Front Burner is a daily news podcast that takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Each morning, from Monday to Friday, host Jayme Poisson talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.
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Our guest today has taken a long look at an out-of-fashion principle in higher learning – institutional neutrality. Basically it’s the importance of letting students and faculty say what they want, and not have the administration put its thumb on the scale. In that he sees a whole world of problems facing post-secondary education today, from public and political support to an ongoing court case. Simon Lewsen is a magazine journalist who teaches part-time at the University of Toronto. His new sto...
Over the weekend, Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that the airspace around Venezuela should be considered closed. Venezuela’s foreign ministry responded by calling the comments "another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people". Late last week, Trump also said that land action against alleged drug trafficking networks in the country could start very soon. All of this is happening amidst a serious military buildup in the Caribbean and escalating threats ...
In a somber speech last week Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his people that their country was on the brink of a critical choice: either lose their dignity or risk alienating a key partner, America. His speech came after Donald Trump set a deadline demanding the war-torn country accept a unilateral American peace proposal. That proposal has been internationally panned and called a Russian “wish-list”. The dire situation Zelenskyy warned of however, did not come to pass, at least n...
Sudan’s civil war is now the worst displacement crisis in the world, with more than 12 million people currently displaced from their homes. Earlier this year, the outgoing Biden administration designated the war a genocide. This war includes countless proxies fighting over billions of dollars in natural resources, access to key shipping routes along the Red Sea, and control of one of the oldest countries in the world. Longtime journalist Michelle Shephard has just arrived from a 10 day reporting...
On Thursday Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are set to announce the outlines of a plan that could set Alberta and B.C. on a collision course. It’s a potential energy deal that would give Alberta special exemptions from federal environmental laws and offer political support for a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, among other things. That is, if Alberta can get through the significant hurdles of opposition from First Nations and B.C. where Premier David Eby was comp...
After meeting on the sidelines of the G20 in South Africa, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have announced they would restart trade talks. It’s a long way from where the two countries have been for the last several years. Relations blew up in 2023 after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused agents of India’s government of being involved in the murder of a Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Then, last year, the RCMP publicly accused such agents of being i...
At a press conference last week U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi laid out fresh allegations against Ryan Wedding, a 44-year-old Canadian and former Olympian who has been on the FBI’s most wanted list since March. Wedding is already accused of orchestrating multiple murders, and these new charges add to the drug and conspiracy allegations he’s facing. We speak to Calvi Leon, a reporter at the Toronto Star who’s been covering this case extensively. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: htt...
Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — the so-called "notwithstanding clause" — allows governments, both provincial and federal, to override sweeping sections of the other rights the Charter grants. It was intended as a last resort to prevent federal and judicial overreach, leaving power with elected officials, accountable to voters. A compromise demanded by premiers like Alberta's Peter Lougheed, the constitution almost certainly wouldn't exist without it. Since enacted in ...
For decades there have been allegations that wealthy foreigners traveled into the Bosnian war, during the siege of Sarajevo, to shoot at besieged civilians for sport. That accusation is now the subject of an investigation by the public prosecutor's office in Milan, Italy. Today, we’re joined by Janine di Giovanni who covered the Bosnian war as a reporter for the Times of London, and lived through the siege of Sarajevo. She’s the author of two books on the war, and has covered 18 wars across her ...
Mark Carney’s Liberals survived a confidence vote on their first budget Monday night. It was a strange vote, with four members of the Conservatives and the NDP abstaining, as well as some voting chaos from two of the most powerful members of the Conservative Party. CBC’s senior Parliamentary writer Aaron Wherry breaks down how the vote went, what it tells us about Parliament right now, and whether the budget itself signals a new era of Liberal politics. For transcripts of Front Burner, please vi...
Over 75 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established and signed by the newly formed United Nations after the atrocities of the Second World War to create a roadmap that establishes that every single person, regardless of who they are or where they’re from, has inalienable, inherent rights that the world must protect. But if you’ve been paying attention to the news at all lately, reality couldn’t seem further from that idea. Alex Neve is an international human rights lawye...
With the absolutely massive amounts of money tied up in the AI data centre boom, it's not hard to see why people fear a bubble. That worry has come into sharper focus in recent weeks, following comments from OpenAI and some big moves on the stock market. This recent round of bubble fear isn't about the tech itself. Rather, it's a growing realization that the boom is being funded in a way that’s starting to resemble some historically devastating bubbles of the past. Paul Kedrosky is a partner at ...
It started with U.S. President Donald Trump's 'quips' about Canada becoming the 51st state. Nearly a year later, the Canada-U.S. relationship has weathered a barrage of tariffs, trade threats and taunts. CBC's Washington bureau — Paul Hunter, Katie Simpson and Willy Lowry — weigh in on the past year of Canada-U.S. relations under Trump, the current trade stalemate and whether the country that's been known as Canada's ally is even still a friend.
This week, thousands of pages of documents were released from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some suggest Donald Trump knew more about Epstein’s crimes than the President has let on –– though the White House has called it a smear job. These 23-thousand pages also tell a story that goes much further than the White House, giving insight into just how enmeshed Epstein was with global power-players and events. Murtaza Hussain, a national security and foreign affairs reporter f...
The decisions of one Conservative MP to cross the floor, and another to resign have sparked a wider conversation about whether Pierre Poilievre should remain leader of the party. Those moves also forced the Conservatives into their version of damage control, given the stories of intense pressure campaigns and disputed accounts of office screaming sessions. Two conservatives joined host Jayme Poisson with their take on how Poilievre and his supporters are managing this latest crisis. Fred DeLorey...
