The Decibel

Where is the best place to rent in Canada?

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Where in Canada is it best to rent right now? The Globe analyzed cities from coast to coast to coast, comparing cities’ median incomes with their av...

Two Conservative MPs are gone. Where does the party go from here?

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the day the budget was tabled, Chris d’Entremont, the lone Conservative MP from Nova Scotia, crossed the floor to the Liberals. Two days later, M...

The Indigenous land claim that could override private property rights

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A precedent-setting ruling involving Aboriginal title at the B.C. Supreme Court has caused widespread uncertainty and tension in the province. In Augu...

Carney’s big bet for $500-billion in private investments

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A big part of the federal budget rests on the assumption that its measures will spur the private sector to invest in Canada…a lot. It’s projecting...

The stress of shared calendars in modern parenting

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parents are increasingly relying on elaborate calendar systems to keep track of their families’ activities – from a shared calendar or paper plann...

Why the condo bubble burst could lead to better housing

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For more than a decade, Canada’s condo boom was on. Investors, at home and abroad, drove the craze over reselling preconstruction units. Rents skyro...

Key takeaways from the Carney government’s first budget

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne tabled the first federal budget from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government. It had long ...

What to look out for in the 2025 federal budget

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to deliver the first budget under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Early announcements have sig...

Whales, extinction and the sounds of underwater noise pollution

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

North Atlantic right whales are nearing extinction, with fewer than 400 left in the world. We know what is killing them: getting hit by shipping boats...

Why a sleep doctor says we should never change our clocks again

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Sunday, most Canadians gain an hour of sleep as the clocks get turned back to standard time. But while most of us have gotten used to the bi-annual...

Why Quebec doctors are threatening to leave the province

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last weekend, Quebec passed new legislation that would impose a new contract on doctors, who have been in negotiations with the provincial government ...

U.S. trade talks stalled after Ford ad, Carney heads to Asia

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump ended trade talks with Canada and threatened to hike tariffs on Canadian imports by another 10 per cent becau...

Why more young people are signing prenups

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘Til death do us part – that’s the promise couples make to each other when they tie the knot. But what happens in the event of a divorce? Disent...

Do we need a ‘buy Canadian’ movement for culture?

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Canadians, we’ve spent a lot of time over the past year talking about what it means to be Canadian and how to support our country. For some peopl...

OK Blue Jays! A bandwagoner’s guide to the World Series

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series for the first time in over 30 years. It’s the third time in franchise history that Canada’s t...

What record gold and silver prices tell us about the stock market

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The prices of gold and silver have been climbing quickly this fall, with both precious metals setting a new high for per-ounce price. Why is this happ...

What’s going on with Pierre Poilievre?

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made comments about the RCMP being “despicable” on a YouTube show, accusing them of “covering up...

Why bail reform is hard to get right

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Thursday, Ottawa announced incoming legislation to reform the bail system. It comes after months of pressure both in Parliament and across the coun...

AI and digital sovereignty in the ‘elbows up’ era

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a lot of talk about Canadian sovereignty ever since the election of Donald Trump. And that sovereignty talk extends to the digital real...

The crop caught in the crosshairs of the Canada-China trade war

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is visiting China as part of an effort to improve relations amid a trade war between Canada and China....

A dispatch from Gaza as the fragile ceasefire takes hold

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The ceasefire in Gaza that U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker has been in place since Friday. But already, both Israel and Hamas have accused e...

What it’s like for migrant workers on Canadian farms

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canada’s agriculture industry is big business, contributing $32-billion to Canada’s GDP in 2024 and employing an estimated 223,000 people. What ga...

The fight over the notwithstanding clause

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A legal battle is underway over the notwithstanding clause, which allows governments to override “[certain] rights of Canadians” that are protecte...

Machines Like Us: Geoffrey Hinton on AI’s future

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Geoffrey Hinton, “the godfather of AI”, pioneered much of the network research that would become the backbone of modern AI. But it’s in the last...

How a new pipeline could test Canadian unity

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new pipeline pitch is stirring up an old fight. On Oct. 1, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the province would be drawing up a proposal for ...

How seriously is corporate Canada taking DEI these days?

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, hundreds of Canadian companies publicly pledged to address anti-Black racism. They signed the BlackNorth Initiative, which has since b...

Key takeaways from Carney’s second meeting with Trump

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Five months after his first appearance in the Oval Office, Prime Minister Mark Carney made his second trip down to Washington. And while he said littl...

