One might've thought we'd learned our lesson in 2020. That being hit with waves of deeply ill patients that pushed our health care system—especially its front lines in hospitals and ERs—to the brink would have woken us up to just how close to disaster we were operating. Alas.

On this episode of Cancon, Emergency Room physician, podcaster and author Dr. Brian Goldman takes us inside the ongoing low-level crisis that happening in emergency rooms across the country. Like any good doctor, he diagnoses the root of the problem, outlines the kind of long-term treatment it requires, and gives us some take-home instructions for the next time we find ourselves with a loved one in need of emergency care.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

The federal Liberals miraculous early-2025 comeback was one of the biggest sudden shocks in Canadian political history. In response to Justin Trudeau's resignation, Donald Trump's threats and tariffs and the ascendance of Mark Carney, Canadian voters flocked back to the party that had been in power for a decade. The party they appeared ready to abandon. In the wake of that, things seemed to settle into a new normal—something resembling a two-party system, with the Liberals and Conservatives neck and neck.

But in the first two months of this year, the tides seem to have turned again, but not in a way many predicted. The political landscape in this country, at least according to the polls, is looking different by the day. And upcoming byelections could push the Liberals into a majority. What's happening here? How much of this is real? And what have we learned about Canadian polling at a time when misinformation is a major part of many people's news diet?

Canadian polling expert Philippe J. Fournier, creator of 338Canada, joins Jordan for a conversation on the recent federal shift, what it tells us about the year to come, and the state of political polling in Canada.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

A little less than a decade ago, the podcast industry was ascendant in Canada. Independent shows were finding an audience, major media companies were starting podcast network and buying up podcast production houses, and it was assumed the medium would continue to grow alongside the American industry. Podcasting had arrived.

Today, despite audience growth that surged during the pandemic and continues today, the industry is struggling. It's not for lack of quality, as Canadian shows win international awards and Canadian hosts and producers often go on to work on massive shows in the United States. So why is the industry shrinking in Canada? Do Canadian audiences want Canadian shows? And what does the future of the format in this country look like?

Jordan sits down with longtime producer Kattie Laur, who runs Canada's podcast newsletter Pod The North, hosts her own show, Canardian, and has had just about every job there is in podcasting, as she explains just what happened to the Canadian podcast boom that never came.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

You know the joke about Canada being three (insert sector here) companies in a trench coat? Well, it's kind of always been that way.

When Canadians complain about the lack of choices for consumers in so many industries, they're continuing a long tradition that began with the founding of our nation. Ever since the Hudson's Bay company was handed control of the fur trade and our railroad was built by Canadian Pacific we've had it in our DNA. But now, when global competition is supposed to define the landscape, little has changed. Why is that? And why has our government been so unsuccessful in stopping it?

This week, Jordan is joined by Peter Nowak, host of Do Not Pass Go, a podcast dedicated to exploring monopolies across Canadian sectors to unpack why, exactly, a nation that recently claimed to be beefing up the powers of its competition bureau struggles to offer its citizens real choices in their everyday lives.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

Marshall Cohen is one of the last of the old masters. His job, for more than four decades, has been to personally select from the tons and tons of fresh produce that roll through the Ontario Food Terminal every day, the best and freshest fruits and vegetables possible. It's an art form, and he's widely regarded as the best around.

The terminal itself, the largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Canada, is a uniquely fascinating place, offering a glimpse into how massive supply chains operate to bring food from Canadian farms and international sellers to local grocery stores—and eventually to your fridge. But the game has been changing, and Marshall Cohen's well-earned, hands-on wisdom is being replaced by more modern, "efficient" methods.

Last year, Jake Edmiston, a business reporter at the Toronto Star, shadowed Cohen as he made his rounds. Jake takes us inside how the terminal works, what makes Cohen a "legend" (just ask anyone who's worked with him) and how the old masters of the food terminal may give way to whatever comes next...

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

As you may have heard (over and over again), travel to the United States by Canadians is way down. Other countries are also avoiding the US, whether due to political stances or security concerns. But Canadians, Europeans and others are still part of the post-pandemic travel boom. So where are they going? You got it!

Canadians are looking to explore their own country more than ever before. Foreigners are still looking to visit North America, just maybe not ... you know. All this has created the best chance Canada has had in decades to supercharge its growing travel industry. The only questions are if we're ready to seize it, and how we go about doing that...

Jordan speaks to Erin Hynes, a longtime travel industry expert and the host of Curious Tourism: A Responsible Travel Podcast, about what the past year has taught us about Canadian travel and where it might be headed this year.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

You may wonder, in the middle of a trade war, why Ontario's premier was pouring out a gigantic bottle of Crown Royal whisky, the spirit perhaps associated with this country more than any other. And why Doug Ford is now threatening to remove Crown Royal products from the shelves of Ontario's liquor stores. Well ... it's complicated.

Part of it is political theatre, of course. Part of it is intimidation. And part of it is perhaps because Crown Royal is not as Canadian as you might think, and there's a decent chance that, whatever your preferred brand, your favourite Canadian whisky isn't either...

In Episode 2 of Cancon, Jordan Heath-Rawlings is joined by Emily Osborne, a policy research associate at the Canadian SHIELD Institute, for a deep dive into exactly who makes what in Canada when it comes to the booze the rest of the world sees as "Canadian".

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

Decades ago, our government, and the body that oversees Canadian broadcasting, decided that homemade content was in danger of being overwhelmed by the vast flood of music, television, and film coming from the United States. The solution? A policy that required broadcasters to fill a certain amount of their programming with Canadian-made content, or "CanCon" as it came to be known.

But the media landscape looks very, very different today than it did in 1991. And while Canadian-made content still manages to break through (see: Rivalry, Heated), and the CRTC has periodically updated the regulations, there's no question the CanCon policy no longer covers all it was intended to. Should it change? Did it work? Is it still needed? Not at all, or more than ever?

Michael Geist is the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, and one of the country's foremost experts in media policy in the digital age. He joins Jordan to explain 35 years of CanCon, and if we need 35 more.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.