The recession question

As Canada builds out its military, there has been an increasing focus on arctic security. But military strategies that work in the southern part of the country do not always work in the North. Gavin John was embedded in a patrol with Canadian rangers as part of Operation Nanook-Nunalivut. John, who covers national defence  for The Globe, shares what it was like to patrol more than 1,000 km in the Arctic on a snowmobile and why a small group of rangers are an important component of Canada’s military strategy. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Canada’s economy has stalled. According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s real GDP contracted 0.1 per cent on an annualized basis in the first quarter of 2026. In the previous quarter, there was a 1-per-cent annualized decline. Two consecutive quarters of decline has sparked debate in Ottawa and on Bay Street about whether the country is in a recession. Mark Rendell is The Globe’s economics reporter. He’s on the show to put these numbers in context, unpack the debate around what defines a recession, and what this says about Canada’s economic landscape.  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at  [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Interprovincial trade within Canada is complicated. Existing barriers mean that many goods, like alcohol, often can’t be sold across provincial and territorial lines. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been pushing for ‘one Canadian economy’ in the wake of attempts to diversify away from the U.S. Opening up interprovincial alcohol sales, especially direct to consumer sales, have been a litmus test for this vision. But last week, the provinces and territories missed the deadline for an agreement on reducing those barriers.  Jason Kirby is a staff reporter for The Globe’s Report on Business. He’s on the show to walk us through how alcohol sales work in Canada, what the barriers are preventing interprovincial trade and what it means that Canada hasn’t been able to resolve this issue.  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Canadian trucking industry touches almost every aspect of commercial  life — most Canadian products on store shelves made at least some part of their journey on the back of a truck. The conditions for drivers who got them there, however, are getting worse.  A Globe investigation by Sara Mojtehedzadeh , an investigative reporter at The Globe, and Mahima Singh, a Globe data editor, looked into the concerns raised by drivers and experts in the trucking industry.  They found widespread accusations of wage theft and exploitation, violations of labour laws and insufficient training. Sara’s on the show to detail the working conditions for drivers , the impact of lax enforcement, and how this jeopardizes safety on the roads.  Sara and Mahima will hold a Q&A about their investigation on Wednesday, June 3, at 12 p.m. ET. Send them your questions in advance. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault has announced his resignation from Mark Carney’s government, after stepping down from cabinet last fall.. During his time in Canadian parliament Mr. Guilbeault has become a symbol for the Liberal party’s climate conscience. His decision to depart centres on the Prime Minister’s approach to climate policy and it signals the most public disruption in the perceived unity of the Liberal caucus.    Marieke Walsh is The Globe’s senior political reporter. She’s here to discuss the politics and policy surrounding climate and what Mr. Guilbeault's resignation means for the Prime Minister.  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Vancouver and Toronto are getting ready to host FIFA World Cup matches in June and July, and the demands FIFA makes tend to be costly. Requirements from FIFA go from stadium renovations to branding enforcement, transportation and even tax exemptions. All three levels of government have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in preparation.     Contracts between FIFA and host cities aren’t usually public, but Greg Mercer, The Globe’s investigative reporter, managed to get access to them. He’s on the show to explain what he learned and how FIFA manages to make all these expensive and exorbitant demands on host cities.  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Canada has been pushing to increase its defence efforts. Earlier this year, Canada reached their NATO defence spending target of two per cent of GDP. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to obtain new early warning aircraft technology. And, the Canadian military is seeing an increase in enlistment rates. Janice Dickson is The Globe’s international affairs reporter. Earlier this month, she visited a military recruitment booth at a job fair. She’s on the show to talk about what is drawing potential recruits to enlist and what is behind this surge in enlistment.  Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation near Kamloops, B.C. was the site of a national reckoning over the legacy of residential schools. On May 27, 2021, the First Nation announced it had discovered 215 probable unmarked graves on the ground of a former residential school, using ground-penetrating radar technology. The number was later revised to around 200 probable graves.  Since that revelation, leaders of the First Nation have been reluctant to provide more information and have not yet conducted an archeological dig of the former residential school grounds.  Five years on and with few concrete answers, a loud contingent of skeptics and denialists have grown.  Globe reporters Willow Fiddler and Patrick White join The Decibel to report on what they have learned since, the impact of the initial announcement, the complexities of working on a site like this, and what is planned for the investigation going forward. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Political tensions are rising in Alberta. Last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province will hold a referendum on whether to hold a subsequent referendum on secession from Canada. Division and debate has been stirred up between federalists and separatists. And those who want to leave argue that Alberta will be better off, more economically successful and have full control over its natural resources.  The Globe’s editorial board did a reality check on some of the arguments for separatism. Oliver Moore, a member of The Globe’s editorial board, is on the show to talk about why separatists want to leave Canada and to help us sift through the legal myths and realities around Alberta separatism. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Getting paid for plasma – the yellow-gold liquid part of blood – in Canada is still pretty new. It’s full of protein and antibodies and can be used to make medicine for immunodefficient people. But following the deaths of two plasma donors, the practice is facing criticism and concerns are being raised about its safety. Chris Hannay is a business of healthcare reporter for The Globe. He’s on the show today to discuss how plasma collection works in Canada, what he’s learned from his experience donating, and how the growing practice of paid plasma is regulated. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.