How October 7 is still haunting the Jewish diaspora

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On October 7, 2023, members of Hamas launched attacks in Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 people hostage. Israel responded by launc...

How Trump’s peace plan for Gaza could end the war

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza. He did so alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neta...

Why Alberta teachers are on the cusp of a historic strike

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The education system has been fraught with controversy in Alberta. From the government’s recent attempt to ban certain books in school libraries, to...

Boiling point: the uncertain future of lobster fishing

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The great boom of the lobster industry is, in many ways, a story of success. For more than 30 years, Canada’s most valuable seafood export has gener...

What life is like for missing Ukrainian kids in Russian camps

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Official estimates from Ukraine’s government say 19,000 Ukrainian children have been taken by Russian forces since the start of the conflict. And ma...

Machines Like Us: AI upending higher education

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just two months after ChatGPT was launched in 2022, a survey found 90 per cent of college students were already using it. But students are no longer u...

Let's talk about autism

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last Monday, the Trump administration linked Tylenol to autism and warned against pregnant women taking it — Health Canada says there is no conclusi...

Who’s behind Canada’s nation-building projects?

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canada’s new Major Projects Office is part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ambition to fast-track Canada’s major infrastructure projects. And th...

High-stakes trade talks begin as Trump tariffs persist

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After months of informal back-and-forth talks about Donald Trump’s tariffs, a new chapter in the U.S.-Canada trade war has begun. Last week, the U.S...

Tracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Measles is one of the most contagious respiratory viruses in the world. But for decades, it rarely infected Canadians. That’s not true any more. Sin...

Charlie Kirk, free speech, and Canada’s new anti-hate law

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A fierce debate about free speech has erupted in the U.S. in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Government officials have encouraged reporting agai...

Meet the people who save aggressively to retire early

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Would you work two full-time jobs and live off of ramen noodles if it meant you could retire at 35? That’s the image many people have of people who ...

The disappearance of Jack and Lilly Sullivan

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On May 2, 2025, Lilly and Jack Sullivan were reported missing from the small community of Landsdowne, Nova Scotia. The disappearance of the siblings q...

Mark Carney’s plan for affordable housing

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the beginning of the week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the launch of Build Canada Homes, an agency tasked with building affordable and sup...

Israel begins ground invasion of Gaza, UN inquiry finds genocide

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After weeks of warnings, Israel has begun a full-scale ground invasion into Gaza City. Hundreds of thousands of people are living under bombardment in...

What you need to know about COVID-19 this fall

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

COVID-19 is currently surging again. And it’s not even respiratory illness season yet. While much of the public would like to leave the pandemic beh...

The challenges ahead for Carney as Parliament resumes

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Between ramping up major infrastructure projects, trying to make a deal with the U.S., and working on strengthening ties with Europe, Prime Minister M...

KPop Demon Hunters, Korean culture and why kids love it so much

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The movie of the summer wasn’t in theatres this year. It was on Netflix, it’s called KPop Demon Hunters and kids are obsessed with it. It has beco...

Leak reveals China is exporting internet censorship technology

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

China’s Great Firewall blocks social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, along with certain political topics, streaming platforms, and even Go...

Pipelines, ports and rail: What’s Carney building first?

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For months, there has been speculation about what Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government might put forward as “nation-building projec...

The multimillion-dollar fight over a piece of Canadian history

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the Hudson’s Bay Company continues to sell off what it owns to pay back creditors, a historic document has come up for sale. The Bay’s charter ...

Segregation of child inmates being challenged in landmark lawsuit

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A landmark class action lawsuit is alleging that Manitoba has subjected thousands of incarcerated children to solitary confinement — the province de...

Introducing the new host of The Decibel

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Decibel welcomes Sherrill Sutherland as the host for the coming year, with a special appearance from Menaka Raman-Wilms. You can get in touch wit...

Should we worry about the gender gap at university?

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When 1.5 million university students return to campus this month, men will be noticeably underrepresented in the student body. In 2025, the ratio is a...

Oct. 7 documentary draws TIFF controversy

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Toronto International Film Festival has kicked off, but not without controversy. This year, the premiere of the documentary, “The Road Between U...

The first wave of AI layoffs

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence in the workplace is here to stay. But what does that mean for the job market? While many Canadian companies are embracing the ...

Is it legal to defend yourself if someone breaks into your home?

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In August, a man allegedly broke into someone’s home in a small Ontario town. After an altercation, the intruder was hospitalized with life-threaten...

To save this baby, doctors had to kill part of her brain

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Maryam Fatima was born with a condition called hemimegalencephaly, a rare birth defect in which one side of the brain is abnormally large. She suffere...

