Come by Chance

CBC•www.cbc.ca

If you’ve ever been to Newfoundland, you know it’s a place where fog can envelop you so deeply, you don’t know where you’re going or where you came from. When two men, born in the same rural Newfoundland hospital on the same day, discover an unbelievable 52-year-old secret, it changes the way they see themselves forever. But this isn’t the end of the story. Because it turns out these men are not alone. A series of other close calls and near misses have begun to emerge, and not only at Come by Chance hospital. Come By Chance is a story about what it means to belong in a family — and how a twist of fate can upend the life you thought you knew.

Hosted by Luke Quinton. Seven episodes releasing Tuesday, June 4, 2024.

Last refreshed: June 30th, 2025 at 7:15 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Come by Chance Introduces | Personally: Toy Soldier

As a child, Alex Kurzem faced a choice: be killed or join the killers. In the midst of the Second World War, he was separated from his family and taken in by a group of soldiers as one of their own. He was made a member of Hitler’s army – a toy soldier with his own rifle and miniature SS uniform. But what the soldiers didn’t know and what no one would know for decades: he was a Jewish boy masquerading as a Nazi to save his life. Alex lives with this false identity for so long, he no longer remem...

Feb 24, 2025•34 min

E7: Lost and Found

How does it feel to find out you’ve lived another person’s life? Are the parents you thought you had no longer your parents? Those are the tough questions facing far too many children switched at birth — and they want accountability.

Jul 02, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 7

E6: Who Knit You?

Another mother at another rural Newfoundland hospital has suspicions that the little girl she brought home isn’t her own. Over fifty years later, an online ancestry kit connects the dots and allows a mother and daughter to reunite.

Jun 25, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 6

E5: A Close Call

It turns out this once in a lifetime mistake might not be so rare. A few months before Clarence and Craig were born at the Come By Chance hospital, a young mother named Muriel felt like the little baby boy she brought home from the hospital wasn’t her own.

Jun 18, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 5

E4: The Truth

As the Avery family mourns a devastating loss, Clarence Hynes resists their multiple appeals. But the cost of turning away becomes greater and greater for Clarence. The two families hurtle towards an inevitable truth. Note: This episode references suicide, please take care when listening.

Jun 11, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 4

E3: The Bricklayer’s Dance

At the same time people were mistaking Clarence Hynes for an Avery, others were mistaking Clifford Avery, Craig’s older brother, for Clarence. In side by side photographs, the two men with their bushy mustaches looked eerily alike. So when Clifford and Craig finally take a DNA test, the results confirm long-standing suspicions. Clifford, overwhelmed by the revelations, reaches out to Clarence. Note: This episode references suicide, please take care when listening.

Jun 04, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 3

E2: Mistaken Identity

When baby Clarence Hynes was brought home from the hospital, someone casually asked if this small dark haired baby was really a Hynes? His parents ignored it, taught to let mysteries lie. And after they died early, Clarence put his head down and focused on being a good big brother and supporting his family. So when someone mistook him for an Avery brother, he shrugged it off: “Somebody always looks like somebody, right?” But the coincidences became too insistent to ignore.

Jun 04, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 2

E1: The Birthday Party

At a worksite on Newfoundland’s coast, the staff take a break for birthday cake in honour of Craig Avery’s 52nd birthday. Coincidentally, another coworker Clarence Hynes is also turning 52 and was born in the same hospital in the same small town as Craig — Come By Chance. The serendipitous discovery starts a chain of events in motion that will ultimately change the course of their lives.

Jun 04, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Introducing Come by Chance

The island of Newfoundland keeps its secrets close, shrouds them in mystery. But sometimes the fog lifts, difficult truths emerge. When two men discover they were born in the same hospital on the same day, an unbelievable secret changes everything forever. Hosted by Luke Quinton. Seven episodes releasing Tuesday, June 4, 2024.

May 24, 2024•3 min

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