Front Burner

CBC•www.cbc.ca

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. We’re Canada’s number one news podcast and a trusted source of Canadian news.

We cover Canadian news and Canadian politics, Pierre Poilievre, Mark Carney, the Donald Trump administration, the upcoming 2025 Canadian election, provincial politics from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and politicians Danielle Smith, David Eby and Doug Ford. We cover Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary as well as other municipalities across Canada.

In this Canadian election year, Front Burner will be focusing more on Canadian politics. We will take a close look at Mark Carney’s first few weeks as Prime Minister-Designate, the Conservatives and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre as well as other leaders like Jagmeet Singh from the NDP and Quebec’s Yves-François Blanchet from the Bloc Québécois during the 2025 Canadian federal election. The podcast goes beyond Ottawa and digs deeper into major election issues like U.S.-Canada relations, jobs, the economy, immigration, cost of living, housing and rental costs, taxes and tariffs, democracy and technology.

The Front Burner daily podcast covers Canadian news from every province and territory: Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. We cover news from major cities like Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

When U.S. President Donald Trump declares he wants to make Canada the 51st state, and decides to implement tariffs, Front Burner has an analysis into what is happening. We cover Elon Musk’s DOGE. We cover the latest in technology from the rise of bitcoin and crypto, the future of TikTok, Meta, artificial intelligence, influencers, and more.

Look to our archives to see fact-checked stories about infrastructure, fascism, border security, immigration, Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau, the Republican Party, American politics, Canadian politics, India, China, Trump’s tariffs, Mark Carney, Elon Musk, Toronto, technology, artificial intelligence, international students, healthcare, and inflation. We cover global news like the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the ceasefire, the Ukraine-Russia war, and the U.S. economy and U.S. politics.

Front Burner is a part of your morning news routine. Whether you’re in Toronto or Vancouver or Washington, this is the news that matters to Canadians. We take a look at the economy and break it down from the budget to interest rate hikes to inflation to recessions to jobs to the cost of living. We look at the policy around housing, Canadian housing supply, and what this means for first-time home buyers, renters, and those with a mortgage. We look at technology, from AI to the manosphere to social media like Meta, Twitter, Facebook, and more. We look at influential newsmakers like Elon Musk and influential technology industries like crypto and AI.

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Episodes

The debate around involuntary care in B.C.

B.C Premier David Eby says that, if re-elected, he would expand involuntary care for those with severe addiction and mental health issues.  The announcement came just a few weeks after a couple of unprovoked, violent attacks in downtown Vancouver where one man died, and another was severely injured. Many Vancouverites were shaken by what happened, and Premier Eby cited the attacks when he spoke about the need for more involuntary care in the province. But many public health experts and...

Sep 24, 2024•24 min

Rogers’ MLSE deal and its evergrowing power

Last week, telecomms giant Rogers Communications became a majority owner of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, putting them at the helm of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors. The historic deal ensures a huge chunk of Canada’s sports star power is now all in Rogers’ hands. It’s the latest in a series of major acquisitions after a dramatic family struggle left Edward Rogers at the the helm of the company his father founded. Today, Christine Dobby with Bloomberg Canada talks to gues...

Sep 23, 2024•24 min

Weekend Listen: World Report

Wake up to what's going on in Canada and the world. Each morning, World Report will give you a 10-minute dose of the biggest news stories happening now. Our CBC News colleagues will tell you about the political actors trying to make change, the movements catching fire, and the cultural moments going viral. Start your day with the very latest. More episodes are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/nN5xp_ZK  ...

Sep 21, 2024•11 min

Israel’s historic, deadly cyber attack in Lebanon

This week in Lebanon, a series of attacks targeted personal communications devices — like pagers and walkie talkies — belonging to members of the political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah. At least 37 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Among the dead are at least two children. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, referred to the attack as an ‘act of war’ and a ‘major terrorist operation.’ Israeli officials have said the countr...

