Front Burner

Earlier this month, U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra, made the dramatic allegation that Canada could be engaging in election interference in the U.S.

The ambassador was pointing to a few different things. One, was comments made by Industry Minister Melanie Joly about Canada’s tariff strategy. Another was Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s anti-tariff ads that ran in the U.S. last fall. They also pointed to Canadians that have been charged or sentenced in the U.S. with voter fraud-related incidents as part of a broad crackdown on non-citizen voting.

So what actually counts as foreign interference? We’re joined by Leah West, an associate professor of international affairs at Carleton University – and a former advisor for Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission.

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

On Wednesday, for the first time in three years, the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate. It’s a modest hike — just 0.25% — but it’s been a controversial one, with several economists arguing that governor Tiff Macklem was jumping the gun, when Canada has by some measures been dealing with a sluggish economy.

But Macklem also had his reasons. Today we take a look at the Bank’s rationale, what the impact of this rate hike may be, and what it says about the state of Canada’s economy.

Our guest is Kevin Carmichael, Economics Columnist and Editor-at-Large at The Logic.

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

In the few years since its inception, Anthropic has become one of the buzziest companies in tech. In their own words, they’re an AI enterprise that “puts safety at the frontier”. And this week they’re one step closer to going public with one of the biggest initial public offerings of all time, with expectations that they could raise up to $100-billion.

There’s a lot riding on this. Anthropic’s market debut could prove that either the AI boom is here to stay or that the mountains of money poured into the AI race were a bad bet.

With Erin Griffith, tech and business reporter at the New York Times, we look at what Anthropic’s 335-page pitch to investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission tells us about the company’s structure, finances and whether they can keep the AI train running.

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

On Tuesday, Americans will go to the polls in a midterm vote that stands to challenge the Republican hold on both chambers of congress. For the first time in decades, a state like Texas may flip from Republican to Democrat. The implications would be vast for a Trump administration that has benefited from Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

Alex Shephard, Senior Editor at The New Republic, joins us to break down some of the key dynamics that could decide which way the elections go.

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

At the end of September the B.C. Conservative party had imploded. Today, they are set to run the province. It's a stunning reversal of political fortune for a party that had been torn apart by infighting and resignations before a snap election call by the NDP.

The whole situation raises a tonne of interesting questions. Was this a triumph of one particular brand of conservatism over another? Or just a rejection of the NDP? Are there lessons here for Danielle Smith in Alberta and the struggling federal Conservatives?

Political strategist Kory Teneycke, co-founder and CEO of Rubicon Strategy joins us to talk about it.

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