Podcasts about Toronto Star

Guests: Toronto Star journalists Sheila Wang and Emma McIntosh A major joint investigation involving the Toronto Star, CBC/Radio-Canada, La Presse and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has uncovered more than 100 crypto-to-cash operations running across Canada, with many of them unregistered, unregulated, and openly violating anti–money laundering laws. As part of this collaboration, Star reporters went undercover to see just how easy it is to turn anonymous cryptocurrency into hard cash with no ID  and no record of the transaction. In this episode, we break down how these crypto-to-cash services actually work, why experts say they pose a serious risk for money laundering, organized crime and other illicit activity, and why Canadian regulators have struggled to stop a parallel financial system that's operating in plain sight. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz and Sean Pattendon.

News & features from the Thursday December 4th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

News & features from the Wednesday December 3rd, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

What to make of Mark Carney's decision to reach back into the Trudeau cabinet to replace another minister who quit? That's the question to the Toronto Star's Althia Raj and The Economist's Rob Russo on this latest episode of Reporter's Notebook. Also, what our two correspondents are hearing about the ongoing competition between the U.S. F35 fighter jet and Sweden's Gripen. Billions are at stake and thousands of jobs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

She's tied for the most decorated Canadian Olympian, but she won't be anywhere near a podium for at least two years.Toronto's Penny Oleksiak has been banned from competing until 2027 after allegedly violating anti-doping whereabouts regulations, something she says has nothing to do with banned substances. The World Anti-Doping Agency is the international regulatory body that oversees drug testing for competitive athletes. Testing happens both after a competition, as well as in the form of pre-competitive check-ins, such as whereabout disclosures.Host Alex Seixeiro speaks to Bruce Arthur, columnist for the Toronto Star, to discuss what lies ahead for Magic Penny, and whether or not anti-doping regulation is too rigorous. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

News & features from the Tuesday December 2nd, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

The Halifax International Security Forum always includes a sizable and bi-partisan group of United States Senators who were suddenly put on the spot: Did they think Ukraine should accept this ultimatum? By Saturday afternoon, several senators issued a joint statement condemning this plan. Then something extraordinary happened. A couple hours after this joint statement was released, an even larger and more bi-partisan group of senators gave a press conference in which Republican Senator Mike Rounds said that he and two other senators had just got off the phone with Marco Rubio, who was en route to Geneva to meet with Ukrainian officials and European allies. According to Senator Rounds, Rubio said this stridently pro-Russian 28 point plan was not an American plan at all, but rather a Russian proposal that was improperly leaked to the press. But then, about two hours later, Rubio publicly disavowed that disavowal! He posted on Twitter that "The peace proposal was authored by the U.S." So what the heck is going on here? I caught up with Toronto Star columnist and fellow Substacker Justin Ling to try to make sense of this bizarre turn of events. We kick off discussing the back and forth on this plan, but then have a deeper conversation about what this episode reveals about American global leadership and what the conversations in Halifax revealed about how America's traditional middle power allies, like Canada and Europe, are adjusting to a world order in which the United States is an unreliable ally and unstable international actor.  

Our National Affairs Panel gets you caught up on all the latest politics. Rosemary Barton, CBC's Chief Political Correspondent, Stephanie Levitz, the Globe and Mail's Senior Reporter in the Ottawa bureau and Ryan Tumilty a political reporter with the Toronto Star join host Matt Galloway.

It's not the most commonly sought-after item on Facebook, but it's certainly not the least advertised on the platform's feeds either.Advertisements for highly addictive and illegal drugs like cocaine and oxycodone continue to appear on Meta's social platforms, amid their no-tolerance policy for such content and for what they call 'robust' measures to keep them off.The RCMP says it works extensively to intercept online purchases of illegal drugs, but Meta's reliance on AI to regulate advertisement sales and distribution doesn't allow for much policing.Host Maria Kestane speaks to Ben Musset, digital editor for the Toronto Star, and Omar Mosleh, reporter for the Toronto Star to discuss their investigation into Meta's advertising loopholes, and how Canada's most vulnerable could fall victim to the multibillion dollar self-regulating business platform. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

News & features from the Monday December 1st, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven year $210 million deal. Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star and Deep Left Field podcast joins the show to discuss the signing, and what to expect for the rest of the Jays off season. The Green Zone

It's not completely odd for a former Olympian to return to the limelight years after competing...but rarely is it for allegedly piloting a drug ring comparable to that of El Chapo's.Ryan James Wedding now sits alongside some of America's most dangerous criminals on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for several offences related to drug trafficking and murder. A number of Canadians have been arrested earlier this month in connection to the case, including Wedding's defence lawyer from Brampton, Deepak Paradkar. And the FBI has hiked up the reward for his arrest to $15 million USD. Host Richard Southern speaks to Calvi Leon, a crime reporter for the Toronto Star to break down how a Canadian born in Thunder Bay made his way to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for allegedly leading one of the most prolific drug trafficking organizations in the world. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstoryfpn on Twitter

