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Front Burner is a daily news podcast that takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world. Each morning, from Monday to Friday, host Jayme Poisson talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.
We’re Canada’s number one news podcast and a trusted source of Canadian news. We cover Canadian news and Canadian politics, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre, the Donald Trump administration, provincial politics from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and politicians Danielle Smith, David Eby and Doug Ford.
We cover Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary as well as other municipalities across Canada. In this Canadian election year, Front Burner will be focusing more on Canadian politics. We will take a close look at Mark Carney’s first few weeks as Prime Minister, the Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre as well as the future of the NDP and Quebec’s Yves-François Blanchet from the Bloc Québécois during the 2025 Canadian federal election.
The podcast goes beyond Ottawa and digs deeper into major issues like U.S.-Canada relations, jobs, the economy, immigration, cost of living, housing and rental costs, taxes and tariffs, democracy and technology. The Front Burner daily podcast covers Canadian news from every province and territory: Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
We cover news from major cities like Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. When U.S. President Donald Trump declares he wants to make Canada the 51st state and decides to implement tariffs, Front Burner has an analysis into what is happening. We cover Elon Musk’s DOGE. We cover the latest in technology from the rise of bitcoin and crypto, the future of TikTok, Meta, artificial intelligence, influencers, and more. Look to our archives to see fact-checked stories about infrastructure, fascism, border security, immigration, Pierre Poilievre, the Republican Party, American politics, Canadian politics, India, China, Trump’s tariffs, Mark Carney, Elon Musk, Toronto, technology, artificial intelligence, international students, healthcare, and inflation. We cover global news like the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the ceasefire, the Ukraine-Russia war, the India-Pakistan conflict, and the U.S. economy and U.S. politics.
Front Burner is a part of your morning news routine. Whether you’re in Toronto or Vancouver or Washington, this is the news that matters to Canadians. We take a look at the economy and break it down from the budget to interest rate hikes to inflation to recessions to jobs to the cost of living. We look at the policy around housing, Canadian housing supply, and what this means for first-time home buyers, renters, and those with a mortgage. We look at technology, from AI to the manosphere to social media like Meta, Twitter, Facebook, and more. We look at influential newsmakers like Elon Musk and influential technology industries like crypto and AI.
1870 Episodes
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Late last week - a list of over 200 books, set to be removed from Edmonton school libraries by October made the rounds online. It was in response to an order set out by Alberta’s education ministry in July to take books with sexually explicit content from the shelves.This applied from kindergarten to Grade 12.On that list? Award-winning works like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.Intense criticism from writers, educators, civil liberties groups followed and on Tuesday the Alberta government paused the order and announced that they’re reworking it.The Investigative Journalism Foundation’s Brett McKay has been covering this push to remove sexually explicit content from school libraries in Alberta. He’s here to talk about the politics behind it, the uproar that ensued and how all this mirrors similar efforts to ban books in the U.S.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Today on the show, James Elder is here. James is UNICEF’s global spokesperson, and he has made five trips to Gaza since the October attacks documenting what UNICEF has called a “war on children.” He joins us less than two weeks after a UN backed body officially designated the hunger crisis in Gaza a famine, one that the UN’s relief chief Tom Fletcher says is man-made, and the result of what he calls “systematic obstruction by Israel”. Elder has also reported from Darfur, Yemen, Afghanistan and more. But he says Gaza is unlike anything he’s seen. We’re going to talk about his experiences on the ground and the responsibility of a witness in a time of war.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
1In a trial entering its final phase, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stands accused of attempting to stage a coup, leading an armed criminal organisation, and plotting to have the country’s current president and a Supreme Court justice killed. In response Bolsonaro ally U.S. President Donald Trump slapped Brazil with steep 50% tariffs and sanctioned the Supreme Court justice presiding over the case. Will America’s interventions help Bolsonaro and his far-right movement or backfire? And what’s at stake for the future of Brazil as the verdict nears? Gustavo Ribeiro, founder and editor in chief of the Brazilian Report, joins us. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
