The Big Story

When announcing Canada's withdrawal from US trade talks, Prime Minister Mark Carney admitted that both Canadians and Americans will feel the hurt in their pockets. Both countries have announced tariffs on a wide variety of goods, including toilet paper, feathers, fish and more. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced that Canada will also be providing up to $7.5B in relief for Canad...

Plus: A man accused of stabbing two worshippers at a Sikh temple with a screwdriver was released from prison just a day earlier, a multibillion-dollar fleet of Coast Guard icebreakers will be built in Quebec, a Montreal airport worker is struck and killed by a plane, WestJet flight attendants approve their labour agreement, and could Ukraine hold elections with a years-long war still raging? We lo...

Ukraine's recently ousted Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedoro, called on President Zelenskyy to call for a wartime election. Following more than 4 years at war with Russia, the logistical details of a Ukrainian election remain murky.  Would the vote be safe and secure? What are Zelensky's chances at being reelected? What role does the US and European allies play in guaranteeing security?  Host Caryn...

Plus: Lightning storms disrupt flights and spark fires in B.C., a gathering in Saskatchewan marks the 150th anniversary of Treaty 6, WestJet flight attendants finish voting on a new labour agreement, and an anti-fraud organization sounds the alarm on scams targeting previous fraud victims. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us: Through email...

Entering an economic war isn't your typical Friday night activity. But according to PM Mark Carney, it was necessary after the last 18 months of US President Trump. Not only did Carney suspend all negotiations with the US, he also announced dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on US goods in response to the latest round of tariffs Trump placed on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods.   Host Caryn...

Enjoy this special feed drop of our sister show "In This Economy?!" The U.S. government has reached a staggering milestone: $40 trillion in debt. As deficits continue to grow and borrowing costs rise, bond investors are demanding higher yields, pushing long-term Treasury rates to their highest levels in decades. Host Mike Eppel speaks to Tiago Figueiredo, Macro Strategist at Desjardins Financial t...

Plus: The Alberta government faces jeers and expletives at town halls over a planned Meta data centre, the Boston Marathon says it will count qualifying times on the Edmonton course which was accidentally made two-thirds of a kilometre longer than normal but won’t adjust them to the standard marathon length, a caver is rescued using new radio technology, and the case for more “third spaces”. We lo...

What's your go-to place to unwind? It could be a local tavern, a neighbourhood coffee shop, even a park where the kids can runaround.  In the digitally-saturated era we're currently living in, those third places aren't being occupied as much, as binging a show on the couch or doom scrolling in the car afterwork seem like the more convenient, economical option. But physical, third places are more i...

Plus: A Calgary police officer will be tried for murder after two suspects in a slow-speed chase were shot and killed, a survey finds almost a fifth of Quebec teachers consider quitting, WestJet is ordered to do away with a 300-pound weight limit on wheelchairs on most of its planes, and what makes Quebec and Newfoundland’s pending energy deal historic? We love feedback at The Big Story, as well a...

Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec announced a historic energy deal with help from Ottawa to replace a detested 1969 deal and a confusing 2024 MOU. The new agreement would see Quebec pay 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour to Newfoundland and Labrador, with that price rising to 7.4 cents over the next 50 years. The deal, however, remains un-signed, amid a looming Quebec election, as well as an absent st...

Plus: A petition calls for the U.S. ambassador to Canada to be removed, Canadians seeking treatment for rare diseases face challenges, the summer wildfire season hits a historic milestone, a union in Vancouver takes action to delay a major infrastructure project, and OpenAI launches a chatbot designed specifically for teenagers. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future...

A petition with more than 230,000 signatures continues to make its way across Canada in hopes of ousting the US Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra. Signatories believe the diplomat has further strained Canada-US relations by adding fuel to President Trump's annexation threats, and allege he's made "repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse inconsistent with diplomatic protocol." Host...