This episode of The Food Professor Podcast takes a deep dive into one of the most powerful forces now reshaping the food industry: the rapid rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Hosts Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois begin with a run-through of current food and retail headlines, including controversy at Campbell Soup, conversations around AI adoption and innovation in the food sector, and early teasers from the 2026 Canada Food Price Report. These stories set the stage for this week's feature discussion: how GLP-1 medications are altering what consumers eat, where they shop, and which products they choose.The heart of the episode features an in-depth interview with Ransom Hawley, Founder and CEO of Caddle, a Canadian mobile-first consumer insights platform with access to real-time behavioural data. Hawley shares new Canadian research showing GLP-1 household usage has jumped from 10% to 14% over two years, a dramatic 40% increase. Equally important is the shift in why people are taking these drugs: where most users initially relied on them to manage type-2 diabetes, an increasing number now use them primarily for weight loss. That consumer pivot mirrors rapid adoption trends in the United States and offers important clues about what's coming next for Canadian retailers, manufacturers and restaurants.Hawley reveals that GLP-1 users report eating less, losing weight, buying fewer groceries, and reducing restaurant visits. Consumption of alcohol, sugary beverages and impulse-driven snack foods is falling, while protein-rich foods, functional beverages and satiety-oriented products are gaining momentum. Categories seeing the steepest declines include bakery goods, packaged cookies, chocolates, soft drinks and sweet snacks—all long-time staples of convenience-driven food consumption. This suggests a structural shift, not a temporary fad.The conversation expands to consider the broader implications. As GLP-1 usage rises, brands face new challenges and opportunities: How should they reformulate products for consumers who eat less? Should retailers redesign planograms to reflect category shrinkage? Will foodservice operators pivot toward protein-forward meals, smoothies and portion-smart menu strategies? As the hosts discuss, this is the first time since COVID-era lockdowns that such a large segment of the population is simultaneously changing eating behaviours, and its ripple effects will reshape category strategies, promotional plans, and innovation pipelines.By the end of the episode, one thing is clear: GLP-1 drugs are not just a pharmaceutical phenomenon—they are transforming food culture, retail economics, and consumer expectations. Retailers and brands that ignore this shift risk falling behind; those who understand it may unlock a once-in-a-generation competitive advantage. The Food Professor #podcast is presented by Caddle. About UsDr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph's Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre's Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Guest: Megan Ogilvie, Toronto Star health reporter A new study has found that over a million Ontarians — that's more than one in ten people with a family doctor — live far outside their physician's region, often more than 30 kilometres away. Some are driving hours just to get a check-up. Others may be skipping care altogether because of the logistics. And it's leading to worsening health outcomes; more ER visits, missed diagnoses, and care that falls through the cracks. It's a hidden layer of Ontario's primary care crisis, and one we don't talk about enough. This episode was mixed by Paulo Marques 

In this episode, I sit down with Brjánn Batista Bettencourt - a Toronto-based photographer and cinematographer known for his analog and Super 8 work - to talk about what it actually looks like to shoot film in the wedding industry today.Brjánn shares how his journey from photojournalism to weddings, his skateboarding background, and his Portuguese-Canadian roots shaped the way he tells stories. We dive into why he's so committed to analog, what Super 8 brings to a wedding day, and the realities (and challenges) of shooting film for clients in a digital-heavy industry.Meet Brjaan Brjánn (Brian) Batista Bettencourt is a Toronto-based photographer and cinematographer whose work lives at the intersection of documentary truth and nostalgic longing.Brjánn's career spans photojournalism, editorial portraiture, and motion-picture work, with tenures at the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Country Music Television, where he photographed renowned artists such as Shawn Mendes, Shania Twain, Dierks Bentley and Florida Georgina Line. His analog film work has been featured by CBC and placed him on the cover of PhotoLife Magazine for his work with Kodak Ektachrome.Today, Brjánn works internationally across weddings, editorial assignments, and long-form personal projects, drawing inspiration from his coming of age experiences in the skateboarding community and duality of cultures as a Portuguese-Canadian. He lives in Toronto with his wife and collaborator, photographer and designer Ryanne Hollies.Connect with Brjánn:Stay tuned for a potential Super 8 workshop happening in 2026!Website: www.3bphoto.caInstagram: @brjann.c0mConnect with Me:Subscribe to our emails for updates on all things Summer School!SUBSCRIBE HEREShow Notes: the-summerschool.comInstagram: @summergrace.photo  @the_summerschool Shop My Products:Become a Member of Summer SchoolMy Summer Grace x G-Presets (discount code: SUMMERSCHOOL)My Pricing Guide

News & features from the Tuesday November 25th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

Send us a textOn this episode of The Get Ready Money Podcast, I spoke with Sandy Yong, award-winning author of The Money Master, about empowering women through financial fluency.

