
Entering an economic war isn't your typical Friday night activity. But according to PM Mark Carney, it was necessary after the last 18 months of US President…
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Weekend Listen: America's $40 Trillion Debt Problem
Enjoy this special feed drop of our sister show "In This Economy?!" The U.S. government has reached a staggering milestone: $40 trillion in debt. As deficits…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canada's top trade negotiators continue to finalize deal to avoid new Trump deadline and the U.S. Vice President's "hot mic" moment
Plus: The Alberta government faces jeers and expletives at town halls over a planned Meta data centre, the Boston Marathon says it will count qualifying times…
The Big StoryThe case for more third places
What's your go-to place to unwind? It could be a local tavern, a neighbourhood coffee shop, even a park where the kids can runaround. In the…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Carney asks premiers to put American alcohol back on shelves and B.C. businesses struggle to recover from wildfires
Plus: A Calgary police officer will be tried for murder after two suspects in a slow-speed chase were shot and killed, a survey finds almost a fifth of Quebec…
The Big StoryWhat makes the new Churchill Falls deal so historic?
Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec announced a historic energy deal with help from Ottawa to replace a detested 1969 deal and a confusing 2024 MOU. The new…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Trump hits pause on new tariffs for Canada for three days and calls grow to remove the U.S. ambassador to Canada
Plus: A petition calls for the U.S. ambassador to Canada to be removed, Canadians seeking treatment for rare diseases face challenges, the summer wildfire…
The Big StoryCanadians want Hoekstra out. Can they make it happen?
A petition with more than 230,000 signatures continues to make its way across Canada in hopes of ousting the US Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: America's new tariff deadline approaches for Canada and Tumbler Ridge Secondary School is being demolished
Plus: the Quebec election frontrunner shelves a sovereignty referendum until after the Trump presidency is over, the NBA spars with ESPN over its reporting on…
The Big StoryWhat led to the largest Catholic schism in 156 years?
There has been a schism in the Catholic church. In early July, Pope Leo excommunicated an ultra-conservative sect known as the Society of St. Pius X, after…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Canadian trade reps continue talks with Washington as new tariffs go into effect this week
Plus: Statistics Canada says the annual rate of inflation accelerated to three per cent in July, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to make an announcement…
The Big StoryHow do we stop antisemitism on university campuses?
A new report commissioned by the federal government says antisemitism is a systemic problem on university and college campuses, adding post-secondary…
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Weekend Listen: Keeping a steady ship in turbulent markets
Enjoy this special feed drop from our sister show "In This Economy?!" 2026 has certainly been a "headline driven" year for the markets. Whether it's A.I., war…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Iconic Canadian sports broadcaster passes away and select international students under review for protests in Calgary
Plus: Farage secures victory over Binface, some students protesting work permit denials face scrutiny over their current status in Canada, officials in B.C…
The Big StoryIs it time to end the U.S. "booze bans"?
Since almost the very beginning of the trade war, alcohol from the United States has been banned from most Canadian shelves. It was done as a way of putting…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Farage vs. Binface: Voters in Clacton head to the polls
Plus: Canada and the U.S. continue to negotiate with new tariffs looming, the U.S. ambassador to Canada responds to a petition calling to kick him out of the…
The Big StoryWhat's behind 70,000 migrants flooding into a Spanish town?
On the northeastern tip of Morocco, just south of Gibraltar, the Spanish city Ceuta was recently overwhelmed by Moroccan migrants. At the end of last month…
The Big StoryBig Headlines: Rescuers in Colombia racing against the clock to save survivors from quake that rocked multiple cities
Plus: Canada's top trade negotiator has a warning ahead of new impending tariffs, thousands of Canadians want Trump's trade rep to Canada removed from Ottawa…