The Current

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Alberta is short on cash: What’s next? Feb 27, 2026

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Weak oil prices have meant a dip in resource royalties in Alberta. And Premier Danielle Smith pointed out that higher immigration is another reason. So, the province will hold a number of referendums this October. Albertans will weigh in on nine questions about immigration policy and constitutional issues. And if separatists are successful with their petitioning efforts, a question about whether Alberta should leave the country will be on the ballot as well. To help us unpack these developments, we talk to Kathleen Petty, host of the CBC podcast West of Centre, and Alex Boyd, who reports on Alberta for the Toronto Star.

How dreams have the power to heal Feb 27, 2026

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Most of us give our dreams little thought. Karen Van Kampen wants to change that. Her new book is called "The Brain Never Sleeps: Why We Dream and What It Means for Our Health." Karen takes us on a journey into the dream world, exploring what our dreams reveal about our mental health and how we can work with them to improve our waking lives.

How smoking became cool again Feb 26, 2026

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A platter of cigarettes at Charlie XCX's wedding in Italy last year. Gracie Abrams, Charli XCX, Will Arnett, Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams — all photographed openly smoking cigarettes recently. So is smoking cool again? And what does that mean for smoking rates?

Snow, snow and more snow in St. John's Feb 26, 2026

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With back to back storms, St. John's is digging out. Snow remover Mark Baker has been going full out — about 18 hours daily for more than a week. He'll tell us what it means to face down 100 cm of snow and help residents get back to school and work.

From seniors to Gen Z, AI scams are everywhere Feb 26, 2026

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Winnipeg police have launched a campaign called "Just Hang Up" to warn seniors about scams, many of them fooled by artificial intelligence. But experts warn that it's not just older people getting duped out of money. It could happen to anyone, thanks to AI.

Are you lonely at work? Feb 26, 2026

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Loneliness has been called a public health crisis, but it’s also a workplace one. Julie McCarthy, a University of Toronto professor who reviewed more than 200 studies, says loneliness at work isn’t just about feeling sad. It affects engagement, productivity and even performance. As companies rethink hybrid work and return-to-office mandates, we explore what it really means to design workplaces for belonging, not just output.

Do class sizes matter? Feb 25, 2026

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As some provinces look to change or remove class size caps, experts are divided on whether it's the right choice. Research shows smaller class sizes have minimal affect on student achievement - but is that giving us a full picture? The teaching style, and curriculum being taught might be a better indicator of whether class sizes are impacting students at school.

Would you wait in a virtual queue at an ER? Feb 25, 2026

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We've all waited in an online queue to get a table at a busy restaurant or buy concert tickets for our favourite big artist. But what about waiting to see a doctor at the emergency room? A hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, ON., is offering their patients just that --and staff say it's cut their patient wait times in half. We speak with Dr. Stephen Smith, an ER physician and the vice president of medical affairs at the Sault Area Hospital, who came up with the idea after a family vacation at Disneyworld.

They both voted for Trump: one regrets it, the other is all in Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

As President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union, two people who voted for him reflect on their choice. Indiana contractor Pablo Payan says he made a mistake. But masonry, Jon Palaima still thinks Trump is the best of two bad options.

What OpenAI knew about the Tumbler Ridge shooter Feb 25, 2026

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OpenAI banned the Tumbler Ridge school shooting suspect’s ChatGPT account months before the attack, but didn’t alert police. On Tuesday Canada’s AI minister summoned the company’s safety team to Ottawa to explain its reporting protocols. Emily Laidlaw, a cybersecurity law expert and Canada Research Chair at the University of Calgary, joins us to explain who decides when AI companies escalate threats — and whether that threshold should be written into law.

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