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

Is flying getting more dangerous?

On Monday, shortly after two in the afternoon, a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis was cleared to land at Toronto Pearson International Airport.  As the plane touched down, its right wing hit the ground, sparking flames. Passengers on the flight described a scene of metal scraping against cement as the wing was ripped off and the aircraft rolled, flipping onto its back and skidding before coming to a stop in a cloud of smoke and fire.    This is just the latest in a str...

Feb 21, 2025•26 min

Is Trump coming for Canada’s critical minerals?

It can be hard to truly understand the motivations behind Donald Trump and his administration. But when looking at some of the countries that have found themselves in his crosshairs, there’s a throughline that binds them. Canada, Greenland and Ukraine are all rich in critical mineral resources. These metals are used in everything from cell phones to EV batteries to fighter jets. As the global race to shore up critical minerals and challenge China’s dominance heats up, could that be one of the fa...

Feb 20, 2025•24 min

Has Trump killed the U.S.-Europe alliance?

Over just a few days, senior Trump officials declared that Ukraine should prepare to cede territory to Russia and that Europe is not likely to have a seat at the table during negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. They then closed the week with a history-making address by U.S. Vice President JD Vance at this year’s Munich Security Conference in which he appeared to threaten the future of the US-Europe partnership wholesale.  Richard Walker is DW’s Chief International Editor, an...

Feb 19, 2025•32 min

What if the U.S. invaded Canada?

U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he’s serious about wanting Canada to become the 51st state, with his deputy chief of staff saying Trump has made no concessions on the topic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that threat is “a real thing”. Trump says he’d use economic force to drag Canada under America’s boot. But he’s been less delicate about other places, saying he could use military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal. Howard Coombs is director of the Queen’s Ce...

Feb 18, 2025•27 min

How Trump is forcing the Conservatives to pivot

Tensions over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on Canadian goods have forced a hard reset on just about every aspect of Canada-U.S. relations. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded to that on Saturday at his party’s “Canada First” rally, where he hoped to define himself and his campaign given this new political reality. Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with the CBC’s parliamentary bureau. David Coletto is CEO and founder of Abacus Data. They joined host Jayme Poisson to talk ...

Feb 17, 2025•26 min

Bird flu is spreading faster. Should we worry?

Last week, Parks Canada confirmed a dead goose in a Scarborough park tested positive for bird flu, raising concerns that with more birds flying north for spring, the virus will spread.  Canada saw its first and only domestically-acquired human case in November, but in the U.S., at least 68 people have been reported infected in the last year, according to CDC data. One person has died from the illness.  The poultry industries on both sides of the border have been grappling with the viru...

Feb 14, 2025•24 min

Canadian Tech’s rightward drift

Following years of disillusionment with the federal Liberal party, some of Canada’s most high profile tech CEOs are leading a movement to bring their industry in line with the Conservative Party of Canada.  According to new reporting, a collection of Canada’s tech CEOs have been discussing plans to influence Canada’s future in a WhatsApp group called ‘Build Canada’. Canada’s tech sector was once closely bound to the Liberals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but many feel slighted by a gov...

Feb 13, 2025•28 min

Buy Canadian, bye-bye America?

Even with the tariffs on U.S. goods mostly on pause for the rest of the month, many are still doing what they can to “Buy Canadian” and switch their buying habits away from anything American-made. But how do you actually go about doing that? And should it extend into our digital and media habits too? Vass Bednar, executive director of McMaster University's Master of Public Policy and Digital Society program and author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians, joins us to ...

Feb 12, 2025•21 min

Reality-checking the tariff fentanyl crackdown

 Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau promised U.S. President Donald Trump a crackdown on fentanyl and tougher border measures in exchange for a pause on tariffs.  But what could that fentanyl crackdown actually look like — and will it make things better, or worse? And as the cultural and political backlash against harm reduction increases in Canada, how could this factor into an upcoming election? Today, we’re joined by Manisha Krishnan, an Emmy award-winning journalist covering North Am...

Feb 11, 2025•22 min

Canada-U.S. tension, a history

In the latest whiplash from the White House, U.S. President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he would announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported to the U.S. – including from Canada – on Monday. This, of course, comes a week after he decided to give Canada a 30-day reprieve from blanket and crippling tariffs on all exports to the U.S. This is an incredibly tense and chilling time for two countries that have been allies and trade partners for a long time. But the current fe...

Feb 10, 2025•31 min

Sports betting: Golden age, or epidemic?

The Super Bowl is North America's biggest sports event, and sports betting's biggest weekend. U.S. legal sportsbooks are expected to generate over a billion dollars in bets as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs.  Sports betting has exploded in the seven years since it was effectively legalized. Now, the industry has taken over, inundating fans with advertisements and partnering with star athletes, sports media companies and the leagues themselves. On today's show, we spe...

Feb 07, 2025•28 min

Elon Musk's assault on government

Elon Musk, head of the so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ has gained access to the U.S. government’s federal payment system — the system responsible for the flow of over $6-trillion in payments to American families and businesses each year.  This is a level of access into government apparatus that is unprecedented for a private citizen. Musk has used this power to declare war on, and interfere with, state agencies and organizations across the federal government. This inclu...

Feb 06, 2025•26 min

Is Canada ready for the next tariff fight?

Many Canadians breathed a sigh of relief on Monday, after Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump agreed to pause tariffs for at least 30 days. But how permanent is this solution? And with the clock ticking on the Liberal leadership race, a prorogued parliament, and a looming federal election, will Canada’s domestic political chaos hamper our ability to respond if the fragile tariff peace doesn’t hold? Today Rosemary Barton, CBC’s Chief Political Correspondent, joins us to break down the government’s re...

Feb 05, 2025•30 min

What is Trump's tariff endgame?

On Monday, after a long phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump put a pause on the tariffs that were supposed to come into effect the next day. The tariffs, 25 per cent on Canadian goods, and 10 per cent on Canadian energy products, have been delayed for at least 30 days. In return, Canada is implementing a billion dollar border plan, including 10,000 frontline personnel, and committing to appointing a fentanyl czar. Despite the reprieve, Trump has said little ...

Feb 04, 2025•29 min

The Trump tariff trade war and you

On Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government would hit back against the U.S. after President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada. Starting Tuesday, the U.S. is imposing 25 per cent tariffs on most Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy products in particular. In response, Trudeau said that the federal government would levy retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods. CBC senior business reporter Peter Armstrong on the con...

Feb 03, 2025•24 min

Weekend Listen: The twisted true story of a man who couldn’t stop lying

A body is pulled from the ocean, and a race against time to capture one of the world's most wanted criminals begins. Uncover: Sea of LIes is the story of a con man who couldn't stop lying. A tale of murder, stolen identities, fine art, a diaper bag stuffed with gold bars, and a crime solved by a Rolex watch. From rural Canada to coastal England, he lied and deceived at every turn. Award-winning podcaster Sam Mullins (Chameleon: Dr. Dante & Wild Boys) takes you inside the world of a devious s...

Feb 01, 2025•49 min

The harrowing return to northern Gaza

It’s been nearly two weeks since a ceasefire brought more than 15 months of violence in Gaza to an end, and now, hundreds of thousands of Gazans are returning to the north, or what’s left of it. Abubaker Abed, a Palestinian freelance journalist, joins us to share what he has witnessed since becoming thrust into this role of war correspondent, how Palestinians are feeling about this fragile peace, and what comes next. Warning: this episode describes upsetting accounts of war and despair. Please t...

Jan 31, 2025•28 min

DeepSeek and China’s AI power move

A small Chinese tech company called Deepseek has upended the world of AI.  Deepseek recently released a large language model that rivals ChatGP called R1 and it shot almost immediately to #1 on the app charts.  The interesting thing about it is that the company built their model really cheap and that has called into question this narrative that you need an endless supply of chips and data centres and money to develop AI. On today’s show we’re speaking to WIRED’s senior tech writer Zeyi...

Jan 30, 2025•24 min

The end of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?

On his first night back in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump signed a series of sweeping executive orders that effectively dismantle federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and revoke a landmark Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule.   This comes as major American companies, from McDonald’s to Walmart to Meta, have been rolling back their own diversity policies, which have recently faced growing legal and cultural backlash. Does this spell the end of DEI? And what cou...

Jan 29, 2025•25 min

Liberal leadership hopeful Karina Gould

Liberal leadership candidate Karina Gould was elected as the member of Parliament for Burlington in 2015 at the age of 28, but it didn't take long before she ended up in cabinet. In fact she was the youngest ever woman named to cabinet and the first ever active minister to take maternity leave. Gould has played a number of roles for the Liberal's during their decade in government… including Minister of Democratic Institutions, Minister for International Development, followed by Minister of Famil...

