The Really Big Show with Jim Csek &Iain Burns

Thursday, February 26 — and the numbers are sobering. Child poverty in Canada has risen to its worst level since 2017, raising serious questions about affordability, policy direction, and who is actually benefiting from record government spending. While banks post strong profits and elites remain insulated, more families are struggling to keep up. We’ll also examine immigration pressures, MAID sta...

Midweek and the contradictions are stacking up. Canada importing LNG from Australia while sitting on massive reserves at home. Bureaucratic games slowing deals. Housing once the pride of the country now sliding to the bottom. Military underfunded, Canada Post bleeding cash, and rail dreams being marketed like lifestyle branding. We break down media narratives, Quebec separatist momentum, Alberta t...

Today we break down the growing narrative that blames the U.S. for Canada’s problems while the real structural issues at home go untouched. With Kris Sims from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation joining us, we dig into government spending, food inflation, another ArriveScam-style controversy, and why the military still seems to be an afterthought despite all the rhetoric. We also examine Canada’s f...

It’s Monday, and the week is already off to a chaotic start. From cartel violence erupting in Mexico to fresh warnings from the Bank of Canada about a potential “nightmare scenario,” the global and domestic pressures are piling up. We break down Carney’s frequent flyer diplomacy, tariff tensions, and whether any real deals are actually being made. Meanwhile, questions swirl around Canada’s shrinki...

The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Donald Trump’s global tariff regime, and the ripple effects are immediate. What does it mean for Canada, for trade, and for provinces like BC that are desperate for an economic boost? We break down the fallout, the reactions from Ottawa and Alberta, and whether this changes anything — or just reshuffles the deck. At home, frustration keeps building. Red tape pus...

Midweek and the questions aren’t getting any smaller. Tonight we dive into growing concerns about transparency, accountability, and whether Canada’s democratic institutions are still working the way people think they are. From state broadcaster controversies and hot mic moments to immigration policy fallout, bureaucratic bloat, and secretive spending decisions, the frustration is building. We also...

It’s midweek and the temperature is rising in Ottawa. Today we tackle a growing concern that Canadian politics has slipped into closed-door maneuvering and insider deals. Does democracy still mean something when major decisions feel pre-arranged and accountability keeps getting deferred? Canadians are told to tighten their belts while elites continue to do just fine, and the gap is widening. We br...

Today’s show dives straight into the controversy over Mark Carney naming a key figure tied to the Freedom Convoy response as Canada’s top negotiator, and why the Emergencies Act questions still haven’t gone away. We break down the sharp contrast between Rubio’s speech and Carney’s global vision, the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze, EV mandates, housing promises, and why Canadians keep saying one th...

We made it to Friday — and a long weekend at that. Before Canadians head into a well-earned break, we’re closing out the week with a big one. Canada missing climate targets while the economy sputters. Is this a double loss — or just the bill finally coming due? We unpack the candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge, rising affordability pressures, the EV gamble, supply management, taxes climbing in Apri...

This morning’s show  digs into a serious national security concern — reports suggesting Canada has become the number one target for Chinese Communist Party influence operations. If true, what does that say about our institutions, our media, and our political leadership? We also revisit the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge as global attention remains fixed on British Columbia. At the same time, economic an...

Today we begin on a heavy note. The unimaginable tragedy in Tumbler Ridge has shaken British Columbia and the entire country. Our thoughts are with the families, friends, and community grieving this devastating loss. From there, we examine the broader questions that won’t go away — public safety, leadership, accountability, and the state of a province already under strain.  We also break down moun...

Midweek and the spin is working overtime. Today we cut through the talking points as Carney pivots to hockey clichés while the economy keeps sliding, the Liberals quietly write cheques, and hard questions go unanswered. From secret defence spending and EV contradictions to immigration backlogs, media blind spots, and growing public fear, the disconnect is impossible to ignore. Add rising separatis...

Let’s start the week by ripping the band-aid off. It’s Monday, and the gap between political talking points and the lived reality for Canadians has never felt wider. Today’s show digs into why calls for an election are getting louder, what the data actually says about the Canadian economy, and why food inflation, EV policy, consultants, and digital IDs are becoming flashpoints for public anger. We...