We want to feature the editors of four Canadian films that are not only critically acclaimed in this year's festival circles but also reflect the great community spirit behind their creation. Whether it's the utterly independent visions of MATT AND MARA and UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE or the deeply necessary stories of the Indigenous community in ABERDEEN and THE STAND, this year's Canadian films, in all their shapes and forms, are not short of boldness and style. Sara Bulloch is an editor and filmmaker in Winnipeg, Canada. She's edited films and series like ABERDEEN (premiered at TIFF2024), ALTER BOYS, SEEKING FIRE, ANCIENT BODIES, and many short films including I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY BODY which won Audience Choice Award at Gimli Film Fest 2023. Short films she's written/directed have screened with Toronto Jewish Film Fest, the8fest, Gimli Film Fest, and more. Her films often explore mental health, identity, and relationships. Her short film, HOT DOG GUY won a People's Choice Award at Vox Popular Media Arts Fest 2022. She's also a motion graphics artist and community organizer. From 2019-2023 she organized OurToba Film Network & Fest, a community group for women, non-binary and gender diverse Manitobans in film. Xi Feng is a film editor based in Montreal. Having lived in China, Canada, and France, she has cultivated a unique blend of cultural and artistic sensitivity. Feng has worked as an editor on award winning films including CETTE MAISON, CAITI BLUES and most recently UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, which won the inaugural Audience Award at the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes and is Canada's 2025 submission for the Oscars. Her filmography includes films premiered at major festivals such as Berlinale, Cannes, Sundance, TIFF, Vision du Réel, HotDocs, etc. Nathalie Massaroni is a Winnipeg-based editor and post production supervisor of more than 400 hours of television. Since graduating from the University of Winnipeg's film program, she has edited features and series including WINTERTIDE, ALTER BOYS, SEEKING FIRE, and ABERDEEN (which premiered at TIFF 2024). Nathalie has also edited other short form series and films such as D DOT H, TAILOR MADE, and I HURT MYSELF. If she's not working on a computer, you can find Nathalie at the dance studio or sipping coffee with a cat on her lap. Ajla Odobasic is a Bosnian-Canadian film editor based in Toronto. Her credits include MATT AND MARA, THE WHITE FORTRESS, the TFCA Best Canadian Film Award-winning ANNE AT 13000 FT, A.W: A PORTRAIT OF APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL, and the CSA-nominated HELLO DESTROYER. Her work has screened at several festivals and platforms including Locarno, TIFF, the Berlinale, MoMA, CBC Gem, and the Criterion Channel. Ajla teaches editing in Humber College's Film and Television program. Sarah Hedar is a Vancouver-based editor and story editor. Her patience and sense of humour keeps the challenges that so often bog down the creative process at bay. Sarah's award-winning work on provocative and original films spans both documentary and narrative projects, from features to shorts. Her keen eye for visual storytelling reflects her belief in the power of community, and the importance of continuously reassessing the status quo while building a world filled with empathy and hope for a brighter future. Her work has screened at festivals across the globe, but most notably, Sundance, TIFF, and VIFF. Kelly Boutsalis is the International Programmer, Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival. She's also a freelance writer, and has written about film and television for the New York Times, NOW Magazine, Elle Canada, Flare, POV Magazine and more. She's also written about lifestyle, design, and culture for publications including Vogue, Toronto Star, Chatelaine, VICE and Toronto Life. Originally from the Six Nations reserve, she lives in Toronto. She is on the board of imagineNATIVE and a member of the Toronto Film Critics Association.

At a press conference last week U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi laid out fresh allegations against Ryan Wedding, a 44-year-old Canadian and former Olympian who has been on the FBI's most wanted list since March.Wedding is already accused of orchestrating multiple murders, and these new charges add to the drug and conspiracy allegations he's facing.We speak to Calvi Leon, a reporter at the Toronto Star who's been covering this case extensively.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

This weeks guest is Brenton Mowforth who joins us from Toronto, Ontario. Since creating Cheers to Happy Hour in 2017, and Wander Thirsty in 2021, Brenton Mowforth has become the authority on where to drink and how to drink. His mission is to influence people to share in his passion for 'drinking better, not more' by taking a more thoughtful approach to what we consume. Celebrating flavour and savouring the moments that are usually accompanied by craft cocktails and spirits defines the business and mindset of Brenton's day-to-day operations. Brenton's online community is immersed in the Farm-to-Glass / Liquid-to-Lips culture that has imbibers across the world abuzz with libation filled conversations. Brenton's passion for cocktails and the hospitality industry have been recognized by the 50 Best Bars organization, Forbes, Toronto Star, Destination Toronto and Liqour.com, among others, and he continues to be a one-man encyclopedia on the subject of libations. Brenton is currently focusing on creating artisanal yet approachable cocktails that inspire his audience to take a closer look at the ingredients and the creativity that goes into modern cocktails and spirits. @cheerstohappyhour @wander.thirsty A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia. Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and built by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features includes the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste using flavor profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more……Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling, Malivoire Winery and Terroir Wine Imports. Links kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

News & features from the Monday November 24th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning kick off the final hour of the morning by welcoming on Sportsnet.ca Leafs reporter Luke Fox! What are Lukes takeaways from the disappointing loss on Saturday. Is Luke panicked about the season at all? Can we wait until they get healthy until we really render a judgment about them? Can we count on Auston Matthews to find his old form or this who is who he is going to be? What is the best direction for this team? Does the front office have a plan? Taking a half step back or doubling down on this core and add to it? In general, is this core of Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares going to be good enough a year from now to get them over the hump? The guys are then joined by Toronto Star columnist Damien Cox! (23:58) What has Damien made of this team so far? Did the front office make it worse? What is Brad Treliving building here, and what is the plan? How does the front office make this team better? And what do they do next? Ben and Brent close out the morning offering there final thoughts on the state of the Leafs. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate. 

