Canadian pride reached a fever pitch after the NHL 4 Nations Cup last month and it hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down since. Sales of the Canadian flags are up. American liquor and beer have been pulled off the shelves in stores throughout the country. “Elbows Up”, a war cry and tribute to Gordie Howe’s signature defensive move, has been trending on social media. 

But in a country that, according to polls, saw declining national pride for decades, what is our national identity? And how do you build a forward-looking and also inclusive, patriotic society? We wade through the good, the bad and the ugly of Canadian patriotism with David Moscrop, a freelance journalist and political scientist, and Jeet Heer, author and national affairs correspondent at The Nation.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On August 9th and 10th of 1969, a series of brutal murders took place in Los Angeles. Seven people were killed, including actress Sharon Tate, who was married to director Roman Polanski.

Members of the Manson family, a kind of cult, were found guilty for the crimes. Manson and four of his followers were convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death.

The prosecutor at the time said that Manson wanted to start a race war and trigger the end of the world. For decades, that was how the story went.

But a new film by legendary documentary filmmaker Errol Morris asks the audience to reconsider that. It's inspired by a book called "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties" by journalist Tom O'Neill, which makes the case that Manson might have been connected to the CIA's mind control program, MK-Ultra.

Errol Morris talks to host Jayme Poisson about "Chaos: The Manson Murders", unpacking the many theories about Charles Manson, and the culture of paranoia from that era of American history. The film is out on Netflix now.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

The Trump administration is continuing to expand its mass deportation of immigrants, and more and more people are getting caught up in its dragnet — from green card holders to Canadians, and even U.S. citizens. Court orders to block many of these actions are mounting, but the Trump administration is pushing back hard — going so far as pushing for the impeachment of a judge involved in one case.

Today, we’re speaking to Arelis Hernandez, a border reporter for The Washington Post, for a look at what separates this from previous immigration crackdowns, and where this all might lead. 

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Last week Jayme had the opportunity to interview Nobel Prize winning economist, and former staffer and advisor to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Joseph Stiglitz.

Stiglitz also worked as the chief economist at the world bank, is a bestselling author many times over and remains one of the towering economic thinkers of our time. 

He has long been a sharp critic of neoliberalism, and trade policies like NAFTA that he believes privileged the rich and corporations, but disenfranchised workers. 

This was a wide ranging conversation and dealt with Trump's tariff war, the threats towards Canada and the recent arrest and attempt to deport a Columbia student who helped lead protests against Israel's war in Gaza last year. 

The conversation was recorded in front of an audience. It was part of a conference put on by McGill's Media Ecosystem Observatory and the Max Bell School of Public Policy.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On Friday, Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister. He wasted no time in appointing a new cabinet, getting rid of the carbon tax, and heading off on a diplomatic trip to Europe.

Today, Rosemary Barton, CBC’s chief political correspondent, joins us to talk about what Carney’s first days in office indicate about his political priorities, how the Conservatives are responding, and when we might expect an election.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

On October 25th, 2023, after weeks of Israeli bombardment on Gaza, Canadian novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad posted this on X:

"One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this."

Israel had declared war on Hamas after the Oct 7 attack. On top of the bombardment, there was a full siege in place – civilians in Gaza were cut off from water, electricity, and food. 

As Omar witnessed the destruction from afar, he kept track of how the war was being framed and talked about by Western media and governments. He spoke to host Jayme Poisson about how his frustration with all of that prompted, in part, his latest book: "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This".

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

There's been a flurry of news and uncertainty around tariffs and Canada-U.S. relations lately so we thought we'd open the floor to you in case you have any burning questions. Turns out a lot of you do!

So, we took some of your questions to five incredible experts: Economist Armine Yalnizyan, CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton, CBC Washington correspondent Alex Panetta, energy economist Andrew Leach and Ottawa Citizen national security reporter David Pugliese. Together, with Jayme Poisson, they parse through your concerns and queries and do their best to make sense of this moment.  

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

By the end of Tuesday, day eight of the Canada-U.S. trade war, Ontario Premier Doug Ford had backed down on a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity going to the U.S. that was supposed to go into effect that day. 

It came after a "productive conversation" between Ford and U.S. commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, who agreed to meet Ford on Thursday. 

Lutnick has been making the rounds on U.S. cable networks selling Trump's tariffs and ripping into Canada's response. He was also on the call last week between Prime Minister Trudeau and Trump, and has been in constant communication with Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc.

So, who is Howard Lutnick? What kind of negotiator is he? What does he believe?

Dan Alexander is a senior editor at Forbes Magazine. He recently wrote a profile on Lutnick titled "The most hated guy on Wall Street: the unspoken story around Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for commerce secretary".

As Canadians grapple with the ongoing threat of American tariffs, south of the U.S., Mexicans are dealing with the same thing. Today we look at the similarities and differences in the situations both countries are facing, the different ways our leaders are dealing with Trump, and the surprising impacts the tariff threat may be having in Mexico’s war on drugs.

Elías Camhaji, a reporter with the newspaper El País based in Mexico City, joins us.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

After a two-month race, the Liberal Party of Canada chose Mark Carney as its new leader on Sunday night. It was an overwhelming win – Carney won with 86 per cent of the vote. The Prime Minister-Designate is expected to be sworn in, in the coming days.

Paul Wells has written about Canadian politics for decades. He also has a substack under his own name.

He looks ahead to the challenges facing Carney. From figuring out the pros and cons of calling a federal election straight away, to not having a seat in Parliament, to arguably the most significant challenge of all: managing Canada’s response in a trade war with the U.S. 

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts