Is anything making sense anymore in this economy? Between the ping-ponging markets, the on and off tariffs and the latest economic data, the week's been far from boring. To make sense of it all, host Mike Eppel speaks with Pedro Antunes, Chief Economist at the Conference Board of Canada. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter...
Feb 08, 2025•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Work, home. Work, home. For many, days go back and forth like a ping pong match. That’s why when we have the reprieve of something outside the cycle, like a regular coffee meet-up or a book club at a neighbour’s house, things just feel better. We transport to a place where we can relax and be ourselves. However, the importance of this physical space to our well-being is often underestimated. Host Melanie Ng speaks with Roxanne Francis, a psychotherapist, coach and consultant, about the importanc...
Feb 07, 2025•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast **WARNING: This episode discusses addition and thoughts of suicide. Please take care.** Going out for a beer, glass of wine, or cocktail? Experts are increasingly raising the alarm about the health impacts of alcohol, and calling for more government action to alert the public. One Senator in Canada is leading the charge for change, introducing two pieces of legislation that aim to treat alcoholic beverages the same as tobacco products, with warning labels and advertising bans. Host Cormac Mac Sw...
Feb 06, 2025•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast After a wild few days, the U.S. tariffs are on pause. Canada has avoided the measures, for now, but the threat still hangs over the country. The uncertainty has residents in Canada’s border cities on edge. In communities where thousands of people cross the Canada-US border to go to work each day, a trade war could mean economic devastation. In response to the crisis, mayors of border communities from coast to coast have come together to form the Border Mayors Alliance. Host David Smith speaks wi...
Feb 05, 2025•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast In an extraordinary turn of events, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late Monday that the U.S would be delaying tariffs against Canada for 30 days. The move from President Donald Trump comes after the Government of Canada committed an additional $200 million to fighting drug trafficking at the Canada-US border. Why did Trump change his mind at the last minute? Host David Smith speaks with political strategist Kate Harrison, Vice-Chair of Summa Strategies, about the politics surrounding Tr...
Feb 04, 2025•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast **UPDATE** Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said proposed tariffs on Canadian goods will be paused for 30 days after he spoke with President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon. In a social media post, Trudeau said he outline Canada’s $1.3 billion border plan and also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl. The Big Story will be covering the latest developments in the weeks to come. ========================== President Donald Trump has followed through on his threats. Tari...
Feb 03, 2025•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Heading the polls for the very first time after becoming the age of majority used to be a badge of honour that Canadian youth would wear proudly – but has democracy gone out of style? Youth voter turnout has dropped about 7% since the snap election that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called in 2021 from the 2019 federal election, after another drop since the 2015 election. Are youth no longer interested in civic engagement or is this current digital era causing a lack of trust in Canada's democra...
Feb 03, 2025•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast After months of speculation, Doug Ford has sent Ontarians to the polls early. The election campaign officially kicked off this week, with party leaders making their pitches to voters. Why now? What’s it got to do with Donald Trump? And U.S. Tariffs? Host David Smith speaks with two Ontario political insiders: Andrew Brander from Crestview Strategy, who was an advisor to the Ford Government, and Lindsay Maskell, a Liberal strategist and former advisor to Premier Dalton McGuinty. We love feedback ...
Jan 31, 2025•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast From door knocks to landline calls, online clicks to AI, someone always wants to know what you think. With election season on the minds of Ontarians and Canadians, are your opinions accurately being reflected in the public opinion polls you see splashed all over the headlines? Host Melanie Ng speaks with veteran pollster, political strategist and consultant, John Wright to talk methodology and why these polls aren’t going anywhere. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for fu...
Jan 30, 2025•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast DeepSeek took the stock market by storm this week, with the Chinese start-up causing a huge market meltdown on Monday. It has huge implications for the world of A.I, but what does it mean for Canada? Host Kris McCusker does a deep dive on the Chinese-based app with Graham Dobbs, Senior Economist, The Dais, at Toronto Metropolitan University. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebi...
