The Decibel

With less than two weeks until the federal election, The Decibel is bringing you another edition of Campaign Call, The Globe’s weekly election panel.

This week, ahead of the French and English leaders’ debates, feature writer Shannon Proudfoot and chief political writer Campbell Clark will explain why debates still matter and what each leader needs to accomplish during them.

In the second half, we’re joined by Nik Nanos, the chief data scientist of Nanos Research, to get a behind-the-scenes look at the polls – in terms of how the data is gathered and how reliable polls are.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]

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The way medical records are handled in Canada is a patchwork of disconnected systems – creating massive headaches for patients and doctors. Patients struggle to access their own data, and practitioners have to waste time compensating for inefficiencies. But, governments, companies and healthcare professionals are searching for ways to make all these systems talk to each other.

Chris Hannay is a staff reporter at the Globe who covers the business of healthcare. He’ll explain how Canada’s medical record system ended up like this and what Canada could gain from adopting an interconnected system.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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The federal election is in two weeks, on April 28 – so the Decibel has invited the leaders from Canada’s major parties onto the show to share their vision for the country.

And while environmental concerns haven’t been top-of-mind in this election … Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault says he isn’t just concerned about climate change.

Pedneault – who previously served as the party’s deputy leader from 2022 to 2024 – is proposing bold policies on a range of issues Canadians are facing, from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats to the high cost of living.

The former journalist and human rights investigator, who has spent the better part of the last decade and a half working and living abroad, believes more progressive ideas are needed in this election. But the Greens are lagging in the polls, and Pedneault is running in a Liberal stronghold … So how will they be effective if they don’t make it to the House of Commons?

Today, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault joins us from Montreal. Ahead of the leader debates this Thursday, we ask him about his party’s daring proposals, what the Greens are offering Canadians, and if he’s returning to Canadian politics for good.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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We’re halfway through the election period and it’s time for Campaign Call, The Decibel’s weekly election panel making sense of the major issues. This week, the embers of western separatism were stoked by an opinion piece by Preston Manning published in The Globe, arguing that national unity is on the ballot. We explore the threats of regionalism amidst the surge of pro-Canadian sentiment across the country. Plus, we’ll look into how the major parties are making their pitch to win over a crucial voting demographic – seniors.

Feature writer Shannon Proudfoot, Alberta politics reporter Carrie Tait, columnist Konrad Yakabuski based in Montreal and Meera Raman, retirement and financial planning reporter, discuss the big stories with host Menaka Raman-Wilms.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]

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Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on most of the world, plunging markets into some of the worst days in recent memory. The tariffs took effect yesterday, but after hours of market volatility, the White House reversed course. Trump announced a 90-day pause on his initial tariff plans, instead issuing a 10-per-cent tariff on all implicated trading partners other than China. Instead, Trump doubled down by raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 125 per cent. All of this uncertainty has led to chaos in global markets.

Tim Kiladze, a financial reporter and columnist for The Globe, is on the show to make sense of what’s going on in the markets, and what all this means for global trade.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]

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For years, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been framing the federal race as a “carbon tax election.” But then Mark Carney became the Liberal Leader and Prime Minister and “axed the tax” for him, setting the consumer carbon price to zero.

Now, Poilievre is targeting another federal carbon tax – the one on the industry’s largest emitters. It’s part of a broader shift in this election toward energy sovereignty. Against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing threats to Canada’s economy, there’s been a surge in public and political support for domestic oil and gas projects.

Today, The Globe’s Adam Radwanski, a columnist who covers climate policy, is on the show. He’ll walk us through the ongoing political fight over carbon pricing, why we’re suddenly seeing more support for pipelines, and the cost of slowing Canada’s efforts against climate change.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail us at [email protected]

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In the age of gentle parenting, a new trend has emerged: parents are changing the ways they talk to their young children about sharing. Rather than forcing their kids to share their toys, relenting to their playmates’ demands, some parents are encouraging their children to say “no” and stand up for themselves.

Amberly McAteer is a contributing parenting columnist for the Globe. She joins the show to talk about what it looks like to teach your kids it’s okay not to share all the time, how she’s adopted this mentality with her own children, and why she believes it will lead them to become more empowered and self-assured as they grow up.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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Last week, the U.S. Senate vote to pass Senator Tim Kaine’s resolution to end the state of emergency that allows U.S. President Donald Trump to issue tariffs on Canadian goods. President Trump’s stated reason for the tariffs is that the fentanyl flowing into the United States from Canada “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat.” The number he’s been citing is 43 pounds for the fiscal year 2024.

Globe reporters Kathryn Blaze Baum, Colin Freeze and Andrea Woo looked into that number and found that the White House has been using misleading data to justify tariffs on Canada. Today, Kathryn is on the show to explain what their investigation found, how much fentanyl seized in the U.S. last year can actually be attributed to Canada, and what kind of impact the Senate resolution could have on the trade war.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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It’s the end of the week, which means it’s time for Campaign Call…our election panel where we make sense of the major issues. This week we’re going to talk about one of the central themes in the campaign: the uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump. We also get into why the Conservatives are fighting in public, and what each major party is promising to help workers affected by Trump’s tariffs.

Feature writer Shannon Proudfoot, senior reporter Stephanie Levitz, and economics reporter Jason Kirby discuss with host Menaka Raman-Wilms.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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U.S. President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Wednesday to put reciprocal tariffs on goods from most of its international trading partners. Trump called the tariffs a “declaration of economic independence” and accused other nations of stealing American jobs.

However, Canada and Mexico, which have been in Trump’s crosshairs for months, are exempt from the new tariffs, as long as they comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal. But higher tariff rates will continue for aluminum and steel, and tariffs are coming on all foreign auto products.

Mark Rendell, the Globe’s economics reporter, breaks down the confusing array of new tariffs, the ones that Canada’s still dealing with... and the impact of Trump’s trade war going global.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at [email protected]

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