On the Saturday November 22, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Eric Smith, veteran sportscaster and the long-time radio voice of the Toronto Raptors. Known for his insightful commentary and deep connection to the Raptors’ journey, Smith brings a unique perspective to basketball broadcasting. As co-author of “We the Raptors: Thirty Players, Thirty Stories, Thirty Years,” he combines his courtside expertise with storytelling to chronicle the franchise’s history through the voices of its players, capturing the heart of Canada’s only NBA team. Then we meet Ed Conroy. A Toronto-based cultural historian, writer, producer, archivist and vintage video sleuth, he is the founder of Retrontario.com and his pieces on Canadian pop-culture and history have appeared in The Toronto Star, Toronto Life, blogTO, and many other places. His latest project is “Imagination: The Golden Age of Toronto Kids' TV,” a comprehensive look back at fifty years of children’s television that shaped our young lives. From the beloved — “Polka Dot Door,” and “Today’s Special” — to the bizarre — “Kiddo the Clown” and “Maniac Mansion,” ImagiNation is a memory-filled trip for anyone who spent their weekdays after school or Saturday mornings staring at the electric babysitter.

On the Saturday November 22, 2025 edition of The Richard Crouse Show we'll meet Eric Smith, veteran sportscaster and the long-time radio voice of the Toronto Raptors. Known for his insightful commentary and deep connection to the Raptors' journey, Smith brings a unique perspective to basketball broadcasting. As co-author of “We the Raptors: Thirty Players, Thirty Stories, Thirty Years,” he combines his courtside expertise with storytelling to chronicle the franchise's history through the voices of its players, capturing the heart of Canada's only NBA team. Then we meet Ed Conroy. A Toronto-based cultural historian, writer, producer, archivist and vintage video sleuth, he is the founder of Retrontario.com and his pieces on Canadian pop-culture and history have appeared in The Toronto Star, Toronto Life, blogTO, and many other places. His latest project is “Imagination: The Golden Age of Toronto Kids' TV,” a comprehensive look back at fifty years of children's television that shaped our young lives. From the beloved — “Polka Dot Door,” and “Today's Special” — to the bizarre — “Kiddo the Clown” and “Maniac Mansion,” ImagiNation is a memory-filled trip for anyone who spent their weekdays after school or Saturday mornings staring at the electric babysitter.

Libaan Osman, host of The Canadian Basketball Show, journalist for the Toronto Star and one of the best and most trusted voices in Canadian Basketball, pulls up on Canada Hoops ! Libaan sits down with us to talk about his podcast, the Canadian Basketball community and how his career in journalism unfolded. We talk Canadian NBA players, Canada Basketball and so much more. And Libaan gives us a great Top 5 of all time for Canada Basketball. You don't wanna miss this episode. Much love to Libaan Osman for joining us on Canada Hoops !Hit us up on Twitter: @canadahoopspod @TheMattyIrelandHit us up on Instagram: @canadahoopspodcastEmail: canadahoopspodcast@gmail.comhttps://canadahoopspodcast.buzzsprout.com/https://www.youtube.com/@canadahoopspodcast

Guest: Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star columnist In a high-stakes war games exercise held in Toronto, top military officials, health-care leaders, and government representatives gathered behind closed doors to game out a scenario few Canadians can ever imagine; war arriving on our doorstep. The exercise, called Canada Paratus, was a joint initiative led by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, in collaboration with the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, St. Michael's Hospital, and other military-focused organizations. This wasn't about battlefield tactics, but about what happens when Canada's fragile health-care system is pushed to the brink. From mass casualties to logistical chaos, the simulation revealed uncomfortable truths about just how unprepared we are and what it could mean if Canada were drawn into a global conflict where hospitals, not just troops, have to hold the line. This episode was produced by Sean Pattendon

News & features from the Friday November 21st, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

News & features from the Thursday November 20th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