NATO’s secretary general has warned Russia could launch an attack on the alliance within the next five years. Talk to NATO’s two newest members, Finland and Sweden, and they’ll tell you preparation involves a lot more than just boosting military spending. As Canada seeks to strengthen ties with both countries, what can we learn from our newest NATO allies about preparing for the worst? Supported by the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship, CBC’s The House producer Emma Godmere travelled to the two Nordic countries to visit bomb shelters, the Russian border and military training grounds north of the Arctic Circle to see and hear how Finns and Swedes are steeling themselves for whatever the future may bring.Every Saturday, listen to The House for in-depth explorations of the biggest issues facing Canada. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/FBxTTND
Last week, the U.S. released another round of sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, including a Canadian judge. They’re the latest in a string of attacks from the Trump administration this year, after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.The sanctions come at a difficult time for the ICC as it operates without a chief prosecutor and is under increasing pressure to address the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. But what is really under the ICC’s jurisdiction and is it equipped to hold some of the most powerful leaders in the world to account? Kenneth Roth is the former director of Human Rights Watch and author of “Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Frontlines of Battling Abusive Governments”.He’s here to parse through the Trump administration’s sanctions, and the history and efficacy of the International Criminal Court.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
American history has always been contested, but recent decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump to reshape the way it’s taught and remembered have put museums, schools, and memorials squarely in the crosshairs. Earlier this year, Trump passed an executive order that called for the removal of what he referred to as “divisive, race-centered ideology” from the nation’s museums. He’s targeted the Smithsonian Museum in particular, calling it “out of control” and “woke”, criticizing it for focusing too much on teaching the history of slavery. What does it mean to discourage the teaching of slavery and Jim Crow laws in a country that practiced chattel slavery for nearly 250 years, and had been led by at least 12 Presidents who themselves owned slaves?Bryan Stevenson is a civil rights lawyer, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir ‘Just Mercy', and creator of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. He joins the show to talk about Trump’s attacks on American history, and the enduring legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial terror in the United States.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigned on big promises and bold action to save a country in crisis. It's now been more than 100 days since his cabinet was sworn in, but details and tangible results are still thin on the ground. How much of a runway does he have to start delivering on his promises on things like national infrastructure, housing, and a trade deal with the United States?Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre has regained his seat in the House of Commons in a summer byelection. Will we see a new approach from Poilievre and the Conservatives, or will they stick with the strategy that brought them within striking distance of forming government in the spring?CBC senior parliamentary reporter Aaron Wherry is here with a report card on the Carney cabinet’s first 100 days, and a look at the political opposition he'll be facing from Poilievre when parliament resumes next month. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
The unemployment rate for Canadians between 15 and 24 is at 15 percent, the highest it's been since 2010, not including the pandemic.Why can't young people find a job? And how do these numbers fit into the wider health of our economy at the moment?Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers Armine Yalnizyan is on the show to talk about these numbers, why they stand out and what could be done to prepare and protect the economy from a world of near-constant uncertainty.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Airstrikes and tanks continued pounding the outskirts of Gaza City over the weekend, as Israel’s plans to seize the strip’s largest urban centre continued. A much bigger operation, widely condemned by the international community, could begin within days or weeks.This is all happening as the world’s leading authority on food crises is saying that Gaza City and surrounding areas — currently home to half of the territory’s population — is now gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the rest of the strip unless a ceasefire is negotiated.Meanwhile, Israel recently approved a major settlement plan which would functionally divide the West Bank in two, blunting hopes for a future Palestinian state.Given all this — what’s the latest on ceasefire negotiations, and is there any sense that Western states have plans to step up pressure on Israel over either Gaza or the West Bank?Today, Gregg Carlstrom, the Economist’s longtime Middle East correspondent, is back on the show to discuss all of this. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Elon Musk wants a million people living on Mars within 20 years. Jeff Bezos imagines a trillion humans in space, living in a constellation of space stations the size of major cities within a few generations. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is preparing for a future where rogue AI could destroy civilization, and is stockpiling land, gas masks, and gold in the event it leads to disaster. These plans, which appear ripped from the world of science fiction, instead represent designs for the future held by some of the most powerful people in the world. Why are tech billionaires so consumed with escaping earth — and what does it mean for the rest of us?Today, guest Adam Becker — an astrophysicist, journalist, and author of More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity — joins Front Burner to explain the dystopian future being planned by the tech elite: one defined by ideas like space colonization, “technological salvation,” AI superintelligence, and the pursuit of eternal life.