Sep 20, 2024•26 min

The empire behind Diddy's sex trafficking and racketeering charges

In November of 2023, R&B singer Cassie sent shockwaves through the hip hop world when she filed a lawsuit against her former boyfriend, producer and mega-mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. She accused him of years of abuse and sexual violence, and since then a further nine lawsuits have been filed along similar lines. This week, Diddy was arrested in New York City on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, the latter charge carries a potential life sentence. In the indictment, prosecutors accuse...

Sep 19, 2024•21 min

Is it the beginning of the end for Canada’s carbon tax?

Not long ago it seemed like the carbon tax was a fait accompli in Canada. Two elections were fought where this was a major issue, and the Liberals came out on top in both of them. But now, things are suddenly looking very different. It’s not just Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives hammering the Liberals about “axing the tax,” a growing number of Canadians have negative views of it too. And last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — who has previously voted with the Liberals on their carbon pricin...

Sep 18, 2024•27 min

Who is Trump's second alleged would-be assassin?

Former U.S. president Donald Trump was golfing on his course in Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday afternoon when the Secret Service say they spotted the barrel of a gun in the bushes. It was what they believe to be the second potential attempt at assassinating Trump in just two months. The suspect, arrested after a brief pursuit, was Ryan Welsey Routh: a 58-year-old from North Carolina who's been interviewed in the past about trying to recruit Afghan fighters to join the war effort in Ukraine. Marin Coga...

Sep 17, 2024•20 min

‘Russians at War’ director talks critics and backlash

The inclusion of ‘Russians at War’ in this year’s Toronto International Film Festival has been met with a firestorm of controversy and backlash, including criticism from the Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The first person documentary follows Russian Canadian filmmaker, Anastasia Trofimova, as she embeds herself with a group of Russian soldiers fighting on the front lines of the war in Ukraine as they grow increasingly disillusioned with the battle.   But after Freeland and other U...

Sep 16, 2024•28 min

Weekend Listen: Peter Nygard’s son on why he’s a fierce defender of his father's accusers

More than 80 women from around the world have accused the fast-fashion mogul Peter Nygard of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking in incidents across four decades and at least four countries.  He has been charged for sex crimes in three Canadian provinces and the state of New York. He denies it all, and has claimed his accusers are lying as part of a vast conspiracy. In his words, the acts he is accused of are things he “would never do.”  In November 2023, Nygard was found guilt...

Sep 14, 2024•54 min

Who are the AP3 militia?

During the presidential debate this week, Donald Trump once again talked about how he didn’t lose the 2020 election. It’s a false claim that many Americans believe. And some of those believers are getting ready to fight following what they think could be another stolen election in November. ProPublica’s Joshua Kaplan has been reporting on the American Patriots Three Percent, or AP3, and one of the largest active militia groups in the U.S. Despite a wider crackdown on paramilitary groups after Ja...

Sep 13, 2024•25 min

Is Mark Carney waiting in the Liberal wings?

This week, the Trudeau government announced they’ve brought in a new “special advisor” on economic growth: famed former central banker Mark Carney. The appointment has kicked the rumour mill into gear, because Carney’s name has often been floated as a potential successor to Justin Trudeau, if the beleaguered Liberal leader ever steps down. Whether or not there’s any grounding to that speculation, plenty of questions remain: will Carney’s appointment help or hurt the Liberals? And, as the party c...

Sep 12, 2024•22 min

Harris comes out swinging in a crucial presidential debate

Before tonight, U.S. presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris had never met in real life. But they took the stage in Philadelphia, Penn., last night for their first — and possibly only — televised debate of the campaign. Keith Boag, a former longtime Washington correspondent for CBC News, breaks down the biggest moments of the debate and what it could mean for the candidates' campaigns going forward. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit:  https://www.cbc.ca/radio/fron...

Sep 11, 2024•26 min

The newcomers struggling with immigration policy whiplash

A group of former international students with soon-to-be expired work permits in Brampton, Ontario are protesting a series of measures by the Canadian government meant to curb the number of temporary residents entering and staying in the country. We hear their stories and also from Syed Hussan, executive director of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, talks about how growing anti-immigrant sentiment could be fuelling the government's actions and why linking migrants and international students t...

