Big in Canada

Raised in Edmonton and Jamaica, Kreesha Turner bounced into the spotlight after winning the nation's most notorious radio-sponsored talent competition. Dubbed "the Canadian Rhianna", she scored a big hit with "Don't Call Me Baby" and was poised for a long career. Her second album, the very good Tropic Electric , didn't produce any hits and the wheels fell off. Why d...

In this wide ranging catch-up episode, we debrief our live show, discuss Drake's big three-album rollout, breakdown the Jackson-Triggs Summer Concert Series 2026 and the FIFA Fan Festivals and breeze through the other five or so Our Lady Peace albums. Which is all a warm up to talking about I'm Going to Break Your Heart, a documentary about, for and by Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk and...

TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! For FIVE dollars a month you get acess to our Bonus Feed, a monthly playlist of new Canadian music and maybe even some gifts! Experience (or relive!) the magic of Big in Canada's live debut at The Burdock Music Hall in Toronto as part of Departure Fest.

Johnny Payne, musician and co-host of Impossible Way of Life, returns to the show to chat with Mac about his new album Dazzle Me and what it would take to become big on Vancouver Island, where the dream of the 90s is alive. Also discussed: mask to music ratio, AI, community, reggae, building, sounding Canadian and much more.

As their imperial phase reaches its Bob Rock-produced conclusion, Our Lady Peace make a concept album and lose a key band member on the road to their biggest hit yet. To help discuss this era of OLP, we are joined by Lindsey King , a Toronto-based writer and editor whose work can be found in Toronto Life, Maclean's and many other reputable publications. And, she once owned a Shrode t-shirt. Al...

TICKETS TO BIG IN CANADA LIVE @ DEPARTURE FEST Our Lady Peace appeared fully-formed at the crest of the alternative rock boom and became one of the most successful Canadian bands of all-time. Raine Maida's unique voice and dreamy stare captured the hearts of millions of Canadians. But did he have anything to say to them? Could he save them? Were they even real , man? Also discussed: Mac's...

LIVE SHOW IN T.O. MAY 10TH: TICKETS HERE! In the prelude to our multi-episode Our Lady Peace exploration, we talk about OLP's unofficial fifth member and producer: Arnold Lanni. By the time he hitched his wagon to Raine and the Gang, Lanni had lived several CanCon lives, deaths and rebirths. First, as a member of Sheriff, whose song "When I'm With You" became an unexpected chart...

We talk about albums by The Outfit, Arielle Soucy, Station Model Violence and Sluice! And then we talk about three of our favourite Big in Canada subjects with John Batt of @ canada.gov.ca !

After 20 years behind the board, mixing and producing artists as varied as Loverboy, 54-40, Sloan and Marilyn Manson, Dave "Rave" Ogilvie was handed the keys to his very own CanCon car. The result was Jakalope: an ambient-ly industrial pop band fronted by an unknown musician named Katie Biever. Oh, and then he went on to have a hand in making Call Me Maybe. Also discussed: The JUNOs (ad...

The Parachute Club seem to capture a certain era of 1980s Toronto with their eclectic rhythms, Toronto-centric videos and (sometimes) progressive messages. But what are the limits of a predominately-white group using the musical styles of different cultures and banking on politics for subject matter? We raise up the parachute and find out. Also discussed: Daniel Lanois, McCain Rising Crust pizza,...

Drake, Tate, Nelly, Joni: some of the stars were out in Hamilton on Sunday night for the 2026 JUNO Awards. We ride the ups, downs and the Big in Canada of it all of "Canadian Music's Biggest Night".

May 10th! Live Show! Tickets here!⁠ John Batt, the man behind the Instagram account @canada.gov.ca , has lived in Quebec for years, but the Atlantic Ocean is never far from his Maritimer heart. This week, John gets alllllllllll fired up with Mac and Laura to talk about The Rankin Family, what they mean to the Maritimes, family bands, regional differences and much more.

As the 00s drew to a close and all meaning was lost to an endless sea of vibe and aesthetics, one final Avril-lite managed to break through to tween Bluenotes shoppers around the country. We look at Shiloh's ska-infused "Operator", which made her one of the final almost-stars of the MuchMusic-era, only for the rug to be pulled out from under her ascendant Canadian fame. Also discusse...