In this can't-miss episode of The Food Professor Podcast, Michael LeBlanc and Sylvain Charlebois return with Part Two of their exclusive, final official interview with Michael Medline, former President & CEO of Empire/Sobeys. Medline offers unusually candid reflections on leadership, culture, vendor relationships, and the evolution of one of Canada's largest food retailers.The conversation opens with a deep dive into vendor relations and the Canadian Grocery Code of Conduct. Medline explains his early shock at the combative nature of vendor–retailer dynamics and details his personal commitment to transforming the ecosystem into one built on fairness, respect, and partnership. He reflects on how mentorship from industry leaders like Michael Graydon and collaboration with executives such as Mark Taylor helped advance the Code from concept to reality — ultimately becoming one of the proudest achievements of his tenure.Medline also shares rare behind-the-scenes reflections on working with the Sobey family, leading through disruption, and preparing the company for the next era of food retail. From AI-driven transformation to the duty of stewarding an organization with 129,000 teammates, he speaks openly about responsibility, succession, and what comes next in his career. His insights offer a masterclass in modern leadership during one of the most transformative decades in grocery retail.The episode also features a rich and timely news segment. Michael and Sylvain break down Health Canada's pause on cloned beef and swine approvals, a fast-moving story with major implications for transparency, labeling, science communication, and cross-border food integration. They examine why Canada's decision diverges from the U.S., where cloned-animal offspring have been permitted for nearly two decades — often without consumer awareness.The hosts then analyze the newest edition of the Canadian Food Sentiment Index, highlighting renewed concerns about food inflation, declining trust in grocers, shifting loyalty behaviours, and the end of Canada's “couponing era.” They explore evolving consumer habits, smarter comparison shopping, and the influence of younger digital-first generations.Other key topics include:• The Lancet's callout of ultra-processed foods — and why Sylvain believes the academic narrative is oversimplified.• The rapid rise of GLP-1 drugs and their early impact on grocery and foodservice behaviour.• Nutrien's reported decision to build a major potash terminal in Washington State rather than Canada.• The tangled story behind beef prices and the federal policies that may be limiting supply.• A big win for Canadian agriculture as GoodLeaf Farms raises $52 million to expand capacity and boost controlled-environment production. Go Here for the The Canadian Food Sentiment Index, Volume 2, no. 1  The Food Professor #podcast is presented by Caddle. About UsDr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph's Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre's Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Meet Lola! Lola Reid Allin is a former Airline Transport Pilot who worked as a pilot for the Ontario Government and DeHavilland/Flight Safety, a Class I flight instructor, and the first female Chief Flying Instructor at Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre. In addition, she is a professional SCUBA Dive Master and an award-winning photographer and author whose work has appeared in national and international publications, including National Post, National Geographic, Globe & Mail, Verge: Travel with Purpose, Toronto Star, Grapevine, and Santa Fe Centre for Photography. Lola is an adventurer whose art and writing reflects the world vision of her experience. In addition to a three-year residency in Mexico, she's explored more than 65 countries in depth — under water and on foot, and by dogsled, jeep, and camel. To share her adventures & photographs, to provide a showcase for other photographers, and to inspire others to travel—she created the Armchair Traveller Travelogue in 2017. In addition to these personally narrated travel and adventure presentations, Lola does outreach presentations to promote the role of women in aviation/STEM careers. Her professional associations include The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots, Women in Aviation International, and The Writers' Union of Canada. Her memoir, Highway to the Sky: An Aviator's Journey, was released Sept 2024 by She Writes Press/Simon & Schuster.er mH Contact Lola for your next meeting, retreat, or book club! lola@lolareidallin.com   lolareidallin.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While host Ellin Bessner is on vacation, we're bringing you an episode from the archives of our show. This episode originally aired February 13, 2023. More than five years have passed since the still-unsolved murders of philanthropists Barry and Honey Sherman in their Toronto home. Despite a $35-million reward for clues to solve their killing, the case remains a mystery. Conspiracy theories abound over who did it and why, with fingers being pointed at the Clintons, Big Pharma, the Sherman children, a cousin or even the Mossad. Police haven't released any clues in more than a year. But interest is about to heat up again as two major Canadian news outlets give the story the true-crime treatment, each releasing podcasts about the Shermans—this same month. The two shows take very different approaches. One is hosted by Kevin Donovan, the Toronto Star reporter who broke most of the Sherman case and wrote a book about it; the other, produced by the CBC, is hosted by Jewish journalist Kathleen Goldhar. She has produced previous hit shows about a romance scammer and the cult that ensnared two Bronfman sisters. Today, both podcasters join The CJN Daily to explain why they have been pursuing the case for years and whether either of their competing shows actually provide closure to the unsolved mystery. What we talked about:. Learn why the Toronto police  released this video  of a person of interest Hear Kevin Donovan on  The CJN Daily  talk about his book  The Billionaire Murders , which the new podcast is based on Read about  the philanthropic legacy  of the Shermans Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner ) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Bret Higgins Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to North Star (Not sure how? Click here )

So in the end the Mark Carney government survived the budget vote. But you have to wonder whether the 140-138 vote in the Commons was what they really wanted. Sure it avoids a messy Christmas season election, but it also avoids what may have been the PM's best chance of turning a minority into a majority. We'll discuss that and what happens now with The Economist's Rob Russo and the Toronto Star's Althia Raj on this Tuesday's Reporter's Notebook. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

News & features from the Monday November 17th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

News & features from the Tuesday November 18th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

Our national affairs panel breaks down today's big vote in the House of Commons: With the Conservatives, Bloc Quebecois and NDP all finding reasons to vote it down, is there a risk this government falls and the country is thrust into another election? Plus, the Prime Minister will hold a call with Canada's premiers who are pressing for more details about the halted Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. We sift through it all with CBC's Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton, Stephanie Levitz of the Globe and Mail and Ryan Tumilty of the Toronto Star.

Guest Host David Common speaks to The Toronto Star's Susan Delacourt and Rob Russo from The Economist about the week in politics, science writer and broadcaster Jay Ingram delves into the bond between humans and non-human animals, the CBC's John Chipman considers whether double-crested cormorants should be purged or preserved in our Sunday Documentary, The Cormorant Conundrum, and essayist and travel writer Pico Iyer explains what solitude can teach us about how to live, love and lose.Discover more at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