Sep 10, 2024•29 min

U.S. accuses Canadians in alleged Russian propaganda scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Tenet Media of being financed and influenced by a state-backed Russian news network. Two Russian employees of RT – the state broadcaster – are alleged of spending $10-million to secretly pay the company to spread pro-Russia propaganda. According to the indictment, the company never made it clear to its crew of commentators, some of whom are Canadian, about its ties to RT and the Russian government.  Freelance reporter Justin Ling is here to explain...

Sep 09, 2024•27 min

What do Israelis think about the war?

 Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the street in Israel, demanding a return of all remaining hostages in the custody of Hamas. The demonstrations are the largest seen in the country since the start of the Israel-Gaza war.  We take a closer look at the changing nature of public opinion currently driving these protests in Israel, and why calls for a ceasefire are complicated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu's war aims.  Our guest Dahlia Scheindlin is a...

Sep 06, 2024•31 min

Why did the NDP dump the Liberals?

Since 2022, Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats have backed Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government with a confidence and supply agreement where the NDP would support the Liberals on confidence votes in exchange for the Liberals passing some of the NDP's policy priorities, like dental care and paid sick leave. That deal came to an end on Wednesday with an announcement from Singh, leaving the Liberals in a much more vulnerable position and opening up the possibility of an election as soon as this ...

Sep 05, 2024•21 min

Danielle Smith vs. Alberta’s health care 'monopoly'

As part of Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to dismantle the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services, the first of four new replacement agencies began operating this week. Last month, Smith also talked about transferring some hospitals away from AHS to third-party health services. And with a government grant, a private company is developing a business case for a health services “campus” in Airdrie. So why does Smith want to divide up the health care system when other provinces are stru...

Sep 04, 2024•23 min

Why rivals turned allies and scrambled B.C. politics

The B.C. United Party has suspended its election campaign and encouraged supporters to join forces with the Conservative Party of B.C., with the aim of bringing together the right-of-centre vote ahead of next month's provincial election. This is a dramatic turn of events given that the two parties' leaders – Kevin Falcon of B.C. United, and John Rustad of the B.C. Conservative Party – were bitter rivals. Rob Shaw covers B.C. politics for CHEK news and Glacier Media. He explains the dramatic reve...

Sep 03, 2024•25 min

Come by Chance: What if you were living someone else’s life?

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 Ch...

Sep 02, 2024•30 min

Don't look back in anger: Oasis reunite

It's hard to overstate just how big a global phenomenon Oasis were at their peak in the mid '90s, but it wasn't just the music that made them compelling — it was the rock star antics and dramatic love-hate relationship between Liam and Noel Gallagher, the brothers who fronted the band and wrote the songs, respectively. After years of mini-breakups and potshots at each other in the press (and fistfights in real life), they disbanded seemingly for good in 2009. But now, after 15 years, they've ann...

Aug 30, 2024•31 min

Billionaire Telegram CEO charged in criminal investigation

On Wednesday, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was charged in France with a wide range of crimes related to illicit activity on the app. His detainment is part of an ongoing investigation by French authorities into the social media app.  Telegram, with its more than 900 million users, often offers a window into what’s happening on the ground in countries where state censorship is rampant. At the same time, it can be a haven for hate speech and criminality because of the app’s encryption and lac...

Aug 29, 2024•28 min

Abuse accusations at ‘military-style’ Ontario school

Robert Land Academy is a “military-style” school in Wellandport, Ontario. Since it opened in the 1970s, it’s used military-like structure and uniforms in a bid to mould struggling boys into confident, capable citizens. But last week, The Walrus contributing writer Rachel Browne published a piece with former students' allegations that they experienced violence, sexual abuse and racism at the school. The school maintains it has a zero-tolerance policy regarding corporal punishment. Today, Browne d...

