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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.
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Former FBI James Comey. Former national security advisor John Bolton. New York attorney general Letitia James. What do they have in common? All are now facing legal action from the U.S. government.Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of the U.S. nonprofit publication Lawfare, breaks down the Trump White House's campaign of legal revenge against the president's rivals and critics, and where it could be headed next.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.
Over the last 10 days Israel and Hamas have observed a ceasefire that saw the return of hostages and prisoners to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank as well as deliveries of much needed aid to famine-struck Gaza since the deal was reached. However, the ceasefire has remained shaky and the possibility of a permanent end to the war is still uncertain. Israel carried out airstrikes throughout southern Gaza after it said Hamas militants fired at IDF troops in Rafah. Hamas has denied this. To parse through the events that led to those developments, we talked to William Christou, freelance journalist based in Jerusalem for The Guardian. We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
This year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado.In the announcement last week, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Machado had earned the prize for her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy". The award comes at a time when the U.S. has taken an increasingly belligerent stance against Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro.So today we’re talking about Machado, the legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize, its controversial winners, who wins it and who doesn’t.Jay Nordlinger, the author of Peace They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, and a writer with the Next Move, a publication of the Renew Democracy Initiative, joins the show.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
1Marie-Philippe Bouchard has been in her role as President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada for a little under a year.Since her appointment, we’ve had a federal election that has spared the public broadcaster from defunding threats for now, but certainly not from a broad sentiment that the CBC needs change and evolution. This week, Bouchard unveiled her own five-year vision. Today, she joins the show to discuss the relationship Canadians have with the CBC, and what changes she thinks the public broadcaster needs to make.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.
At its peak, Marineland was the second most popular tourist destination in Ontario’s Niagara region after the falls. Visitors could get up close and personal with beluga whales, dolphins and orcas, and watch them perform in elaborate shows. Throw in a side of rollercoasters and other exhibits and you had a family friendly attraction built to last.But for years, the park has been mired in controversy and allegations of animal abuse. Business has declined to the point that the park is now closed to the public. However, several animals including 30 beluga whales remain trapped there. Marineland says it needs money or a new home for the whales, or else they might have to kill them.Liam Casey of the Canadian Press has been covering this story for years. He lays out what could happen to the whales, and what it all means for other parks like Marineland.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.
Canada's first ever minister of artificial intelligence, Evan Solomon, is spearheading what he's calling a "30-day sprint" to nail down Canada's AI strategy. The plan? To figure out a government approach to the technology in order to boost the Canadian economy.Today, we wanted to take stock of the state of the industry in Canada, and a closer look at the Liberal government’s strategy. What could it all mean for our jobs, our economy, society, and environment?Murad Hemmadi, a reporter with The Logic, joins the show.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.
Where did Elon Musk’s epic ambitions begin? In search of clues we return to his sheltered youth in apartheid South Africa, a world engineered for white supremacy. Along the way, we connect the dots between a bizarre White House ambush of South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to teenage Elon’s ego-powered quests in video games. Finally, was his “draft dodge” from military service a moral act or an opportunist’s exit? Know more, now. Understood is an anthology podcast from the CBC that takes you out of the daily news cycle and inside the events, people, and cultural moments you want to know more about. You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/FBxMoM
Today, if all goes well, a ceasefire will begin in Gaza.In phase one, Hamas has pledged to return all of the hostages, living and dead. For its part Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, while withdrawing troops to an agreed-upon line in Gaza and maintaining majority control of the territory.Beyond that, the details of Trump’s promise of a “strong, durable, and everlasting peace” are fuzzy, but for hostage families and people in Gaza, it’s a reason to hope. Producer Allie Jaynes brings us a documentary that gives an on-the-ground perspective of what these past two years have been like for Gazans — especially for children. We hear from a 12-year-old with a popular Instagram “cooking show,” a girl living in a crowded displacement camp, and a music teacher giving lessons to kids all over Gaza to help them “escape the weight of war through the freedom of music.”We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.
Beyond the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, a shadow war between the Kremlin and Kyiv is escalating -- with covert assassinations, car bombs, civilian recruitment, and even the involvement of a terrorist group with a history in Canada. Today, national security reporter Ben Makuch examines how it’s transforming the character of the biggest land war since the Second World War -- and who might be winning.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
The term ‘Antifa’ derives from the German word for Antifascist — and the constellation of resistance movements largely created as a response to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Today, Antifa describes a decentralized anti-fascist movement with local groups and unaffiliated activists all over the world. Many became aware of Antifascist organizing following Antifa’s intervention at the white supremacist ‘Unite The Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. For the last decade, Antifa has come to symbolize progressive protest and movement building – engaging in doxxing,, property destruction, and street-level physical confrontations. In late September of this year, U.S. President Donald Trump officially designated Antifa a domestic terror organization. Mark Bray is an academic, scholar of European history and radicalism, and the author of several books including ‘ANTIFA — the anti fascist handbook.’ He joins the show to discuss the rise of antifascist movements from the 1930s to today, and why Trump’s terror designation recalls authoritarian crackdowns through history, both in the U.S., Canada and abroad. We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Egypt are underway, with the goal of reaching an agreement on the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposed peace plan. It would see the release of all remaining Israeli hostages by Hamas and potentially, over a thousand Palestinians detained by Israel as well as a ceasefire. The overall plan aims to end the war altogether.But after previous hostage exchanges and ceasefires have failed to bring a permanent end to the war, what’s different this time? Are they any closer to peace?William Christou, a freelance journalist working for The Guardian currently in Jerusalem, joins Jayme Poissonto parse through Trump’s plan, the talks so far and how people in Israel and Gaza are reacting to it all.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Aaron Wherry, senior writer at CBC's parliamentary bureau, is back today to talk Canadian politics.We get into Mark Carney’s upcoming trip to Washington and what it might mean for the possibility of some sort of trade stability with the United States.Plus, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her province will propose a new bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s coast to the federal major projects office. But with significant opposition from indigenous communities and the B.C. government, is she just trying to pressure the federal government to get involved?We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
When the book ends, the conversation begins. On Bookends, Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.Bookends does not shy away from difficult conversations … and neither does Anna Sale, the host of the popular Slate podcast Death, Sex and Money. The show is all about diving into topics that get deep fast, and Anna expands on that promise in her book, Let’s Talk About Hard Things. In this special bonus episode, Anna joins Mattea to chat all about the book, podcasting and how her own outlook on tough topics has changed over the years. You can listen to Bookends wherever you get your podcasts, or here: https://link.mgln.ai/FB-Bookends
After Donald Trump was elected for a second time, historian Timothy Snyder wrote this in the New Yorker: “Trump has always been a presence, not an absence: the presence of fascism.” Today on Front Burner, Snyder makes that case again. His warning about fascism feels particularly relevant at this point in Trump’s presidency, as the U.S. sees an escalation in political violence, the deployment of federal law enforcement in major cities, and the proliferation of masked ICE agents on what critics call ‘roving patrols’ across the country.Timothy Snyder teaches at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. He is the author of books like “On Tyranny” and “On Freedom”.We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
The U.S. government has shut down after Republicans and Democrats failed to pass a spending bill before the end of Tuesday. Government services will grind to a halt and hundreds of thousands of federal employees face unpaid leave. How long is it expected to last, and could it have been avoided? Plus, President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth held a rare gathering of the country’s top military leaders, detailing their new vision for the US military. We break it all down with Alex Shephard, senior editor at The New Republic. We'd love to hear from you! Complete our listener survey here.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Last week, Canada officially recognized Palestinian statehood. In explaining this decision, Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement which read, "Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel."Just over a week later, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled an alternative way forward: a 20-point plan they say would end the war in Gaza, but falls well short of creating a pathway for the creation of a Palestinian state. Today, we're talking about the creation of a Palestinian state, as well as the promise, failure, and uncertain future of the two-state solution. Our guest is Noura Erakat, an academic, human rights lawyer, author, and Palestinian-American activist. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
While Donald Trump may have shocked many at the UN General Assembly when he called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world”, he may just have been the most extreme messenger of a global shift being seen elsewhere. David Wallace-Wells, author of “The Uninhabitable Earth” and friend of the show, recently wrote a feature for the New York Times detailing the ways much of the world has turned away from climate politics and how the era of the Paris Agreement, which was signed 10 years ago, may be coming to an end. He talks to us about why we are seeing this shift and whether the green energy transition, led by China, is enough to make up for it. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
It’s been about a month since the NDP leadership race began and two main contenders have emerged: longtime climate activist and former broadcaster Avi Lewis, and NDP MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, Heather McPherson, one of the most prominent New Democrat voices in Western Canada.The NDP suffered a crushing defeat last election. The party went from 24 MPs to only seven, losing official party status. The next leader is faced with a monumental challenge to rebuild.Today, we’ve got two people with different visions of what that looks like.Martin Lukacs is the managing editor of the independent progressive media outlet The Breach. He’s also the author of ‘The Poilievre Project’.Cheryl Oates is a political consultant, who worked for former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley. She’s also worked on NDP campaigns across Western Canada, and teaches at McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy.They join host Jayme Poisson for a spirited debate about the future of the NDP.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
Dan Wang is a tech analyst and a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover History Lab. He’s one of the leading China analysts in the world right now and his new book is called “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future”.Today on the show he explains his novel way of understanding the clash between China and the United States: China owns the future because it is an “engineering state” whereas the U.S. is a “lawyerly society” that often gets in its own way.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
After a brief suspension for comments he made in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing, Jimmy Kimmel has made his return to late night.It was just the latest example in a string of cancellations, resignations, lawsuits, settlements and potential mergers that tell the story of a media industry buckling to Trump or consolidating under a wealthy and powerful few, many of whom are friendly with the Trump administration. Eoin Higgins, independent reporter and author of “Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left” joins us to talk about the bigger story of what’s happening with American media and the changes still to come.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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Happy Thanksgiving CBC!
you're doing outstanding work, Jamie. keep it up! best coverage if this subject in Canada's mainstream, without question.
The saddest thing about the American situation is that if the shooter had just turned his gun onto the students, no one would care. In the words of Kirk, that hypothetical action would have been worth it to have a 2nd amendment. America is an insane country
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