Plus: the Quebec election frontrunner shelves a sovereignty referendum until after the Trump presidency is over, the NBA spars with ESPN over its reporting on the L.A. Clippers investigation, a grizzly bear cub escapes from his enclosure at the Calgary Zoo, and why did Pope Leo excommunicate members of a traditionalist Catholic sect? We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for fu...

There has been a schism in the Catholic church. In early July, Pope Leo excommunicated an ultra-conservative sect known as the Society of St. Pius X, after they ordained new Bishops against his orders. It's the largest break in the church in 156 years. With its members and followers, Leo has effectively kicked out 600,000 Catholics-- a tough move by the still new Leo, who has made church unity a c...

Plus: Statistics Canada says the annual rate of inflation accelerated to three per cent in July, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to make an announcement about energy security regarding Churchill Falls, an autopsy is being performed following the death of television star Hayden Panettiere, new research shows the beneficial relationship between young teens struggling with anxiety and dog ownership...

A new report commissioned by the federal government says antisemitism is a systemic problem on university and college campuses, adding post-secondary institutions have failed to address the problem. It finds more than 95% of Jewish students say they saw or experienced antisemitism last year, with nearly 18% of those incidents being from a faculty member. Overall, 70% of those Jewish students surve...

Enjoy this special feed drop from our sister show "In This Economy?!" 2026 has certainly been a "headline driven" year for the markets. Whether it's A.I., war, tariffs and trade, or inflation and interest rates, the markets have seen big daily price swings, and several sectors have seen huge percentage run-ups for stocks—along with big losses. As of the first week of august, the TSX composite inde...

Plus: Farage secures victory over Binface, some students protesting work permit denials face scrutiny over their current status in Canada, officials in B.C. say the public will still be able to access a Vancouver Island castle if it’s handed over to First Nations, some companies opt to weather the possible storm with more U.S. tariffs looming, and could Canada put American alcohol back on shelves...

Since almost the very beginning of the trade war, alcohol from the United States has been banned from most Canadian shelves. It was done as a way of putting pressure on the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump-- and it's worked. The so-called "booze ban" has been a constant irritant south of the border, hitting hard at states like California and Kentucky. But that soon could be coming to...

Plus: Canada and the U.S. continue to negotiate with new tariffs looming, the U.S. ambassador to Canada responds to a petition calling to kick him out of the country, four of the five former World Juniors players acquitted of sexual assault last summer will stay banned from Hockey Canada after they were found to have breached its code of conduct, three Moncton teens face charges after a boy was se...

On the northeastern tip of Morocco, just south of Gibraltar, the Spanish city Ceuta was recently overwhelmed by Moroccan migrants. At the end of last month, tens of thousands of Moroccans flooded border crossings, or tried to get around them by swimming in the Strait of Gibraltar. Dozens of people died in the attempt. Now, while the majority of the migrants have been returned to Morocco, hundreds,...

Plus: Canada's top trade negotiator has a warning ahead of new impending tariffs, thousands of Canadians want Trump's trade rep to Canada removed from Ottawa, the federal government is ramping up funding to fight climate risks, Europe is set to experience a total solar eclipse, and Canada has a new "Highway of Tears" - used for sex trafficking. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggest...

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls have been a problem in Canada for decades, and one that went ignored for far too long. Going back to the late 60s, women and girls were taken especially along a stretch of road in British Columbia known as The Highway of Tears. But now, there is a new highway of tears. By tracking sex ads posted online, a team from Thompson Reuters was able to follow...

Plus: A Montreal father is found guilty of murdering his daughter in upstate New York, Alberta reviews its Amber Alert criteria following the death of a boy with autism, Environment Canada makes significant changes to its tornado warning system, auto thefts across Canada trend down toward pre-pandemic levels, and a youth mental health service says it’s seeing a spike in overnight calls. We love fe...

This episode contains conversations about mental health, suicide, and sexual assault. Please take care. Kids Help Phone, a service offering free, mental health service over the phone or online to youth across Canada, has had a spike in overnight calls-- the most dramatic increase in their more than three-decade history. The reasons are various, but the need is great, putting strain on the service'...