Jan 28, 2025•28 min

Politics! Carney pulls ahead, Ford to trigger election

The Liberal leadership race really got underway this week. Mark Carney wracked up endorsements from current cabinet ministers, while Chrystia Freeland pitched herself as running against the "Ottawa establishment". Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling an early election on Wednesday in hopes of shoring up another strong mandate, and capitalize on his visibility during the tariff fight. Vandana Kattar is a former advisor to Justin Trudeau, and a political strategist. Dennis Matthews is t...

Jan 27, 2025•25 min

Weekend Listen: The unbelievable saga of Kaitlyn Braun, the Ontario woman who conned dozens of birth workers

Kaitlyn Braun, a pregnant young woman in crisis, takes dozens of birth workers through an escalating series of disasters – rape, baby loss, and even a coma. One by one, the doulas struggle to support her and grieve with her, and even save her life as they’re led down a distressing path. And then the truth comes out. In this six-part true crime series, Sarah Treleaven untangles a complex web of lies and deception to ask who Kaitlyn really is and why she did the things that she did. Cases like the...

Jan 25, 2025•40 min

Elon Musk, Nazi accusations, and the ADL

On Monday night, tech billionaire Elon Musk spoke at President Trump's inauguration rally in Washington. In the middle of that speech, he slammed his right hand onto the left side of his chest and thrust it out into the air in a straight line. Then he turned around, and made the gesture again. The backlash was immediate, with many people accusing Musk of making a Nazi salute.  But the Anti-Defamation League, an organization founded to combat anti-semitism disagreed, and came ...

Jan 24, 2025•29 min

Who is Mark Carney?

There’s been a ton of buzz around Mark Carney throwing his hat into the Liberal leadership race. Many Liberals see Carney — the former head of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, and a former advisor to the Trudeau government — as the best hope of reversing their party’s dire fortunes.  This is Carney’s first foray into party politics. So what do we know about his track record and his beliefs? Is he really, as he claims, an “outsider?”  And, in a time of rising populism on the righ...

Jan 23, 2025•35 min

Trump’s tariffs and the case for Canada

Speaking from a cabinet retreat Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the case for why the Trump administration should divert from the trade war collision course they’re currently on. His comments come just a day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president and mused about slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian imports starting Feb. 1st. The Prime Minister went on to say that while the country will continue to negotiate - there are also preparations to fight back including consider...

Jan 22, 2025•24 min

What will Trump's first 100 days bring?

Yesterday, Donald Trump was sworn in for the second time as President of the United States. In his inaugural address and as he signed executive orders throughout the day, Trump made his priorities for his first days in office clear. He declared an emergency at the southern border, made it the official policy of the United States that "there are only two genders", said America was "taking back" the Panama Canal and much, much more. Many of these moves are things that Trump has promised or threate...

Jan 21, 2025•25 min

Kevin O’Leary and the 51st state

For weeks, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has been talking about making Canada the 51st state. He’s even said that he’d look to use economic force to ‘get rid’ of the border between the two countries. Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary has been pushing the potential benefits of an ‘economic union’ with the U.S. He explained his case in a feature interview with host Jayme Poisson on Sunday. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts...

Jan 20, 2025•31 min

Weekend Listen: What are drugs teaching us about what it means to be human?

On Drugs looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or ibuprofen, there’s a good chance you’re on drugs right now. More episodes of On Drugs are available at:  https://link.mgln.ai/aRCxzV

Jan 18, 2025•41 min

Politics! Mark Carney’s running, tariff fight gets messy

It was another really busy week in Canadian politics. It began with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s trip to Mar-a-Lago to talk tariffs and Canadian oil with Trump and his team, and it rolled into a meeting between Canada’s premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where Smith did not get onside with her colleagues. The Liberal leadership race narrowed further, and on Thursday, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney threw his hat into the ring. Catherine Cullen is the host of CBC's The Hou...

Jan 17, 2025•24 min

What’s behind the Israel-Hamas ceasefire?

Israel and Hamas signed a deal for a ceasefire set to begin Sunday January 19th that will see the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israel and the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The news was met with celebrations in Gaza where Palestinians have been suffering under a brutal Israel offensive since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Tens of thousands are dead, more than a million displaced and much of the strip is destroyed.  Ceasefire negotiations have dragged ...

Jan 16, 2025•21 min

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