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PODCAST

This Matters

The world is changing every day. Now, more than ever, these questions matter. What"s happening? And why should you care? This Matters, a daily news podcast from the Toronto Star, aims to answer those questions, on important stories and ideas, every day, Monday to Friday. Hosts Saba Eitizaz and Ed Keenan talk to their fellow journalists, experts and newsmakers about the social, cultural, political and economic stories that shape your life.

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All Episodes

36:58

Ford wins! But did everyone kind of lose?

This Matters ·

2025/02/28

Guest: Toronto Star Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie On the one hand, Doug Ford won a third straight majority (the first such feat by a premier in Ontario since the 1950s). On the other hand, he doesn’t seem happy about it, because he wanted more seats. The Star’s Robert Benzie explains why, and looks at the similar dark cloud/silver lining result faced by other parties (and shares former premier David Peterson’s observation about why winning too big is as much a curse as a blessing). He

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19:56

The Ontario Election: Has housing become not just...

This Matters ·

2025/02/25

Guest: Toronto Star affordable housing reporter Victoria Gibson Ontario is racing towards a snap election on Feb.27 and for a lot of voters, two issues loom well above the rest: housing and healthcare. Both are at breaking point, and both are dominating party platforms. As part of our pre-election coverage, we’re delving into these issues. Where do things really stand, are any of the candidates offering actual solutions, and what should you, the voters be thinking about as you head to the polls?

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56:31

Mike Schreiner - Ontario Leaders at TMU Democracy Forum

This Matters ·

2025/02/24

Guests: Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner Star's political columnist Martin Regg Cohn also leads the TMU Democracy forum, where he recently sat down with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to discuss what they might do for Ontarians if their party wins the upcoming election. Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative leader who hopes to be reelected, declined to participate in the forum.

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51:23

Marit Stiles - Ontario Leaders at TMU Democracy Forum

This Matters ·

2025/02/24

Guests: Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner Star's political columnist Martin Regg Cohn also leads the TMU Democracy forum, where he recently sat down with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to discuss what they might do for Ontarians if their party wins the upcoming election. Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative leader who hopes to be reelected, declined to participate in the forum.

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57:43

Ontario Leaders at TMU Democracy Forum - Bonnie Crombie

This Matters ·

2025/02/24

Guests: Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner Star's political columnist Martin Regg Cohn also leads the TMU Democracy forum, where he recently sat down with Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie, NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner to discuss what they might do for Ontarians if their party wins the upcoming election. Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative leader who hopes to be reelected, declined to participate in the forum.

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21:59

The Ontario election: Healthcare on life-support

This Matters ·

2025/02/21

Guest: Toronto Star health reporter Megan Ogilvie Ontario is racing towards a snap election on February 27 and for a lot of voters, two issues loom well above the rest: housing and healthcare. Both are at breaking point and both are dominating party platforms. As part of the Star's pre-election coverage, we’re delving into these issues. Where do things really stand, are any of the candidates offering actual solutions, and what should you, the voters, be thinking about as you head to the polls?

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36:25

Debating over the long weekend

This Matters ·

2025/02/19

Guests: Toronto Star Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie and Queen’s Park reporter Rob Ferguson On Valentine’s Day, and then again on Family Day, the provincial leaders engaged in this Ontario campaign’s two debates. Rob and Rob from our Queen’s Park bureau recap why they may be the most substantial events of the campaign so far, allowing viewers to dig into many of the issues that define life in the province. They also discuss whether they heard any “kill shots” or “knock-out punches” from the

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33:53

Ontario’s campaign goes south

This Matters ·

2025/02/13

Guest: Toronto Star Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie During an election campaign, it’s unusual for a premier to take his campaign to stops in foreign countries — but these are unusual times, and this is an unusual Ontario election. The Star’s Robert Benzie joined Doug Ford and Canada’s other premier’s on their visit to a snowy Washington, D.C. this week and tells us who they met with, what they are hoping to accomplish, and the prospects for success in getting their message through when the

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27:50

What’s at stake for Toronto in the provincial election

This Matters ·

2025/02/10

Guest: Toronto Star City Hall Bureau Chief Ben Spurr The city, we often hear, is a “creature of the province,” and as such almost all city hall business hangs on the indulgence of the premier. So for Toronto, the stakes in the provincial election would seem to be high. It’s not hard to think of specific examples of issues that could turn based on the results, from bike lanes to Ontario Place to safe injection sites, to the ongoing negotiations about the “new deal” financial plan. Even more broadly,

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33:05

Trump week on the Ontario campaign trail

This Matters ·

2025/02/07

Guests: Toronto Star Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie and Queen’s Park reporter Rob Ferguson Doug Ford looked strong in announcing retaliatory measures planned in response to threatened tariffs from Donald Trump, but then after that threat was put on pause, comments he made privately about celebrating the U.S. president’s victory became a problem, and even a potential turning point in the election. Our Queen’s Park team explains what’s happened and what it all could mean, and also discusses