On the Saturday November 15, 2025 episode of The Richard Crouse Show we meet award-winning Canadian journalist and TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead. He is known for fearless investigative reporting that shapes national conversations in sports and sports business. With more than two decades of experience, his work has earned two Canadian Sports Writer of the Year titles, six Canadian Screen Awards, and the 2023 Arnold Amber Award for Investigative Journalism. In 2025, The Hockey News named him among the 100 People of Power and Influence in hockey. Formerly a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star, Westhead has reported from Afghanistan, China, and Saudi Arabia. His in-depth investigations explore complex issues affecting athletes and sports organizations, earning him respect as one of Canada's leading voices in journalism. Today we talk about his latest project, A hard hitting and powerful look at hockey's moment of reckoning in Canada and the ways in which the game that is so universally loved has been rocked in recent years by court cases involving sexual assault and startling incidents of hazing and abuse throughout junior hockey. Then, we get to know Joss Richard. She is an Emmy-winning podcaster as the host and creator of the podcast Three's Company, Too: A Rewatch Podcast, an editorial & social director who's worked at companies such as Hello Sunshine and Reese's Book Club, The Walt Disney Company, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Netflix, and Paramount. Today we'll talk about her debut novel, “It's Different This Time,” a second-chance romance that sees a twist of fate forces two former roommates to move back into their beloved New York City brownstone where they must confront the events that led to their estrangement—and the unresolved feelings lingering between them.

Looming over the Liberals is whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget will pass its final vote on Monday in the House of Commons. So far, no other political party has given a sign they will support it. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May discusses whether she'll change her mind and vote with the Liberals on the budget. Christopher Nardi of the National Post and Tonda MacCharles of the Toronto Star weigh in on where the government can get the last two votes it needs or if we're heading into another election this year. Mark Carney announced more major projects to spur Canada's economic growth. Rick Smith of the Canadian Climate Institute tells The House how Canada's push to expand mining and energy projects is going down at the United Nations climate change conference in Brazil. Plus, as Canada loses its measles elimination status Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, Vice President of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Programs Branch at the Public Health Agency of Canada explains what needs to be done to win it back. And: J.D.M. Stewart, author of The Prime Ministers: Canada's Leaders and the Nation they Shaped, takes Catherine Cullen on a tour of the monuments erected on Parliament Hill to commemorate Canada's leaders. Who were they, what were their funny foibles, and will Canada ever see a statue of Stephen Harper or Justin Trudeau? This episode features the voices of: Elizabeth May, Green Party LeaderChristopher Nardi, National Post parliamentary reporterTonda MacCharles, Toronto Star Ottawa bureau chief Rick Smith, President of the Canadian Climate InstituteDr. Natasha Crowcroft, Vice President of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Programs Branch at the Public Health Agency of Canada J.D.M. Stewart, author of The Prime Ministers: Canada's Leaders and the Nation they Shaped

The Grey Cup deadline on a memorandum of understanding between the prime minister and the premier is about to come and go, but it's not necessarily a disaster, as Danielle Smith works to secure a "new, grand bargain" for Alberta.This week on West of Centre, host Kathleen Petty is joined by Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt; Alberta-based politics reporter for the Toronto Star, Alex Boyd; and the CBC's own writer and producer Jason Markusoff.Are there finally signs of life from the Alberta NDP? After months of virtual silence, the panel breaks down a new ad from the Opposition many felt was missing in action.The premier will be held to account for the United Conservatives' member policy declarations at the party's upcoming AGM, but in her bid to keep her base happy, one panellist asserts she may have created a poison pill for herself.And a little bit of trivia about why you keep hearing the word “tranche” when it comes to the running list of nation-building major projects announced by the federal government. (Hint: it has to do with the background of a certain former central banker.) Host: Kathleen Petty | Producer and editor: Diane Yanko | Guests: Alex Boyd, Duane Bratt, Jason Markusoff

In this first instalment of a two-part exclusive, The Food Professor Podcast sits down in person with Michael Medline, (now) former President and CEO of Empire Company Limited and Sobeys, in what serendipitously became his last official interview before news broke of his transition to lead The Woodbridge Company. Michael offers a rare, deeply personal look at his eight-plus-year tenure transforming one of Canada's largest retailers. He recounts stepping into the role in 2017, reshaping strategy, modernizing systems, and fostering a culture built on values, innovation, and operational excellence.Michael reflects on navigating the massive disruptions of recent years—from COVID-19 to global trade volatility and technological upheaval—while maintaining a clear North Star for the organisation. He shares insights on revitalizing store formats, strengthening private-label programs, and embracing data transformation and automation to sharpen competitiveness. The conversation also explores the bold acquisitions of Farm Boy and Longo's, discussing trust, partnership, culture, and why collaborative integration—not assimilation—is essential to preserving what makes independent banners special.He also speaks candidly about leadership: prioritizing people, resisting micromanagement, nurturing talent, and ensuring a national grocer performs as one unified organisation rather than fragmented regional fiefdoms. Medline's reflections on turning around the Safeway acquisition, advancing omnichannel capabilities through Voilà, and pushing Empire's innovation agenda offer invaluable lessons for retail leaders navigating rapid change.The episode also features a wide-ranging news conversation with Sylvain and Michael. They break down meat-industry dynamics on both sides of the Canada–U.S. border, including beef supply challenges, oligopoly concerns, and the impact of interprovincial trade barriers on Canadian prices. The hosts also explore the “protein orphan” trend driving increased chicken consumption—and the resulting supply management shortfalls—plus the social-media-fuelled surge in cottage cheese demand.Additional segments highlight CFIA's quietly formed task force responding to U.S. regulatory instability, early snowfall's potential impact on holiday shopping, and the growing disconnect between global climate COP events and the real-world policy outcomes they aim to influence.  The Food Professor #podcast is presented by Caddle. About UsDr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph's Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre's Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau is dating the American pop star Katy Perry. He's been spotted with her on her yacht, singing along at her concerts, and globetrotting with her hand in hand.It's not the kind of post-political life Canadians are used to witnessing. So today, a look at the lives of Canadian Prime Ministers once they've left office and the post-electoral endeavors of American presidents. Are they extensions of who they were as leaders or breaks from the past? Susan Delacourt is a longtime political journalist with the Toronto Star, and Gil Troy is a historian of American history and professor at McGill University. They join us to talk about the second acts of many of our most notable leaders.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

