Front Burner

For months now, agents working for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, have been carrying out raids, arresting people on the street, at work and at immigration courthouses. Often they are wearing plain clothes and masks.

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown intensifies, so have the instances of arrests and detentions by ICE, sometimes without warrants or due process. Despite mass protests and ...

In this politics roundup, we first check in with the CBC’s Aaron Wherry in the Alberta Rockies about the main takeaways from the G7 summit, which wrapped without Donald Trump after he left to deal with the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. 

Then, we speak to Toronto Star national columnist Althia Raj about C-5, an omnibus bill which is moving through parliament at breakneck speed. The bill’s intent is to speed up approval fo...

Palantir’s technology has been used by everyone from the CIA and Mossad to Airbus and Morgan Stanley. The multi-billion dollar big data software company is at the centre of many of the major issues of our time. 

Michael Steinberger is a reporter with The New York Times Magazine and the author of a forthcoming book on Palantir’s CEO entitled ‘The Philosopher in the Valley.’ He joins the show to discuss Palantir’s wide-reachi...

Longstanding tensions came to a head last week when Israel launched a missile attack on Iran, targeting the country’s nuclear facilities and killing several high-level military personnel and nuclear scientists. In the days following the two countries have exchanged missile strikes, killing at least 78 in Iran and 13 in Israel. 

As the conflict continues to escalate, what will it mean for the region? And as the bombardment d...

Starting Sunday, political and economic representatives of a world order that Donald Trump is intent on shattering are gathering in Kananaskis, in Alberta's Rocky Mountains.

That on its own would be high stakes. But add to it Mark Carney's aggressive national to-do list, and you've got two days that could show us how much Canada and the world have changed since Trump became president a second time.

Aaron Wherry, a senior writ...

For years now Canada's been badgered to pony up, and spend more money on the military. Those calls have come from our actual military itself, our NATO allies, and more recently the U.S. President.

Well it looks like Mark Carney is going to pull out the credit card, and commit to spending an extra $9.3-billion on the armed forces by March, bumping our military spending up to two per cent of Canada's entire GDP.

Carney has also...

As many as 40,000 Canadians are out of their homes right now with evacuation alerts and states of emergency in effect across much of western Canada, from B.C. through northern Ontario. Many, especially those from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have been away from home for weeks, with no indication of when they'll return.

CBC Thunder Bay's Sarah Law brings us the story of evacuees from Sandy Lake First Nation, making their way to Thu...

The city of Los Angeles has been embroiled in protests for days after a series of ICE raids rounded up dozens of people. Now, after President Donald Trump sent in 2000 members of the National Guard, the city finds itself in the middle of a fight between the White House and state and local governments over the rights of undocumented immigrants.

Jeannette Zanipatin is a lawyer and the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Coaliti...

A feud between Elon Musk and U.S. President Trump escalated and exploded over the course of 72 hours last week.

It started off with Musk’s criticism of Trump’s new spending bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination.” Trump later criticized Musk during a press conference in the Oval Office, saying that he would have won the 2024 election without the millions of dollars Musk spent to support him. From there, a barrage of at...

What is Canadian content? And why does it matter? The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission has been hearing very different answers to that question — as they try to come up with new CanCon rules. Commotion's Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks with storyteller Jesse Wente, policy expert Vass Bednar and showrunner Anthony Q Farrell about why getting CanCon right has never been more important.

Big laughs. Smart takes. Every...

On Sunday, Ukraine launched Operation Spider’s Web, a surprise drone attack that went deep inside Russia, reaching as far as Siberia for the first time.

Ukraine says 117 drones were smuggled into Russia, hidden in the roofs of wooden sheds and later loaded onto the backs of trucks then launched remotely. The result was an enormous blow to Russia’s strategic bomber fleet.

Cheaper than traditional weapons and commercially avail...

The Liberals have tabled new legislation that would significantly expand law enforcement powers and tighten immigration of all kinds, including refugee claims, in a move to appease the Trump White House — but critics say it raises major concerns for Canadians' civil liberties.

Meanwhile, Mark Carney met with Canada's provincial and territorial premiers this week in his first ever first ministers' meeting, and the post-meeting vi...

A little over five months ago, few outside of the New York City real estate scene knew who Steve Witkoff was. Now, as the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, he’s not only been tasked with trying to end the war in Gaza but he’s also at the centre of negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine and with Iran to secure a new nuclear deal. 

To understand how one of President Donald Trump’s closest friends came to spearh...

Since October 7, access to food in Gaza – and its systematic restriction by Israel – has been the subject of international condemnation. 

The most recent incident is the killing of dozens of Palestinians attempting to obtain food from an aid distribution centre.

Israeli settlers have blocked roads, and aid delivery. Aid convoys and workers have also been targeted with violence. And as of March, Israel established a full ...

Alex Shephard, senior editor at The New Republic, is on Front Burner to break down a few of the big developing news stories coming out of the Trump administration in recent weeks.

He talks to host Jayme Poisson about Elon Musk’s exit from the White House, U.S. President Trump’s war with Harvard, and where we are right now with the on again, off again tariffs as they get kicked around the courts.

For transcripts of Front Burne...

The use of generative AI has become rampant on college and university campuses across North America. KPMG - who surveyed over 400 Canadian students about this in the fall — found that around 60 per cent use AI models like ChatGPT in their assignments.

James Walsh recently wrote a piece in New York Magazine called Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College, where he spoke to dozens of students, professors, and administrators ...

The Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act – also known as Bill 5 – aims to fast track mining projects in Ontario and gives the government the power to create 'special economic zones' that would grant the government the power to exempt companies from still-unspecified laws.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has framed these measures as necessary to protect the province against the threat of Donald Trump's trade war. But the sweep...

For the third time in Canadian history, the head of the British monarchy delivered the throne speech before ushering in a new session of parliament. It comes at a time when Canada could use some help protecting its sovereignty in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

But how does this moment fit in with King Charles’ reign so far, which has been marked by political turmoil, royal rifts, calls for reparations and ...

Last June, during the first presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. election campaign, Joe Biden stumbled and struggled to find the right words. His performance was described as disastrous and incoherent.

At that point, many Americans had already come to the conclusion that Biden was too old for the job. But for those who hadn't yet, the debate was the moment that fact became impossible to deny.

Original Sin: President Biden’s D...