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON FOR FULL EPISODE For this month's bonus episode we are diving into the Canadian songs on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart for the week of February 28th, 2026. Find out what's changed since 2004 (not much), what's good (not much), what's bad (most!) and what it all means. Also discussed: our impending live show in Toronto, the difference between Modern Ro...

LIVE SHOW SHOW TICKETS! MAY 10 AT BURDOCK MUSIC HALL! On a cold February day in 1985, some of Canada's biggest music stars answered the vehement pleas of manager Bruce Allen and gathered in a Toronto studio to record the charity single, "Tears Are Not Enough". As the fate of Ethiopia rests on the shoulders of producer David Foster, the studio's air is thick with cigarette smoke a...

As the first Canadian rapper to break into the mainstream, Maestro Fresh Wes broke down barriers and changed the Canadian music industry. From his platinum selling debut smash  Symphony in Effect  to a more recent release that can only be described as the most CanCon album of all-time, Maestro stuck to his vision to become the Godfather of Canadian Rap.  Also discussed: Trate McRae, the ukificatio...

SIGN UP FOR OUR PATREON, THAT'S WHAT I KNOW Popular music in the 1980s was defined by the Video Star: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Prince. But in Canada, it was Lawrence "Larry" Gowan, whose music videos, hair and musical prowess captured the imagination of a nation who needed their own version of these icons. Gowan is now known as one of the key members of Styx, but his...

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! Born unto a family of musicians, it was predestined that Halifax singer-songwriter, actor, and educator Melanie Doane would join the family business.  Fitting in perfectly with the folk-rock sound of "women's music", Melanie released two good records, one really great song, played Lilith Fair, and was crowned the Best New Solo Artist at the 1999 JUNOs. But w...

HEY! EVERYBODY! SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! We're going to Mac's memory palace to discuss the brief but potent popularity of Mississauga reggae-rock-ska-punk band illScarlett. Hit the bong and find out how Canada's Sublime became a brief major label success story. Also discussed: big to you bands, street signs, theft, Warped Tour afterparties, Supernova, Brad Rubens: Philadelphia lawyer,...

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON FOR THE FULL EPSIODE We breakdown the various performances from 2010 Vancouver Olympics closing ceremony and then give our instant reactions to the 2026 JUNO nominations. Who are these awards for? What are sales? Is it still 2005? Things are strange out there. NOTE: This episode was recorded before Tate McRae defected to Team USA...more to come on that.

I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! During the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Canada was in the palm of Nikki Yanofsky’s hand. At just 16 years old, this child star captured the heart of a nation by singing the official Olympic anthem, “I Believe.” But this undeniable power ballad is an anomaly in Nikki’s career which is otherwise filled with all that jazz. Also discussed: Dad Rap, 2010 Olymp...

PLEASE, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! After nearly fifteen years of grinding, Classified finally reached the summit of CanCon when he unleashed his Inner Ninja. But, when the industry wants him to start his next climb (towards the top of the whole world), Class chose to stay grounded, be Dad, smoke weed and revel in his accomplishments at home. On this episode we examine how Classified's commitmen...

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PATREON! It's as unlikely a story as any: a white boy from Enfield, Nova Scotia becomes one of the greatest Canadian rappers of all time. And yet, by some combination of hard work, lack of international ambition, and weed, Luke Boyd aka Classified made it happen. In part one of a two-part exploration of "Class", Mac and Laura discuss the early days of his career incl...

Is this quintessential CanCon summer song bad? Or are we suffering from an extreme case of Patio Lanterns Exhaustion? We trace Kim Mitchell's journey from his days in Max Webster to the zenith of Canadian musical fame: beating Bryan Adams for album of the year at the Juno's. Look what you made him do, Kim. Also discussed: our Patreon (click here to subscribe wooo) , being good enough, beco...

TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE AND ACCESS EXCLUSIVE BIG IN CANADA CONTENT SUBSCRIBE HERE . In Big in Canada's first Patreon subscriber only bonus episode, we discuss Heated Rivalry, the hottest show on TV when the CanCon is as plentiful as the hockey and the sex. Plus, we discuss Ashley MacIsaac's recent run-in with Google AI and why the New Years Eve concert is a shit gig. Thanks for suppo...