It’s Friday, the last show of the week, and we’re closing it out by confronting a widening gap Canadians can’t ignore anymore. While everyday Canadians are losing confidence in the economy, the Liberals keep selling optimism that doesn’t line up with reality. Today we break down collapsing narratives around climate policy, media spin, economic mismanagement, and why accountability keeps getting bu...

Today’s show pulls apart the growing evidence that Canada’s systems, economy, and leadership are failing the people they’re supposed to serve. From green policies hollowing out industries and China’s expanding influence, to unanswered questions about corruption, censorship, Charter violations, and institutional decay, this is a hard look at where things went wrong. We also examine rising crime, co...

Let’s rip the bandaid off and call it what it is — today’s show cuts straight into the hard truths Canada keeps dodging. The Canadian economy looks like it’s on life support, and the diagnosis isn’t complicated: weak leadership, failed climate-first policies, and decisions that protect the well-connected while everyday Canadians line up at food banks in record numbers. We dig into how youth are be...

Let’s be honest, this one cuts straight to the bone. Today’s show looks at a growing gap between what Canadians are told to endure and how the political class continues to land softly. From rewarded failure in Ottawa and a battered economy, to carbon pricing denial, immigration chaos, and a forest sector on life support, the contradictions keep stacking up. We also dig into media narratives, risin...

Monday, and we’re starting the week exactly how we mean to go on, direct and unfiltered. A stunning confidence win reshapes the political landscape as global headlines crown Trump a peacemaker and Canada stares down its own contradictions. From pipelines and separatism to sealed vaccine files, climate dogma, small businesses under pressure, and AI exposing fraud faster than government can react, t...

Friday closes the book on another chaotic week, and we’re not sugar-coating any of it. We break down the firestorm sparked by Eby’s treason accusations, Trump’s latest tariff move, and a media class once again reaching for the same tired scripts instead of real answers. From Carney’s polished words versus real-world results, to a country still waiting on a pipeline and watching its economy stall,...

Let’s not waste a Thursday. As the week grinds on, pressure keeps building in Ottawa and across the country. Bessent challenges Mark Carney to set ego aside and work for Canada, while the “new world order” talk is starting to sound more like political isolation than leadership. The premiers meet with the PM, and once again Canadians are left wondering what actually moved the needle. In BC, David E...

In this episode,  Freedom Convoy: Liberals show no remorse for violating constitution Bank of Canada holds rate: Elevator up, staircase down CBC: The mouthpiece and the problem? Michael Ma speaks Carney tells Poilievre to learn from Doug Ford Liberal house leader plays the fool in attempt to mislead the public Canada complicit in the Holocaust, Carney says What’s causing soaring food prices in Can...

Today we’re cutting through the spin. Conflicting stories from Ottawa and Washington raise a simple question: who’s telling the truth, Carney or Besset? As grocery prices keep climbing, promised tax relief stalls, and charts expose a worsening economic picture, political messaging is falling apart. We also dig into Eby openly admitting uncertainty, Alberta-first momentum growing, foreign interfere...

Monday sets the tone for the week, and it’s already heavy. We’re digging into Trump’s warning to Carney over China, Parliament returning with more questions than answers, and why the calm messaging from Ottawa is colliding with economic reality. Record food bank use, a slowing construction sector, growing separatist sentiment, and mounting uncertainty in BC all point to deeper issues. We’ll also c...

Friday wrap-up energy today — and we’re closing out the week with no shortage of questions, contradictions, and uncomfortable realities. On today’s show, we break down Carney’s nationally televised address that sounded more like a feel-good ad than a plan, the growing backlash over carbon taxes, and why “guardrails” keep getting mentioned without ever being defined. We look at Ottawa’s strained st...

It’s a midweek gut check, and today’s show doesn’t tiptoe around it. We break down why China is openly pressuring Ottawa, what “globalism is dead” actually looks like in practice, and why Canada keeps dodging hard questions on China while allies stop pretending. From Carney being fact-checked again, to state media going quiet on court rulings, to NATO bluntly calling China a threat, the contradict...