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Christian Zionism — the belief that the modern state of Israel fulfills biblical prophecy — has existed as a theological concept for well over a century. But in the past couple decades its political power and influence in the United States has surged, with many of Donald Trump's closest political allies among its adherents.Today we're taking a look at the theological roots of Christian Zionism, how it became a political force in America, and its impacts on U.S.-Israel policy.Our guest is Daniel Hummel, the author of Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
This summer is on track to being the second-worst wildfire season in Canadian history. It started earlier than usual with emergencies declared in the spring in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and is hitting locales that aren't typically fire-prone like Vancouver Island and Atlantic Canada. Meanwhile, fires from neighbouring provinces gave parts of southern Ontario some of the worst air quality in the world.So what does this mean for the Canadian summers of our childhood, spent mostly carefree and outdoors? What needs to be done for us to adapt to the prospect of more fires and heat to come — especially for kids growing up in this new reality? Denise Balkissoon, executive editor of The Narwhal, joins us to talk about how to navigate the ambient dread of our country's changing climate.Denise published a piece today about this in the Narwhal, which you can read here: www.thenarwhal.ca/seasonal-depression-summer-climate-change/For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Over the last few days, US President Donald Trump has hosted a series of high-stakes talks to further the effort to end the war in Ukraine.First, on Friday, there was the summit in Alaska — Russian president Vladimir Putin’s first time in the US in nearly 20 years. Then on Monday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House for his first time since his brutal confrontation with Trump in February. This time, he was accompanied by a group of European leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.Land swaps and security guarantees were all discussed — but are we any closer to actually seeing an end to the war in Ukraine? What is Ukraine being asked to give up in exchange for peace? And where do things stand with the war now? We’re joined by Francis Farrell, reporter with The Kyiv Independent. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
It was a chaotic weekend for anyone flying with Air Canada. The airline canceled hundreds of flights after 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job. Less than 12 hours later, federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu had ordered them back to work — but the union took the unusual step of defying that order and continuing the strike.The main sticking points for the union had been wages and "ground work" — that is, pay for time spent working when the plane is not moving, which most airlines don't do. But now, some experts argue it's become the latest example of the federal government rushing to tip the scales in labour disputes and undermining the bargaining process.CBC senior business reporter Anis Heydari explains how the situation got so messy, and why other airlines across North America — and their workers — are so invested in the outcome.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
This week, Canada's housing department released a document with more details on the Liberal government's plans to scale up affordable housing in the country. It's now seeking feedback from the public about it.Back in March, Prime Minister Carney vowed that his government would double the number of homes built annually in Canada to nearly half a million. This would be done through an entity called Build Canada Homes, which would spur construction with a focus on affordability and a 'made in Canada' approach.But these plans are coming together in a challenging environment. A new report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) forecasts a drop in housing starts over the next few years. That's against a backdrop of rising costs and other factors that are squeezing developers.So, can Carney's plan work, and can it work fast enough?Mike Moffatt, a founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative at the University of Ottawa and the co-host of the Missing Middle podcast, joins the show.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in recent history. Among those killed was Anas Al-Sharif — one of the last remaining reporters in Northern Gaza, and one of the most recognizable media voices in the strip.In July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that the public smear campaign against him, led by the Israeli military, was part of an effort to manufacture consent to kill him. Just weeks later, this past Sunday, he and three colleagues were killed in a targeted Israeli strike near a Gaza City hospital. The Israeli military has publicly admitted to the killing, calling Anas an operative connected to Hamas’ military wing: a charge that those who know him, along with organizations like the United Nations, deny.Sharif Kouddous is the Middle East editor at Dropsite News, and a longtime reporter on and in the region. He joins us today to talk about the killing of Anas Al-Sharif, who refused to leave Gaza, his home, despite months of threats against his life, and the cost of journalism in Gaza.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