Aug 28, 2024•29 min

Will the Liberals’ cabinet retreat put them in fighting form?

Liberal ministers are hunkered down in Halifax right now for their annual end-of-summer cabinet retreat. It’s a chance for the party to get together and set the agenda ahead of the fall session of parliament. But this year, a shadow hangs over the retreat, as the party contends with dismal polling numbers, calls for leader Justin Trudeau to step down, and the looming reality of a general election that’s at best a year away. Today, JP Tasker, a senior reporter with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau,...

Aug 27, 2024•23 min

Canada’s public transit ‘death spiral’

Earlier this month, Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe warned the provincial and federal governments that his city was facing a public transit funding crisis. He says that at this rate, the city won’t have enough money to run the light rail lines currently under construction. From Metro Vancouver to Toronto, we’re seeing similar issues in major cities across Canada. These cities are dealing with what planning experts call a “transit death spiral”. When ridership drops, they can’t keep up with the costs...

Aug 26, 2024•23 min

Kamala Harris ignites Democrats at the DNC

Just one month ago, the Democrats were a deeply divided party, caught in a tailspin after President Joe Biden's disastrous performance in the first presidential debate. But in the wake of him dropping out and endorsing his vice president Kamala Harris, the party has found new optimism about its chances in the next election. All that excitement came to a head in Chicago this week at the Democratic National Convention. But excitement aside – is this still an uphill battle for the Democrats? And wh...

Aug 23, 2024•31 min

Drugs, abortion, taxes: Where Canadians stand on divisive issues

In politics, a “third rail” is an issue that’s so volatile, so dangerous, that politicians are afraid to touch it.  The firm Abacus Data has just come out with a new poll that looks at the “third rails” of Canadian politics — the issues that would make people vote for or against a political party who promised that idea. And some of their findings — and the way they cut across the political spectrum — are actually pretty surprising. David Coletto, the founder, chair and CEO of Abacus Data, b...

Aug 22, 2024•25 min

New Canadian ‘centrist’ party accuses rivals of extremism

 A new federal political party, the Canadian Future Party, is pitching itself as a centrist alternative for voters disillusioned with the Conservatives and Liberals. It’s already announced candidates for two upcoming byelections. Front Burner host Jayme Poisson spoke with the party’s interim leader, Dominic Cardy, about why he believes voters are so dissatisfied with the major parties, how he says there’s a “drive towards more and more extremism” among the Liberals and Conservatives, and wh...

Aug 21, 2024•39 min

Inside a CIA agent's mission to infiltrate Al-Qaeda

After the events of Sept. 11, sweeping changes were made to U.S intelligence and counterrorism practices as part of the American-led 'war on terror'. Agencies like the CIA started focusing less on traditional forms of espionage, and became more of an organization centred on assassination and hunting non-state actors. As part of that broader effort, a plan was born: what if the CIA were able to conscript a white American man to infiltrate the inner workings of Al-Qaeda?  Journalist Zach Dorf...

Aug 20, 2024•27 min

Will Ukraine's attack inside Russia pay off?

Two and half years after Russia first invaded, Ukraine has launched what might be its boldest counterattack yet: a push into the Kursk region. It's the first military incursion across Russian borders since the Second World War, drawing Russian troops away from key battle zones in eastern Ukraine. Tim Mak, a Kyiv-based journalist who publishes the newsletter The Counteroffensive, explains why Ukraine is betting big on such a risky strategy, and whether it could change the course of this protracte...

Aug 19, 2024•25 min

Cracks in Canada’s temporary foreign worker program

Over the last two weeks, Liberal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has said he's considering tightening Canada's temporary foreign worker program. This is amid criticism of its growing use and the conditions facing those who are in it. Since the Liberals first loosened the rules in response to the pandemic in 2021, the program has played a bigger part in our labour market, including with staff at large food and retail chains. Some Canadians believe that that’s suppressing wages and taking a...

Aug 16, 2024•24 min

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