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau is dating the American pop star Katy Perry. He’s been spotted with her on her yacht, singing along at her concerts, and globetrotting with her hand in hand. It’s not the kind of post-political life Canadians are used to witnessing. So today, a look at the lives of Canadian Prime Ministers once they’ve left office and the post-electoral endeavors of American presidents. Are they extensions of who they were as leaders or breaks from the past? Susan Delacourt is...
Nick Fuentes and his followers - Groypers - are working to push American conservatism and the MAGA movement into even more dangerous and reactionary territory. He started to gain a following in 2017 after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. On his show, America First, Fuentes openly praises Adolf Hitler and pushes white supremacist, Christian nationalist and antisemitic ideas. Fuentes, and his ideas moved one step closer to the mainstream last week when he sat down with Tucke...
The Conservative party is reeling from a pair of resignations that happened during budget week. First, Nova Scotia MP Chris d’Entremont crossed the floor to the Liberals, citing disagreement with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s approach to politics. Two days later, Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux resigned from his position, citing the need for more time with his family. According to a senior Liberal source who spoke to the CBC, Jeneroux was in talks with Prime Minister Carney about defecting. L...
One year after Trump’s election, the U.S. looks very different than it did in 2024. PM Mark Carney has dubbed Trump “transformative”, and there’s no indication the president is shifting gears. CBC’s Washington correspondents – Paul Hunter, Katie Simpson and Louis Blouin – take stock of the last year, talking to Americans about whether they still stand by their votes, and assessing what’s ahead for Canada.
Writer George Orwell has had a major impact on the way we talk about and view the world. His book 1984 introduced us to words and phrases like “thoughtcrime,” “doublespeak” and “Big Brother,” which have become common parts of our vocabulary. Seventy five years after his death, his ideas around mass surveillance and propaganda continue to resonate in a world of Big Tech, challenges to democracy, and distrust of institutions. The new documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 by filmmaker Raoul Peck explores the o...
In a huge win for the Democrats, Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City. He ran on an explicitly leftist platform, focused on affordability and the working class — but many of his own party's top leaders have been reluctant to endorse him. Some still haven't. A rift is growing between the party's centrist establishment, keen on partisan opposition to Trump and appeasing wealthy donors, and the progressive wing of the party newly energized by Mamdani, who promises to tax the rich ...
Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal government have unveiled a budget that calls for $141-billion of new spending in the next five years to prop up an economy grappling with major economic disruptions. It also proposes $51.2-billion in cuts and savings, including the slashing of tens of thousands of public service jobs. From billions of investment in infrastructure and defence, to new details about the government’s climate and immigration targets, we’ll break it all down with Aaron Wherry...
This episode provides a deep dive into Sudan's two-and-a-half-year civil war, emphasizing the recent capture of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces and the devastating humanitarian crisis unfolding there. Sudanese political analyst Dallia Abdelmoniem describes the RSF's brutal tactics, including ethnic targeting and the weaponization of aid, while also outlining the complex origins of the conflict. The discussion highlights the significant involvement of foreign powers, particularly the UAE, and stresses the urgent need for international accountability to end the relentless violence.
On Tuesday, Canada’s Minister of Finance will announce his much anticipated budget. It’s Mark Carney’s first as Prime Minister, and comes at a time of instability and uncertainty for the country. Trade negotiations with the U.S. are on hiatus, and the pressure’s on to spark economic growth while trimming spending and making life more affordable for Canadians. Carney’s minority government also needs support from other parties for the budget to pass. And if it doesn’t, we could be looking at anoth...
Earlier this week Danielle Smith’s UCP government forced teachers back to work after a a three week strike using the notwithstanding clause. This prevents the Alberta Teachers' Association from challenging the legislation in court. In response, the Alberta Federation of Labour announced that the wheels are in motion for a possible general strike by the province's unions. Provincial affairs reporter for CBC Edmonton, Janet French, walks us through how these negotiations got to this point, what’s ...
Why has U.S. President Donald Trump suspended trade talks with Canada? Why did the U.S. ambassador to Canada level an expletive-laced tirade at Ontario's trade representative, in front of more than 200 people? Why is Trump's treasury secretary accusing the Ontario government of running a psy-op? Because of a 60-second ad, featuring clips of former president Ronald Reagan explaining why he thinks tariffs — Trump's self-professed "favourite word" — are bad economic policy. Rick Perlstein has writt...
As Donald Trump ends trade talks with Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Asia this week, meeting with leaders, and pitching Canada as a reliable partner in a moment of geopolitical realignment. On the trip, Carney has talked about Canada’s search for new reliable partners “who honour their commitments, who are there in tough times, and who engage collaboratively to fix something that isn’t working.” So, with Carney in Asia in search of new partners, where does this leave Canada? Our guest ...
Since the 1960s, Israel has been building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank — settlements deemed illegal under international law, and condemned by the Canadian government. With the settlements has also come many documented cases of violence from Israeli settlers against the Palestinians whose homes are being bulldozed to build those settlements. Now, a new investigation by CBC's the fifth estate has found that Canadian charities have been indirectly funding organ...
After an anti-tariff ad commissioned by the Ontario government ran during the World Series, U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the plug on negotiations between his office and the federal government. It comes as Stellantis and General Motors announced they were moving some production to the U.S., affecting thousands of jobs on this side of the border. So we’re talking to historian Dimitry Anastakis about the importance of the Canadian auto industry, how it became so intertwined with America and w...
This episode delves into the Toronto Blue Jays' surprising journey to the World Series, defying pre-season expectations. Host Blake Murphy discusses how team chemistry, standout performances from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and rookie Trey Savage, and the intense leadership of Max Scherzer fueled their "romantic season." They now face the powerhouse Dodgers, featuring the unparalleled talent of Shohei Ohtani, creating a thrilling and nostalgic moment for fans across Canada.