Guest: Ed Keenan, Toronto Star city columnist Toronto has always been a contradiction; a city people fall in love with and get fed up with, often at the same time. This year, the Toronto Star explored those many shades in our Toronto the Better series, digging into the cracks, complexities, and questions around how to actually make the city better. Now we want you to join the conversation. We're launching One Great Idea — a project asking for your bold, beautiful, or just plain weird ideas to help fix Toronto. If you could change one thing about this city, what would it be? And what kind of ideas could actually turn Toronto into the place you want it to be? In this episode, city columnist Ed Keenan talks about the project, the city's identity crisis, and why even the most frustrated Torontonians show up to cry and cheer together during a Blue Jays playoff run. Have a great idea of your own? Send it to onegreatidea@thestar.ca in under 200 words or drop it in the comments below. We'll be publishing a selection soon and letting readers choose which ones are worth championing. Audio sources: Youtube, CP24 This episode was produced by Sean Pattendon 

Cancer can be seen as a seed that only sprouts in the right soil—the body's inner landscape. Today, that soil is changing fast, and cancer rates are climbing, especially among young people. Our modern diet—packed with sugar, processed foods, and nonstop snacking—keeps the body flooded with signals to grow, not heal. But there's good news: by eating real, colorful foods and giving the body time to rest between meals, we can calm inflammation, balance our gut, and make our inner soil far less welcoming to disease. The power to shift the story lies in every bite and every pause we take. In this episode, I discuss, along with Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. Thomas Seyfried, how modern diets and constant eating create a fertile soil for disease. Dr. Jason Fung is a physician, author, and researcher. His groundbreaking science-based books about diabetes and obesity, The Diabetes Code, The Obesity Code, and The Complete Guide to Fasting have sold over one million copies and challenged the conventional wisdom that diabetics should be treated with insulin. Dr. Fung is also the co-founder of The Fasting Method, a program to help people lose weight and reverse Type 2 Diabetes naturally with fasting. His work on fasting has been cited by CNN, Time, The Atlantic, Forbes, The Toronto Star, and many other media outlets. His latest book is The Cancer Code: A Revolutionary New Understanding of a Medical Mystery. Dr. Thomas Seyfried is an American professor of biology, genetics, and biochemistry at Boston College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1976 and did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Seyfried has over 150 peer-reviewed publications, and his research focuses primarily on the mechanisms driving cancer, epilepsy, and neurodegenerative diseases and calorie-restricted ketogenic diets in their prevention and treatment. He is the author of Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer and presently serves on the Nutrition & Metabolism, Neurochemical Research, Journal of Lipid Research, and ASN Neuro editorial boards. This episode is brought to you by BIOptimizers. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use code HYMAN to save 15%. Full-length episodes can be found here:Is Cancer Caused By Sugar? How Can My Diet Help Prevent Cancer? A Radical New Dietary Approach To Cancer Treatment

