The Decibel

Evacuation orders are under way in communities in northwestern Ontario, as more than 140 wildfires rage in the region. Meanwhile, smoke from the fires has drifted south, blanketing cities like Toronto in a yellow haze. Fire officials confirm more than 4.7 million acres have burned throughout Canada this year. As wildfires have become a regular occurrence in Canada, questions about what can be done...

A new deal between Canada and the U.S. resolves issues around the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which is now set to open on July 27. The bridge – which will become the second bridge connecting Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, Mich., – nearly opened last month, but the ribbon-cutting ceremony was quickly called off after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to open the American side of the bridge. A...

The 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C., led to a major diplomatic rift between Canada and India. Mr. Nijjar was a prominent Canadian Sikh separatist . Then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused agents of the Indian government of being involved in the killing. Four people had previously been arrested in connection to Nijjar’s killing. Now, U.S. officials have unsealed an indictment...

A lot of Canadians struggle to take their allotted, paid vacation days , according to new research, meaning those days go unused. It’s not just internal pressures making people skip a holiday, it’s coming from higher up – from managers’ attitudes towards vacation all the way up to the state of the economy . Today, Globe reporter Zosia Bielski explains the reasons why Canadians aren’t taking their...

In the heat of USA ’94, Roberto Baggio carried the nation of Italy on his shoulders— and then saw it all slip away from twelve yards. This episode explores one of soccer’s most spellbinding talents and the penalty kick that turned his decorated legacy into a lingering question mark. But this isn’t only about one miss.  Host Eoin O’Callaghan and guests John Foot, Ben Lyttleton and Kevin Kilbane exp...

Decisions in two landmark trials in the U.S. found social media companies responsible for harms to youth on their platforms, earlier this year. They follow years of growing concern about the dangers that social media poses to young people. And now, those concerns are starting to show up in policy decisions. Back in December, Australia banned those under 16 years old from creating accounts on platf...

Canada’s Big Six banks are doing very well financially – their stocks are up an average of 62 per cent over the past year. In previous years, five or 10 per cent increases would be considered good for the banks. Financial reporter and columnist Tim Kiladze says this development is “absurd” and “baffling”. Today, Tim explains why the banks are doing so well. (Spoiler alert: it’s connected to a red-...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been front and centre of two pipeline proposal announcements in the past week. First, she and Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new southern route for the proposed West Coast pipeline on Thursday. Just a few days later, on Monday, she and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a proposal for a new 3,300-kilometre pipeline that would carry crude oil from Hardist...

The value of copper has sky-rocketed in the last number of years. The pink orange metal has been in high demand for data centres, telecommunications services and EV charging stations.  But the increased value of copper has led to a rising number of thefts . These incidents have caused internet blackouts, disrupted phone lines, and have cost thousands of dollars in repairs.  Irene Galea is the Glob...

A recent report from the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s electronic eavesdropping agency, revealed it conducted cyberattacks to disrupt the online fentanyl supply chain . The report also detailed the agency’s growth; its budget will surpass $2-billion in 2026–27, up from just over $1-billion in 2024–25. The organization is one of the two main spy agencies in Canada and yet it remai...

Interprovincial trade within Canada is complicated. Existing barriers mean that many goods, like alcohol, often can’t be sold across provincial and territorial lines. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been pushing for ‘one Canadian economy’ in the wake of attempts to diversify away from the U.S. Opening up interprovincial alcohol sales, especially direct to consumer sales, have been a litmus test for...

Canada and the U.S. share more than July birthdays. Between them is the world’s longest international land border, more than $3 billion in trade daily and they’re longtime partners in defence and security. The relationship is now being tested like few times in its history by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats and tariffs. What do past pivotal moments in Canadian-American relations tell us about...

With July 1 approaching – the formal review date for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – it has become clear that there will be no 16-year extension of the trade treaty. The USMCA governs trade between the three countries, and Canada receives carveouts for U.S. tariffs on USMCA-compliant goods. Mark Rendell is The Globe’s economics reporter, and joins the show to talk about how Canada got...

Billions of dollars of illegal wildlife parts get trafficked around the world each year. Think elephant tusks, rhino horns, polar bear pelts and even some rare plants, like wild ginseng. One of the countries caught up in these criminal networks is Canada. Jenn Thornhill Verma looked into how Canada has become such a hub in the illegal wildlife trade and why the organized crime is flying under the...

Dating can be rough , but it seems to be especially bad right now . According to Statistics Canada, in the 1980s, 68 per cent of Canadians aged 25 to 29 were in a relationship. In 2021, that number was 39 per cent. The Globe’s healthy living reporter – and unintended Carrie Bradshaw – Graham Isador points to a few reasons why dating sucks right now: app fatigue, distrust of technology, and afforda...

Canadian businesses don’t have an innovation problem – they have a growth funding problem . Small- and medium-sized businesses often find themselves in what’s known as the ‘valley of death’ – the crucial time when a business is ready to grow, but can’t access the funding they need to get to the next level. Jameson Berkow reports on capital markets for the Globe. He joins the show to talk about why...

The federal government wants Canada to get back into nuclear energy , pushing to increase nuclear power use and to build and export more Canadian-made nuclear reactors. For the first time in over three decades, a large nuclear reactor is being built in Canada . But The Globe’s investigative reporter and data journalist Matt McClearn says there’s a reason these projects fell out of favour. There ar...

On June 20, Rainbow Railroad released a report on the state of global LGBTQ+ persecution. As an advocacy group, Rainbow Railroad helps at-risk LGBTQ+ people get to safety around the world. This past year they received the highest number of requests for support since their operation began. Most of these requests came from the United States . Canada also makes the list of top ten countries for reque...

A court case in Winnipeg has offered a rare glimpse into the mechanics of how human trafficking can work. And it showed that short-rental rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, can be used by traffickers while on the move with their victims. But some cities, like Winnipeg, are taking action. Temur Durrani is a reporter for The Globe based in Winnipeg. He explains the story of a Quebec teenager who survive...

Patrick Radden Keefe, investigative journalist and staff writer at The New Yorker, is best known for his narrative non-fiction true crime stories and deep dives into history. His best selling books include Say Nothing , Empire of Pain, and The Snakehead , as well as the podcast Wind of Change . Keefe visited The Globe and Mail’s Toronto offices in June 2026 to talk to Globe feature writer Ian Brow...

The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding this week to end the war, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The 14-paragraph agreement lays out the stipulations for each side – including that all military operations between the U.S., Iran and their allies will stop, that the U.S. will lift all sanctions against Iran, and Iran will allow vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. But Thomas Juneau...

Could Saskatchewan be the key to unlocking Canada’s trade potential? While Ottawa works to double non-U.S. exports over the next decade and rebuild important partnerships, politicians and business leaders may learn a lot by looking to the province in the centre of the country. Nearly twenty years ago, Saskatchewan began strategically diversifying their trading partnerships. It was a great success...

Canada’s Online Streaming Act is a thorn in the side of the U.S. administration . The law, passed in 2023 , brings streaming platforms like Netflix, Paramount and Disney under Canada’s broadcast regulations, and requires them to support and promote Canadian content. But the implementation of the law has been slow , and the regulator, the CRTC, has been taken to court by U.S. streaming platforms. N...

Despite Canada’s contributions to space technology and science, it lags behind other G7 nations in rocket launching capabilities. But that’s now changing – with federal investment and private business teaming up to eventually send spacecraft into orbit. It signals a growing political and economic interest in Canada. The Globe’s science reporter Ivan Semeniuk attended one of the recent launches in...

Summer is peak tourist season for the Atlantic provinces, and many restaurants rely on revenue made during the season to get them through the rest of the year. But this summer, chefs and restaurateurs are facing a challenge: Staples tourists have come to expect, like scallops, haddock, and oysters , will be in short supply. Dakshana Bascaramurty is The Globe’s food culture reporter. She’ll explain...