The Decibel

The Globe and Mail

Context is everything. Join us Monday to Friday for a Canadian daily news podcast from The Globe and Mail. Explore a story shaping our world, in conversation with reporters, experts, and the people at the centre of the news.

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1,335 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes1335

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Apr 14, 2025 · 31 min
An interview with Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault
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
Apr 11, 2025 · 31 min
Campaign Call: Western separatism amid a moment of Canadian unity
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
Apr 10, 2025 · 22 min
Global markets reel from tariff whiplash
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 o
Apr 9, 2025 · 24 min
What happened to the ‘carbon tax election’?
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 Canad
Apr 8, 2025 · 21 min
The case for teaching your child it’s okay not to share
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
Apr 7, 2025 · 23 min
Despite what Trump says, barely any fentanyl comes from Canada
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
Apr 4, 2025 · 29 min
Campaign Call: Trump chaos and Conservative infighting
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 J
Apr 3, 2025 · 23 min
Making sense of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
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 alumi
Apr 2, 2025 · 23 min
What you need to know about U.S. travel as detentions rise
Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, immigration lawyers have reported seeing a rise in non-U.S. citizens being denied entry. At the beginning of March, Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian who had previously been able to obtain a U.S. work visa, was detained for nearly two weeks when she tried to renew her visa. European tourists have been detained at the border, and Canadians born in Iran and Afghanistan have been increasingly turned away at the border. The Globe’s Vanmala Subraman
Apr 1, 2025 · 22 min
New foreign interference allegations emerge in election campaign
In the first week of the federal election campaign, several new foreign interference stories have bubbled up. The first involves allegations that CSIS believed agents working on behalf of India organized support for Pierre Poilievre’s 2022 Conservative leadership bid. Meanwhile, the Liberals are dealing with fallout from the allegations that former Member of Parliament Chandra Arya had ties with India and met with Prime Minister Narenda Modi. Liberal leader Mark Carney is also responding to cal
Mar 31, 2025 · 29 min
Youngest premature twins to survive celebrate a hallmark birthday
This March, Adrial and Adiah Nadaraja turned three years old. Born at 22 weeks, they were the youngest premature twins ever to survive to their first birthday. If they had been born just two hours earlier, health care workers would not have medically attempted their resuscitation. Today, Kelly Grant joins the show with an update about how Adrial and Adiah are doing, how far the family has come, and how the twins’ birth asked difficult medical and moral questions, but may ultimately help to push
Mar 30, 2025 · 12 min
East to West: voices in Atlantic Canada ahead of the election
During the election campaign, the Globe and Mail is travelling across the country to hear about the issues facing people in Canada today. In small communities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this week, producer Kasia Mychajlowycz spoke to students, business owners, retirees and more. She found that as some struggle to make ends meet with the rising cost of living in rural Atlantic Canada, many are patriotic in the face of the trade war with the Trump administration.
Mar 28, 2025 · 29 min
Campaign Call: What it means to be a ‘change’ candidate
Welcome to The Decibel’s inaugural election panel! Each week, we’re going to focus on a major theme from the week’s campaign, and provide some analysis about what’s happening. Then, we’re going to unpack specific policy promises from the big parties to help you decide how to vote. We’ll end by answering your questions. So here’s a reminder to send us an e-mail or voice note with your questions about the campaign. This week we look at how all of the candidates are trying to campaign on the idea
Mar 27, 2025 · 24 min
Why Canada’s water security is being threatened by Trump
For decades, scientific research at the Great Lakes has meant close partnership between Canada and the U.S., but President Trump’s latest job cuts may be changing that. Last Thursday, the U.S. agencies overseeing the health and conditions of oceans, lakes and rivers became the latest target of the Trump Administration’s federal job-cutting spree. Patrick White reports on water issues for the Globe. Today, he explains how the partnership around the Great Lakes is changing, why there’s new negoti
Mar 26, 2025 · 22 min
Canadians executed in China as tensions grow
Last week, Global Affairs Canada confirmed that China has executed four Canadians since the beginning of the year. The move further escalates already tense diplomatic relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, China’s retaliatory tariffs on Canadian goods went into effect on Thursday. And all of this is happening in the middle of Canada’s trade war with the United States. Now, Canada finds itself fighting its two biggest trading partners – while they fight with each other. Today, the Glob
Mar 25, 2025 · 21 min
What it’s like to be an undocumented migrant in Canada
The population of undocumented migrants living and working in Canada is substantial. And while most of them initially entered the country legally, on visas or work permits, many migrants feel that it is worth it to stay in Canada after their status expires, even if they are not legally allowed to work or live in Canada and risk being deported. Globe journalist Sarah Efron, and freelance photographer Yader Guzman, spent months meeting people from Canada’s undocumented migrant community. Today, S
Mar 24, 2025 · 25 min
The ‘trade war’ election campaign is under way
At midday on Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney asked Governor-General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament and begin an election campaign. Canadians are heading to the polls to elect the next federal government on Monday, April 28. Three months ago, this election was the Conservatives’ to lose. But polling has Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney neck and neck. The race is set to be one of the most unpredictable – and important – elections in recent memory. U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and
Mar 21, 2025 · 25 min
How Prime Minister Mark Carney is preparing for the federal election
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a federal election by Sunday, after being sworn into office last week. And he’s had a busy week. Between announcing that he’ll be cutting the consumer price on carbon and introducing a leaner cabinet, he took his first trip as prime minister, travelling to Paris, London, and Iqaluit. But why hasn’t Carney’s tour included a trip south of the border, when trade tensions with the U.S. look to define Canada’s upcoming election? The Globe’s senior rep
Mar 20, 2025 · 21 min
Project 2025 had a tariff plan, but Trump has gone off-script
Project 2025 was meant to be a U.S. Republican transition bible, outlining a vast set of proposed policies for the next leader. Within its 900 pages, was a plan to use tariffs to correct a perceived imbalance in trade, and to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. Once U.S. President Donald Trump took office, he endorsed this plan – but then, he went off-book. Now, other Republicans, and Wall Street, are trying to figure out what the president’s long-term strategy is, and what to do about it
Mar 19, 2025 · 22 min
Limited ceasefire brokered in Ukraine-Russia war
Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a limited ceasefire with Ukraine after a discussion with U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal, also supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, would mean Russian and Ukrainian troops will stop targeting energy and infrastructure for 30 days. This ceasefire plan falls short of the original proposal, which would’ve seen an immediate 30-day halt to all fighting. Further talks are planned, but at this point, there are still a number of conte