The Rundown

Canada is preparing for major nation-building projects while entering trade talks with the United States and Mexico, promising partnership with Indigenous peoples but leaving questions about what that means in practice. How will those commitments be carried out, and whose voices will shape the outcome? At the same time, Indigenous humour offers insight into culture, identity, and connection, reflecting shared experience while challenging assumptions. What makes it distinct, and can it help build understanding across communities? Anishinaabe journalist Tanya Talaga and playwright and author Drew Hayden Taylor join the conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with world leaders at the G7 in France, trying to position Canada in an increasingly uncertain global order, new questions are emerging about the country's economic stability and its most critical trade relationship. U.S. President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the future of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, saying "I'm not looking to renew it" and "we don't need anything that Canada has," with a key deadline approaching. How exposed is Canada if that deal unravels, and how should its foreign and economic strategy adapt? Arif Lalani, Shannon Gormley, Adam Chapnick, and Drew Fagan join Jeyan to discuss.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Closures on Highways 11 and 17 can cut off entire northern communities and disrupt supply chains, raising questions about why long-standing calls for more resilient infrastructure have yet to be answered. Charles Cirtwill, founding president and CEO of the Northern Policy Institute, and Maggie Horsfield, first vice-president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities and deputy mayor of North Bay, join Jeyan to discuss. Then, in Sault Ste. Marie, a decades-old vision for a deep-water port is back in focus. Could the project finally move forward, and what would it take to make it viable? Mayor Matthew Shoemaker weighs in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do recent shifts in public health policy reveal about how care is delivered, and who can access it? After a woman was killed outside a Toronto community health centre in 2023, the province reviewed supervised consumption sites, introduced a new model, and this month cut public funding, raising questions about safety and access. At the same time, mobile health clinics are appearing outside Toronto libraries, aiming to connect more people with primary care. Journalist Adam Zivo, joining from Odessa, Ukraine, Montreal-based writer Emma Paling, and Martin McIntosh of the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection examine what these changes signal. Then, Dr. Andrew Boozary and Aly Velji consider whether mobile care can fill gaps or create new ones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The federal government has unveiled a two-billion-dollar AI strategy aimed at boosting jobs, skills training, and business growth, alongside plans to build large-scale AI data centres powered by clean energy. But as these projects move into communities, opposition is mounting. Recent protests in Hamilton and an Angus Reid poll showing 68 per cent of Canadians would oppose a data centre near their home raise questions about public buy-in. With roughly 100 data centres already in Ontario, do more bring opportunity or risk? We examine the concerns and separate fact from fiction with Kathleen Kauth of the Advanced Energy Centre at MaRS and Mark Winfield of York University.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.