Jan 29, 2025•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Liberal leadership race lost a candidate over the weekend. Ottawa MP Chandra Arya has been kicked out of the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and as Prime Minister, however the party is keeping mum on the reasons for denying Arya a chance to be a candidate in this campaign. Host Cormac Mac Sweeney examines the move with Greg MacEachern of KAN Strategies, as well as membership challenges for the party, the endorsement battle, the Trump effect, and the possibility the new leade...
Jan 28, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast It can be found in some of your favourite candies, baked goods and beverages: red dye no. 3. The FDA has recently banned the synthetic dye from food (by 2027) and oral medication (by 2028) in the United States, but Health Canada says they won’t be following suit. So what’s the real danger behind this colour additive compared to others we ingest? Host Melanie Ng takes a deep dive into the research with Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe, Professor and Canada Research Chair with the Department of Molecular and...
Jan 27, 2025•26 min•Ep 1346•Transcript available on Metacast If you weren't sure what was going to happen with interest rates with the new U.S. administration in place, you're not alone. We're just days ahead from the first policy announcement from the Bank of Canada and it's to be interesting to see where it goes. Host Mike Eppel speaks with Royce Mendes, Managing Director and head of Macrostrategy at Desjardins Capital Markets. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigst...
Jan 26, 2025•13 min•Ep 1349•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump wants to ‘Make America First in AI’. He has announced a $500 billion deal with Silicon Valley to accelerate AI development in America. At stake in this technological arms race? Human rights, national security and the rules-based global world order. What’s Trump’s agenda? Host David Smith speaks with Don Lenihan, an expert on how digital technology shapes society and governments, about how artificial intelligence is poised to shape Trump’s second term. We love feedback at The Big Sto...
Jan 25, 2025•33 min•Ep 1348•Transcript available on Metacast It's only been 5 days since Donald Trump has been president, but you'd be right to feel like we've been through many news cycles since then and dozens of headlines. The governing Liberals, while dealing with its own leadership race and pressures to dissolve Parliament, are working through the very real threats of the U.S. government about tariffs and becoming the 51st state. To make sense of what the government is doing and feeling about week 1 of the new Trump era, host Cormac Mac Sweeney speak...
Jan 24, 2025•23 min•Ep 1347•Transcript available on Metacast The United States banned TikTok. But Donald Trump says it can still operate in America, for now. The Executive Order that Trump signed on his first day in office only protects TikTok for 75 days. 170-million users, billions of dollars and U.S. national security are at stake. What happens next? Host David Smith is joined by tech analyst and journalist Carmi Levy to break down what we know, and don’t know, about the TikTok ban. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future e...
Jan 23, 2025•25 min•Ep 1345•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has been sworn in as U.S. president for a second time – but this term is likely to look different than the first one. Especially if the inauguration speech is any indication. Host Kris McCusker speaks to Wayne Petrozzi, Professor Emeritus, department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University about how Trump could change the game in the next four years – and how Canada and Canadians should prepare. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestio...
Jan 22, 2025•16 min•Ep 1344•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has been inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. But he chose not to follow through on his threat of tariffs on Canadian imports on his first day in office. What does that mean? And what happens next? Do we still need to worry? Host David Smith speaks with Xavier Delgado, expert on the Canada-US relationship and Senior Associate at the Woodrow Wilson Centre’s Canada Institute in Washington, D.C.. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future ep...
Jan 21, 2025•20 min•Ep 1343•Transcript available on Metacast The two frontrunners vying to replace Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader have officially launched their campaigns. Both Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland’s launch events could have gone better. Carney’s inexperience on the political stage showed in Edmonton, while Freeland was the target of protestors in Toronto. Host David Smith breaks down how the two candidates performed, and what the keys to success will be for their respective campaigns. We love feedback at The Big St...
Jan 20, 2025•20 min•Ep 1342•Transcript available on Metacast It's a real tipping point for electric vehicles. Although the feds have a goal of having 100% zero emission vehicles on the road by 2035, there are major challenges. In the second part of a weekend series on electric vehicles, host Mike Eppel speaks to David Adams, President and C-E-O of Global Automakers of Canada about the future of EVs. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigs...