News & features from the Monday November 10th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen is joined by John Ruffolo and special guest Mark McQueen, Founder of Wellington Growth Partners and one of Canada's leading voices on capital markets and policy, as they dive into Canada's 2025 Federal Budget. Together, they unpack the implications of Ottawa's newly tabled “Building a Stronger Canada” budget, one that promises $1 trillion in investment over five years, with a heavy focus on productivity, infrastructure, defense, and innovation.The three dissect everything from the $78B deficit and 40,000 public service cuts, to new measures for AI, fintech, and open banking. Mark brings a pragmatic lens to the table, calling out where policy meets politics, and where Canada's ambitions fall short compared to U.S. spending.They debate whether this really is the “FinTech Budget,” explore the Bank of Canada's new stablecoin oversight, and discuss how Canada's pension funds, capital markets, and innovation ecosystem might respond. The conversation also touches on AI infrastructure, quantum tech, and the Build Canada Exchange, before ending with an analysis of the surprise party floor crossing in Parliament and what it signals about political volatility ahead of the next election.This is a data-driven, no-spin breakdown of the biggest budget in Canadian history, filled with insights for founders, investors, and policymakers navigating the next decade of Canadian innovation.Market Reactions and Fiscal Discipline (01:51)* How the bond market's muted reaction signals investor confidence* What a 3.07% 10-year yield says about fiscal credibilityPolitical Optics and Policy Recycling (03:16)* Mark's take on why budget speeches feel like déjà vu from 2016* How repeating “middle-class growth” messaging masks deeper issuesCanada's AI Spending Reality Check (05:39)* $186M in new AI funding versus $207B in U.S. venture capital* Mark calls Canada's AI plan a “rounding error” in global competitionHousing, Media, and Missed Opportunities (07:26)* Why Canada's housing policy still taxes development and stifles growth* How inflated consultant costs drain infrastructure progressPrivate Capital and the $500B Question (08:51)* Mark explains why private-sector “recycling” of assets rarely works as advertised* The hidden costs behind selling public infrastructureThe Rise of the FinTech Budget (13:15)* John calls this the “FinTech Budget” for its zero-cost innovation plays* How open banking and stablecoin regulation could unlock private innovationPolicy Over Capital: A New Model (14:46)* Why regulation, not spending, may be the most powerful innovation tool* How Minister Champagne's policy shift empowers private playersThe Stablecoin Debate (17:46)* John explains tokenization and one-for-one backing of digital assets* Mark questions whether consumers can truly distinguish trust in DeFiCanada's Shot at Becoming “Switzerland of DeFi” (21:01)* How upcoming legislation could make Canada a global leader in digital finance* Why trust, not capital, is Canada's biggest competitive advantageWhy Execution Matters More Than Promises (27:04)* Matt, John, and Mark close with a reality check: policy means nothing without follow-through* Why 2025 will test whether the government can turn big ideas into real resultsAbout Mark McQueenMark McQueen is a veteran Canadian venture capitalist, financial commentator, and former Chair of the Toronto Port Authority. As President and Executive Managing Director of Wellington Financial LP, he has financed hundreds of high-growth companies across North America and is known for his sharp insights into capital markets, infrastructure, and public policy. A regular contributor to BNN Bloomberg and The Toronto Star, Mark offers a pragmatic, data-driven perspective on how fiscal decisions and government budgets shape Canada's innovation economy.Connect with Mark McQueen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-r-mcqueen/Connect with John Ruffolo on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/joruffoloConnect with Matt Cohen on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/matt-cohen1Visit the Ripple Ventures website: https://www.rippleventures.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

News & features from the Wednesday November 5th, 2025 edition of the Toronto Star

Our national affairs panel weighs in on the biggest political stories of the day. Prime Minister Mark Carney released his first federal budget. Presented as a "generational" budget that is pro-growth -we look at where the Liberals say they are making new investments, and where they're making cuts. We break it all down with CBC's Chief Political Correspondent Rosemary Barton, Stephanie Levitz of the Globe and Mail and Ryan Tumilty of the Toronto Star.

It's the day after the day after and the Blue Jays' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series is still a heartbreaking gut punch. We throw open the Monday Mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca to share your thoughts, feelings and questions about the game, the series and the season as a whole and hear from a wide range of listeners, from the zen-like appreciation of the Jays' magical year to the anger and frustration over opportunities missed by a team that had a championship within its grasp. And why did IKF slide? Plus, my thoughts on the grave injustice of Gold Gloves denied to Ernie Clement and Alejandro Kirk. Listen here or subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. If you would like to support the journalism of the Toronto Star, you can at thestar.com/subscribe.

Host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with fans following the Toronto Blue Jays' World Series run and unpacks its significance with The Athletic's Dan Robson, The Toronto Star's Susan Delacourt and Rob Russo from The Economist break down Prime Minister Mark Carney's balancing act on the budget and trade talks, The New York Times' White House and national security correspondent David Sanger reflects on Donald Trump's impact one year since winning re-election, and our monthly challenge That's Puzzling! returns with special guest Andrew Phung.Discover more at https://cbc.ca/Sunday

In 2017, activist-scholar Robyn Maynard published her groundbreaking study, Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present.  Today, I have the privilege of talking with her about the second edition of this study, which has just been published by Duke University Press. Robyn tells us what has happened since 2017 that compelled her to revise the book and add important new materials to address the challenges of the present. At the core of this new edition is a powerful argument against reform and for abolition—Maynard details the numerous failures of police reform, and explains why precious time, resources, and lives have been spent trying to bring about authentic change via reform.  Her vision for abolition is bold, and expansive, reaching beyond Canada to examine both transnational apparatuses of surveillance, policing, and punishment, and vital global forms of resistance and solidarity.Robyn Maynard is an author and an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. Her writing on borders, policing, abolition and Black feminism is taught widely in universities across Canada, the United States and Europe. The first edition of Policing Black Lives: State violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present, published in 2017, is a national bestseller, designated as one of the “best 100 books of 2017” by the Hill Times, listed in The Walrus‘s “best books of 2018,” shortlisted for an Atlantic Book Award, the Concordia University First Book Prize and the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction, and the winner of the 2017 Errol Sharpe Book Prize. In 2018 the book was published in French, titled NoirEs sous surveillance. Esclavage, répression et violence d'État au Canada, and won the 2019 Prix de libraires. Her second book, Rehearsals for Living, co-authored with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, is a Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and CBC national bestseller and was shortlisted for a Governor General's Award for literary non-fiction, a Toronto Heritage Award, and designated one of CBC's “best Canadian non-fiction books of 2022” and the “best 100 books of 2022” by the Hill Times. Other awards include “2018 Author of the Year” from Montreal's Black History Month and the Writers' Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQI* Emerging Writers. Her public scholarship is available at www.robynmaynard.com