The Decibel

00:22:12

A splintered political landscape heading into...

The Decibel ·

2026/10/05

Quebec is facing a fractured political landscape ahead of its election today, with no single party polling higher than 30 per cent in the run-up to the election. And there are important issues hanging over the campaign, from separatism to spending issues to U.S. President Donald Trump.Today, The Globe and Mail’s Quebec correspondent, Maura Forrest, explains why the province’s parties have failed to inspire voters and how a party with less than 30 per cent support might end up forming a majority

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00:19:36

Hockey Night in Canada without the NHL

The Decibel ·

2026/10/02

Hockey Night in Canada is considered a Canadian cultural institution. For almost 75 years, it was broadcast on the CBC, accessible to any Canadian who wanted to tune in. But earlier this year, CBC and Sportsnet, which owns the rights to air NHL games in Canada, ended their partnership.Now, the CBC is trying to rebuild a new version of the show without the NHL, and people are left wondering what is lost for Canadians when only people who can afford a Sportsnet subscription can access Saturday night

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00:22:34

The booze war within the trade war

The Decibel ·

2026/10/01

In the trade war between the U.S. and Canada, alcohol has been a bargaining chip on both sides of the border. Early in 2025, Canadian premiers pulled U.S. booze off of Canadian shelves. Then, last month, the Trump administration slapped a 50-per-cent duty on hundreds of Canadian goods including beer, wine, cider and most spirits. Notably, the U.S. cited the provincial shelf bans as justification for their tariffs. And now, the U.S. has implemented an outright ban on that same list of alcohol

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00:29:35

In Her Defence: Police officer preys on vulnerable women

The Decibel ·

2026/09/30

Officers at the Regina Police Service begin an internal investigation of one of their colleagues, and turn up a case larger and more complex than they could have imagined. Sgt. Alana Heiliger begins to identify patterns in an officer’s use of police databases, and a notebook filled with names and cryptic notations provides valuable clues.In Her Defence: Breach of Trust is a seven-part original podcast series from The Globe and Mail. The show is made by Kasia Mychajlowycz and Jana G. Pruden. Sound

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00:13:54

Havana Syndrome: new allegation of Canadian spying

The Decibel ·

2026/09/29

The Globe and Mail has learned that a Canadian diplomat was sharing intelligence with American spies in Havana and Canadians were using satellite equipment brought into Cuba by the United States when officials from both countries began experiencing debilitating symptoms caused by alleged sonic attacks linked to Russia, according to two sources. Now, former Canadian spies and high-level security officials are calling upon parliamentarians to independently investigate whether Russia used sonic

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00:24:49

The new AI moment we’re in

The Decibel ·

2026/09/28

After several reports of AI agents going rogue, calls for regulation of this technology have grown louder. And some of the people advocating for more rules are the leaders of the frontier labs themselves, like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. But how can governments, which tend to move slowly, regulate a technology that is changing at an increasingly quicker pace?Taylor Owen talks about what responsive AI policy could look like. He is the Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications in the Max

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00:24:50

He preyed on women using a police database. Then they...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/25

For years, Sgt. Robert Semenchuk, a Regina police officer, preyed on hundreds of vulnerable women using information from police databases. He often posed as a contractor named Jay or Steve and sent seemingly wrong-number texts to women. Some of these texts led to intimate relationships. The women had no idea he was deceiving them, until one woman became suspicious.This case is the focus of the new season of In her Defence: Breach of Trust. Globe feature writer Jana Pruden is the host of the podcast

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00:22:11

What’s on and off the table at Trump and Xi’s meeting

The Decibel ·

2026/09/24

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington this week for his first official state visit to the U.S. in 11 years. A lot has changed since then – China has become one of the world’s most dominant countries, while U.S. President Donald Trump has drastically altered global relationships with his trade war.The Globe’s Asia correspondent, James Griffiths, joins the show today. He’ll talk about the context at this meeting between Trump and Xi, what they’re expected to discuss and the elephants in the

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00:23:04

Liberal omnibus bill sparks outcry from unions,...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/23

On Monday, the governing Liberals tabled their first bill of the new session of Parliament. Bill C-39, also called the Building Canada Strong Act, is over 240 pages long and aims to streamline and speed up development approval. It also makes changes to the Canada Labour Code that have upset union leaders.Bill Curry is The Globe’s deputy bureau chief in Ottawa. He has been covering the new legislation and explains what exactly Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is proposing and what it is

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00:22:58

Canada’s controversial system of equalization...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/22

Canada has had a system of equalization payments for decades, where money collected by federal income taxes gets distributed to provinces worse off financially than others. It has proven to be controversial in some areas, like Alberta where Premier Danielle Smith has claimed that equalization is a ‘gravy train’ for the rest of Canada through these payments. Members of the Alberta separatist movement have also used this as a reason to push for separation.But there are a lot of misconceptions about

