The Big Story

It’s been an unusually bad start to 2025 for air travel accidents.   Monday’s crash at Pearson International Airport that saw a Delta airlines flight come to rest upside down has a lot of people wondering: is commercial air travel safe?  Host David Smith gets answers from aviation expert John Gradek with McGill University. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episod...

There is a crisis facing Canada’s post-secondary education sector that no one is talking about. Now that the federal government has slashed the number of international student permits available in Canada, colleges and universities from coast to coast are facing huge budget shortfalls.   Several of Canada’s best schools are cutting programs and laying off staff just to stay afloat.   These institut...

On this special edition of the Big Story, we're shining a light on cold cases across Canada.  The podcast, Tracking a Killer: the Cold Case files is hosted by Fil Martino and Madison Fitzpatrick.  They recently released season 3 of the show so we're teaming up to try to help families find not only justice, but peace.     21-year-old Patrick Santos’ body was found in the backyard of his father’s Sc...

The "buy Canada" movement remains strong in the wake of tariffs levied against Canada, with more being tariffs reportedly on the way.  So how far would you go to buy Canadian?  Host Mike Eppel speaks to retail analyst Bruce Winder about economic show of patriotism and whether or not it's sustainable in this economy.  We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. Yo...

It sounds duller than watching paint dry, but an issue called "supply management" is one of the key factors in Donald Trump's tariff decision.   Trump has criticized Canada’s protected agriculture industries for years, and now he’s been pointing to supply management in the dairy sector as one of the reasons for his tariff threats.  What is the decades-old policy that manages how much dairy product...

President Trump's threats of massive tariffs on Canadian goods has sparked a lot of fear about what a trade war would mean for our country. Economists predict that the 25% tariffs on our goods would plunge the country into recession by the summer, but some communities will be hit harder than others. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has now compiled a list of 41 cities across the country and rated...

A month ago, the federal Liberals were in the basement of Canadian politics, trailing the Conservatives by close to 30% in public opinion polls.   But a month is a long time in politics, and the fortunes for the Liberal party have seen a stunning reversal in a short amount of time.   Host Cormac Mac Sweeney speaks with Mount Royal University Political Scientist Duane Bratt, about how the Trump eff...

In the face of a possible trade war, Canadians are increasingly supportive of plans to reduce our reliance on the U.S. as a trading partner.   That includes politically sensitive industries, like oil and gas and politically sensitive projects like pipelines. New national polling shows Canadians are increasingly open to reviving pipeline projects that were abandoned in the late-2010s.  Yes, even in...

We're seeing a rise in Canadian pride generally only seen during the Olympics.   The ‘Buy Canadian’  movement continues to gather steam – brought on by the threat of U.S. tariffs. Host Kris McCusker spoke to Dr. Joanne McNeish, Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, about how the trend happened and why you need to be diligent when read when reading product labels.     We love feed...

Jeanne Beker's name is synonymous with all things fabulous and fashionable.   But the last few years have brought in a different focus.   Today, the author and TV personality has a new role that's far away from her glamorous life in fashion and entertainment: breast cancer survivor and patient advocate. Host Fil Martino speaks to Jeanne Beker about her journey and her outlook on the other side of...

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 ema...

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.  ...

**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 alco...

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 communit...

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...

**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 week...

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 inte...

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 Li...

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...

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 sugges...

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 membersh...

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 researc...

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...

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, abou...

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 w...