National Guard troops descended on Washington D.C. after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to take back the nation's capital and clear the streets of what he calls "crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor". It comes after the President spent the better part of the last week taking aim at D.C.'s leadership, homeless population and how crime there is "out of control" – a statement that stands in sharp contrast to official figures showing that violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. Since then, in addition to deploying the National Guard, Trump has also taken control of the district's police force.Given that crime is on the decline in D.C., what is this takeover really about? And what could it signal to other cities in Trump's crosshairs? Alex Shephard from The New Republic joins us to make sense of it all.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
35 years ago, the Kanien'kehá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke squared off with the Canadian army to defend their territory, culminating an armed standoff now known as the Oka Crisis, or the Siege of Kanehsatà:ke.Now, some community members worry that same territory is being threatened by an out-of-control boom of unregulated cannabis megastores with alleged connections to organized crime. And a governance crisis exacerbated by that siege in 1990 has left the community with no clear way of resolving the growing tensions.CBC investigative reporter Jorge Barrera — who has covered the community extensively — explains how the deep history of Kanehsatà:ke has led to this pivotal moment, and what it could mean for its future.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Last month, RCMP charged four people for their alleged involvement in a plot to forcibly take land north of Quebec city in what Mounties called an incident of "ideologically motivated violent extremism". Three of the men were denied bail last week.The accused, they charged, had planned to create an anti-government militia, but even more startling: two of the four people charged by RCMP are active members of the Canadian Armed Forces.While it's the first time an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces has faced terrorism-related charges, extremism in the military isn't new.Jonathan Montpetit, a senior Investigative Journalist with CBC News, chronicles the Forces' uneven track record on extremism, and how deeply this issue has infiltrated the ranks over the years.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Bad Bunny, one of the most-streamed artists on the planet, is in the middle of his 30-concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico titled No me Querio Ir de Aqui, or "I don't want to leave here". Much like his latest album Debí Tirar Más Fotos, it is both a celebration of Puerto Rican culture and heritage but also a statement against the political and economic forces that have worked against the well-being and livelihoods of people on the island.With Petra Rivera Rideau, Associate Professor of American Studies at Wellesley College and the author of Remixing Reggaeton: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, we take a look at the message of Bad Bunny's album and concert residency, the political and historical context behind the work and how he fits into a generation of young Puerto Ricans hungry for change.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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he's been in office months - not years. there's a LOT going on at the moment. what does she expect? lots by the sounds of it. plus....."boy jobs????" what the heck is that? not sure this was the best person to chat about this.
is the economy in trouble? The cbc is now full retard. Never go full retard.
So unintelligent people who take poorly translated fables seriously are responsible for the ongoing wars in the Middle East. It’s frustrating, terrifying and yet incredibly boring when they explain it. This was a slog to listen to as someone who doesn’t believe in a man who lives in the sky.
Such an important piece . Please share.
The cbc is a filthy , disgusting place.
Never expected to hear an ENTIRE episode dedicated to Bad Bunny
the president "secured" energy and ai deals during his middle eastern trip? no... ha ANNOUNCED them. that's all. words matter, and the president didn't "secure" shit
this whole fucking episode is so massively crooked. you're laundering the basic conflict involved. "trump's sons got into crypto" and so trump got into it? fuck off. they were pitched on the massively crooked opportunity that trump could write the law on an industry he could easily jump in on.
I'm glad we're back to Canadian news
Oh look a US Republican president tanked the economy and started a war in the Middle East
chick can't wear a mask cause She doesn't want to. ppffft. don't give one tiny thought for others. selfish selfish selfish. that's the biggest problem anymore imo.
In a war between Israel and Iran, I want both of them to lose.
Oh gosh why include Ellie Hall? She is as clueless as the average person. Her opinions are skewed by her love for the royal family's pomp and nothing more. This program needs to bring in more serious people, not some fangirl.
On the bright side, I haven't gotten any scam calls since the war started
no, I'm not worried because I don't have even a remote desire to visit that "shite hole"
even towards the end of the rallies, Poilivere had trans supporters kicked out. not very inclusive in my opinion.
Carney should include both the NDP and the PQ in a unity govt and Hage a true mandate
pp eats humble pie. arrogant muppet
Woke up to find out Poilievre got unseated lmao
Honestly, I'm reasonably happy considering how bad the polling looked a few months ago