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00:22:13

A reality check on Canada’s future with the EU

The Decibel ·

2026/09/21

Canada and the EU are working toward a more integrated partnership. As the relationship with the U.S. becomes increasingly less reliable, Canadians seem to be overwhelmingly in favour of the idea of getting closer to Europe. But what could this partnership actually entail – and how much more would Canada be getting than it has now?Today, the Globe’s international affairs columnist, Doug Saunders, is on the show. He’ll discuss the geopolitical implications of Carney’s address to the European

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00:39:34

Introducing In Her Defence: Breach of Trust

The Decibel ·

2026/09/20

What happens when one of the “good guys” turns out to be a bad guy?The acclaimed true crime podcast series ‘In Her Defence’ returns with ’In Her Defence: Breach of Trust”. A seven-episode series exploring the case of Sgt. Robert Semenchuk, a Regina police officer who preyed on hundreds of vulnerable women using information from police databases.Some of those women risked it all to expose him, and hold him accountable. But would the system punish one of its own?Hosted by award-winning crime reporter

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00:24:08

The Canadian military is preparing for major conflicts

The Decibel ·

2026/09/18

The Canadian Armed Forces is undergoing a generational change. From record investment and spending, to its most extensive re-organization in decades – military officials say this is Canada’s preparation for a “future battlefield.”Gavin John, journalist and photographer for The Globe, has covered the Canadian Armed Forces extensively. He joins The Decibel to discuss why the military is moving with such urgency, what it says about future conflicts and how the nature of warfare has changed.Questions

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00:22:30

Airports, AI data centres and Carney’s ‘supercycle’...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/17

The Canada Investment Summit wrapped after two days of deals and announcements meant to spur more capital in the Canadian economy. This includes the federal government leasing parts of some of the country’s biggest airports and unveiling new tax incentives, and companies doubling down on AI data centres. Prime Minister Mark Carney is hoping that this will create a “supercycle” of investment.Report on Business columnist Andrew Willis explains what the Prime Minister said to him during their interview

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00:25:30

The cash-strapped, disorganized fight to keep Alberta...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/16

Albertans will head to the polls in just over a month, on Oct. 19, to vote in a referendum. There are 10 questions, but the one that’s garnering the most attention is the question about separation: do they want to remain in Canada, or hold another referendum on whether to separate? Polling suggests 70 to 75 per cent of Albertans want to stay in Canada, but the federalists are having trouble raising enough money to get the message out.We’re talking to Marieke Walsh, a senior political reporter for

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00:22:59

The office is back (at least in Canada’s financial hub)

The Decibel ·

2026/09/15

Headlines about vacant office buildings and deserted downtowns is old news. The return to office, in downtown Toronto especially, is back on. Vacancy rates have plummeted, commute-fuelled traffic is up and businesses are scrambling to find more space for their workers.Globe reporter Jason Kirby takes us behind the numbers, the return-to-office mandates and what this post-pandemic shift tells us about the future of work.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by

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00:24:10

Carney pitches Canada to the world’s biggest investors

The Decibel ·

2026/09/14

Starting today, 300 big-money investors are descending upon Toronto to take part in the inaugural Canada Investment Summit. Prime Minister Mark Carney will try to convince them to fund development projects in the country, such as oil and gas pipelines, critical mineral mines and data centres. Getting their buy-in is a crucial plank in the prime minister’s plan to diversify and fortify the country.James Bradshaw is The Globe’s institutional investment reporter. He’ll be covering the event. He’s on

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00:21:10

The trade war has created a boom for lobbyists

The Decibel ·

2026/09/11

Personal connections have always mattered when it comes to political lobbying, but as the trade war ramps up, and global interests try to influence U.S. policy as set by U.S. President Donald Trump, industry sources told The Globe that those connections at the executive level matter now more than ever.Today, Irene Galea is on the show. She’s a business reporter for The Globe, and she was in Washington, D.C. in the lead up to Canada’s countertariffs coming into effect. She’s here to talk about how

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00:22:21

What the current bond market turmoil says about the...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/10

Scary bond market headlines – warnings of an impending financial crisis – have been in the news for weeks now thanks to a rise in U.S. Treasury yields. This market is the bedrock for much of the global financial system and changes in it can ripple across governments and companies and right into people’s bank accounts.Scott Barlow is a columnist for Globe Investor. He explains the worry about the current rising bond yields, what’s behind the increase and what kind of impact it may have on your

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00:18:19

The trade war is heating up. So is foreign investment...

The Decibel ·

2026/09/09

With Canada’s countertariffs coming into effect on roughly $28-billion worth of U.S. goods on Tuesday, the trade war between Canada and the U.S. is heating up. With neither side indicating whether they plan to return to the negotiating table anytime soon, we wanted to look at how Carney’s goal to drum up foreign investment is going.Tim Shufelt is the Globe’s investment reporter. He’s here to talk about whether Carney’s bet on foreign investment is working, which sectors are seeing an increase in

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