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25:17

Hitting the snowy campaign trail

This Matters ·

2025/01/31

Guest: Toronto Star Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie After months of speculation, Premier Doug Ford finally called an election, sending voters to the polls more than a year ahead of schedule. Robert Benzie discusses Ford’s stated rationale for the campaign, and also unpacks the reasons behind the months of groundwork that prepared for this early election. Tax rebate cheques are hitting mailboxes, beer is on sale in corner stores, and the results of the Greenbelt police investigation are still

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08:40

Here's why Doug Ford might call a snap election

This Matters ·

2025/01/23

Commentator: Robert Benzie It's likely Doug Ford will call a snap election nearly a year and a half before the province is due. Queen's Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie gives a brief analysis and explains why now is an ideal time for Ford to call this election: what's at stake, what issues are most pressing, what his opposition thinks, and what is the historical precedence in Ontario for snap elections.

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21:35

The President strikes back

This Matters ·

2025/01/21

Guests: Richard Warnica and Alex Ballingall On Monday, we saw the result of an unprecedented political comeback as Donald Trump was officially sworn in as President of the United States – again. His second run comes four years after being voted out of office, and being impeached for attempting to overturn that result. Senior Opinion writer Richard Warnica and Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief Alex Ballingall attend the inauguration and chat about what they saw: the major difference between the 2017 event

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30:36

Reflecting on Toronto, for better or worse

This Matters ·

2025/01/17

Guest: Toronto Star Editor-in-chief Nicole MacIntyre talks about the genesis of the “Toronto the Better” series which looks for ways to improve life in the city in ways big and small This is the time of year for winter blahs, and it arrives amid what seems to be a years-long Toronto blues, in which Star Editor-in-chief Nicole MacIntyre admits she’s felt in danger of “falling out of love” with the city. But it’s also the time of year for resolutions, and so the Star has launched the “Toronto the

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47:37

Trudeau, the Liberals and next steps: A roundtable...

This Matters ·

2025/01/10

It’s been a historic week in Ottawa. On Friday, Jan. 10, members of the Star’s Ottawa bureau sat for a discussion about how we got to the point where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided he must step down as leader of the federal Liberal party and PM, and exactly where the Liberals must go from here. Join the Star's Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief, Alex Ballingall, Ottawa Bureau Reporter, Ryan Tumilty, and moderator Robert Benzie, Queen's Park Bureau Chief.

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57:08

Olivia Chow on 2024 and the year ahead

This Matters ·

2024/12/19

Guest: Toronto Mayor Oliva ChowHost: Edward Keenan In this episode of This Matters Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow talks about the housing and school nutrition progress she says are her biggest achievements of 2024, reflects on passing the biggest tax increase in post-amalgamation history and fields a question on what Torontonians should expect from the tax increase coming in the 2025 budget. Also, she shares her own response to the shelter crisis report that led the city manager to call the city’s

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33:38

The humble heat pump: the easiest way to dramatically...

This Matters ·

2024/12/18

This week, This Matters is publishing episodes of the Toronto Star's new podcast Small Things Big Climate. Of all the climate solutions out there, the heat pump is a no brainer. Not only will it reduce your emissions by 60 per cent or more, it’s cheaper to operate, improves air quality and makes your home more comfortable. Despite these many qualities, many people are getting talked out of getting a heat pump by their HVAC contractor. Guests: John Gultig, heat pump owner, Michelle Hjort, Energy

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34:14

Beef is the worst food for the climate. Can it be...

This Matters ·

2024/12/17

This week, This Matters is publishing episodes of the Toronto Star's new podcast Small Things Big Climate. Sometimes it feels like you need a PhD to figure out how to shop for lower carbon groceries. Why isn’t there a simple rule of thumb to follow? Host Marco Chown Oved starts this episode with a simple question: What’s more important for the climate, what you eat or where it comes from? And the answer is: It isn’t even close. Guests: Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown, Cory

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34:05

E-bikes are popular because they're basically small cars

This Matters ·

2024/12/16

This week, This Matters is publishing episodes of the Toronto Star's new podcast Small Things Big Climate. We live in a world built for cars. But as we sit in endless traffic, it’s hard not to think they’ve become a victim of their own success. Enter e-bikes. They’re big enough to replace delivery trucks, but small enough to zip past the bumper-to-bumper gridlock. They’re increasingly popular among food delivery people, families with young kids and seniors and soon may be replacing pick up trucks

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33:37

Plastic is everywhere, it’s made of oil and it lasts...

This Matters ·

2024/12/14

This week, This Matters is publishing episodes of the Toronto Star's new podcast Small Things Big Climate. Plastic is a miracle substance that’s revolutionized healthcare, keeping things sterile, and has replaced glass and metal packaging, reducing carbon emissions from shipping goods. It even keeps produce fresh for longer, reducing waste and the carbon emissions that come from rotting food. But those positives have for too long overshadowed the negatives. Some plastic is toxic. It’s building up

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1,094 results

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