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 ...
Last week, Parks Canada confirmed a dead goose in a Scarborough park tested positive for bird flu, raising concerns that with more birds flying north for spring, the virus will spread. Canada saw its first and only domestically-acquired human case in November, but in the U.S., at least 68 people have been reported infected in the last year, according to CDC data. One person has died from the illness. The poultry industries on both sides of the border have been grappling with the virus for years, and outbreaks have led to the culling of millions of birds in the last year. Now, the U.S. dairy industry is being impacted as herds of cattle in several states have fallen ill. Nicholas Florko, a staff writer with The Atlantic, joins the show to talk about the virus, how it’s spreading in the U.S. and why some people are worried that it could be the beginning of the next pandemic.
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24:23
Canadian Tech’s rightward drift
Following years of disillusionment with the federal Liberal party, some of Canada’s most high profile tech CEOs are leading a movement to bring their industry in line with the Conservative Party of Canada. According to new reporting, a collection of Canada’s tech CEOs have been discussing plans to influence Canada’s future in a WhatsApp group called ‘Build Canada’. Canada’s tech sector was once closely bound to the Liberals and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but many feel slighted by a government they feel failed to take their concerns seriously.Catherine McIntyre is a reporter with The Logic, and joins us to discuss Canadian Tech’s rightward drift, whether it is a product of similar trends in the United States, and the implications for Canada’s future.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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27:51
Buy Canadian, bye-bye America?
Even with the tariffs on U.S. goods mostly on pause for the rest of the month, many are still doing what they can to “Buy Canadian” and switch their buying habits away from anything American-made. But how do you actually go about doing that? And should it extend into our digital and media habits too?Vass Bednar, executive director of McMaster University's Master of Public Policy and Digital Society program and author of The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians, joins us to wade through the murky waters of navigating a trade war in a country that’s so intertwined with its neighbour to the south.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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21:24
Reality-checking the tariff fentanyl crackdown
Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau promised U.S. President Donald Trump a crackdown on fentanyl and tougher border measures in exchange for a pause on tariffs. But what could that fentanyl crackdown actually look like — and will it make things better, or worse? And as the cultural and political backlash against harm reduction increases in Canada, how could this factor into an upcoming election?Today, we’re joined by Manisha Krishnan, an Emmy award-winning journalist covering North American drug policy, for a look at what this crackdown could mean for Canada.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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21:49
Canada-U.S. tension, a history
In the latest whiplash from the White House, U.S. President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he would announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported to the U.S. – including from Canada – on Monday.This, of course, comes a week after he decided to give Canada a 30-day reprieve from blanket and crippling tariffs on all exports to the U.S.This is an incredibly tense and chilling time for two countries that have been allies and trade partners for a long time. But the current fear and anger over the tariffs, and annexation talk aren’t new.Asa McKercher has been studying the Canada-U.S. relationship for years. He is the Hudson Chair in Canada-U.S. relations at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, and teaches at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts
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, Justin Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre, the Donald Trump administration, the upcoming 2025 Canadian election, 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 election year, Front Burner will be talking about Canadian politics. As Justin Trudeau departs as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberals, we will look at the Liberal leadership race and frontrunners Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland. We will take a close look at the Conservatives and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre as well as other leaders like Jagmeet Singh from 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 election issues like jobs, the economy, immigration, cost of living, housing and rental costs, taxes and tariffs. 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 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. When wildfires threaten our forests and communities, we speak to climate change experts. When Facebook announces a new change, we’ll explain why. We cover the latest in technology and figures like Elon Musk and the rise of bitcoin and crypto, the future of TikTok, artificial intelligence, influencers, and more.Look to our archives to see fact-checked stories about infrastructure, fascism, border security, immigration, Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau, the Republican Party, American politics, Canadian politics, India, China, Trump’s tariffs, Mark Carney, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, California wildfires, trad wives, millennials, conservative politics, 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, 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 Canadian healthcare issues like the doctor shortage, vaccinations, COVID-19, safe supply, mental health, and privatized healthcare. 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. How does tech shape our lives? Who are the people that make up Canada, and what are the concerns and questions around Canadian immigration policy? In a time of climate change, Front Burner brings you expert interviews whether it's fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, or heat waves. We cover Indigenous issues from the legacy of residential schools to Indigenous politics and newsmakers.