Jan 19, 2025•19 min•Ep 1340•Transcript available on Metacast A group of auto sector groups came together in Ottawa this week to call on the Trudeau government to scrap its plan to mandate electric vehicle sales quotas starting next year. With Parliament prorogued, and an election on the horizon, automakers and dealerships have no idea whether they will be able to comply with the EV sales mandate starting next year. They say the situation is untenable, creating chaos for consumers, and the government is silent. On top of that, Canada’s auto sector might be...
Jan 18, 2025•24 min•Ep 1341•Transcript available on Metacast We've officially passed what's known as "Quitter's Day", the second Friday in January where people generally abandon their new year's resolutions. If you're feeling down because you've swapped the celery for Timbits, don't! According to dietician Abbey Sharp, there is a better way and January may not even be the best time to start something new. Host Eva Fragiskatos sits down with Abbey to talk about the best way to be healthy, how to avoid fads and how to stay sane in a time where everyone has ...
Jan 17, 2025•18 min•Ep 1339•Transcript available on Metacast Canada first and Canada united - the message after a First Ministers' meeting in Ottawa with the country's premiers - with one exception. With Doug Ford sporting a new hat that said "Canada is not for sale" and Alberta's Danielle Smith the outlier in the group, there's a lot to break down. To do that, NewsRadio's Queen's Park reporter Richard Southern speaks to Parliament Hill reporter Cormac Mac Sweeney about the meeting, the wrap up news conference, what happened behind the scenes and what's n...
Jan 16, 2025•15 min•Ep 1338•Transcript available on Metacast A financial fact check for you. U.S. President elect Donald Trump will be sworn in next week – with the threat of 25% tariffs on Canadian products looming. And he’s been using numbers to back up his decision. Host Kris McCusker speaks to one economist to set the record straight and fact check the numbers being thrown around. Guest: Jim Stanford with the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver, B.C. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Throug...
Jan 15, 2025•18 min•Ep 1337•Transcript available on Metacast Less than a week to go before Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. For the past month, Canadian political leaders have taken different tactics in responding to Trump’s threats and pleading Canada’s case for exemptions to any import tariffs. How are they doing? Host David Smith speaks with Barry McLoughlin, an expert in crisis communications and leadership and President of TLC Transformational Leadership Consultants. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as...
Jan 14, 2025•28 min•Ep 1336•Transcript available on Metacast Game on! The federal Liberal party has unveiled the rules of engagement for its leadership race. What we know so far is that it costs A LOT to enter and there will be a new leader announced on March 9. Host Cormac Mac Sweeney is speaking with Greg MacEachern, Principal of KAN Strategies. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter...
Jan 13, 2025•22 min•Ep 1335•Transcript available on Metacast There are still more questions than answers after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation this week. That includes legislation involving your finances. Host Kris McCusker speaks to Jamie Golombek, Managing Director of Tax and Estate Planning with CIBC Private Wealth about how people should treat changes around capital gains and a proposed extension on charitable donations. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through emai...
Jan 12, 2025•12 min•Ep 1328•Transcript available on Metacast Has the first week of January felt like A LOT? You're not alone. There are so many things going on in this economy right now that could impact you. Host Mike Eppel is here to break down all the headlines that have made up this very busy news week including the Canadian dollar, the threat of tariffs and takeover and Meta abandoning fact-checkers. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @t...
Jan 11, 2025•20 min•Ep 1334•Transcript available on Metacast Unreal scenes out of L.A. as fires continue to burn, most with zero per cent containment. Communities have been wiped out with thousands of structures burned including the homes of some high profile celebrities. Thousands have been driven from their homes - with no end in sight. On this episode of the Big Story, host Fil Martino speaks with Canadian and environmental journalist Aliya Jasmine who lives in Los Angeles, about the situation on the ground and what it's like living through an actual n...
Jan 10, 2025•19 min•Ep 1333•Transcript available on Metacast If a federal election were held today, nearly half of Canadians say they would vote for the Conservative Party of Canada. Since 2022, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has grown the party’s support to record highs. But he remains a polarizing figure. What’s behind the strategy that has the Conservatives riding high in the polls? Host David Smith speaks with Chris Day, the political communications expert and president of the public affairs firm Winston Wilmont. We love feedback at The Big Stor...
Jan 09, 2025•21 min•Ep 1332•Transcript available on Metacast 