The black market for getting hacked Meta accounts back

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having social media accounts hacked is stressful. Usually, companies have formal channels for users to regain access. But for Meta platforms like Face...

How kids are getting hooked on gambling through online games

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Problem gambling is a real issue in Canada – where reporting shows young people having even higher rates than adults. The increasing monetization of...

Canada’s fragmented medical records system

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The way medical records are handled in Canada is a patchwork of disconnected systems – creating massive headaches for patients and doctors. Patients...

Border security bill grants new powers to tighten immigration

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bill C-2, also known as the Strong Borders Act, is one of the first pieces of legislation by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government. The 140-page b...

Fossil feud: Paleontologists have a bone to pick with new find

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, mine workers in Morocco made a huge discovery. They found a fossil that scientists believed to be a new species of mosasaur – a large swimm...

Why tariffs haven’t hit consumer prices hard – yet

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the U.S. first imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada, setting off a trade war, businesses and consumers braced for high inflation. But nearly half a...

How the Air Canada strike tested Canada’s labour laws

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A national strike by Air Canada flight attendants ended on Tuesday morning, three days after it began. One of the key issues that Air Canada and the C...

Why Wikipedia might be the last good place on the internet

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since Wikipedia was founded nearly 25 years ago as a free, online encyclopedia, it has consistently ranked as one of the top 10 most visited websites ...

Toddlers among Canadians detained by ICE

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Globe and Mail investigation has revealed the extent to which Canadians have been caught up in U.S. President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Analy...

Why Canada’s water security is being threatened by Trump

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, scientific research at the Great Lakes has meant close partnership between Canada and the U.S., but President Trump’s latest job cuts m...

Why more Western nations are recognizing Palestinian statehood

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In late July, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Th...

Why an obsession with sleep hygiene might be keeping you awake

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The conversation around sleep is shifting. Hustle culture views sleep as a waste of time. But in a culture increasingly focused on health and wellness...

Popeyes Chicken, covert surveillance and alleged rotting meat

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Popeyes Chicken is one of the most well-known fast food franchises in North America. But its reputation could be tested by a lawsuit alleging that som...

ICE detention and a ‘legal trap’ on the way to Canada

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An Afghan family fleeing the Taliban and attempting to join relatives in Canada have been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deten...

How a math prodigy-turned-fugitive siphoned millions in crypto

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At 18 years old, Andean Medjedovic was a math prodigy, finishing his master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Waterloo before most young ...

Why the absence of a U.S. trade deal might be a good thing

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canada failed to secure a trade deal with the U.S. by the Aug. 1 deadline. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on certain Canadian...

Stressed-out parents are turning to ChatGPT for help

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parents seem to be turning to ChatGPT for advice more and more – but what do robots have to offer when it comes to such a core human relationship? W...

Restorative justice and the Hockey Canada trial

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Hockey Canada case captivated the country — raising complex questions about consent, hockey culture and even how sports organizations handle acc...

The case for prioritizing rest in the age of burnout

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canadians are not particularly good at resting. According to Statistics Canada data collected between July 2022 and July 2023, people over the age of ...

Gazan journalist describes starvation, chaos on the ground

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since May. And more than 150 deaths have been attributed to malnutrition, according to...

If you fall for a scam, who should pick up the bill?

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Scams are becoming more common and more sophisticated. As quickly as safeguards are developed to protect people, scammers are finding workarounds. And...

Boomers, millennials, Gen Beta: Why do we name generations?

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What’s in a name? For the past century, people have clamoured to categorize people by their age and the life events they’ve gone through – but h...

The state of Canadian tourism in the ‘elbows up’ moment

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Travel to the U.S. has plummeted ever since U.S. President Donald Trump started talking about annexing Canada and imposing tariffs on us. Politicians ...

Why the players were acquitted in the Hockey Canada trial

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Thursday, five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team were found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room after a Hoc...

What it’s like to be an undocumented migrant in Canada

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The population of undocumented migrants living and working in Canada is substantial. And while most of them initially entered the country legally, on ...

Dairy’s outsized political influence and the trade war

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 35-per-cent tariffs on imports from Canada starting on Aug. 1. And when it comes ...

How Carney’s historic defence spending could change the economy

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ottawa’s pledge to spend $150-billion annually on defence-related priorities by 2035 is creating big opportunities for the private sector. Several C...

Ontario colleges see alarming job losses

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new report has found that 19 of Ontario’s 24 publicly-funded colleges have cut more than 8,000 jobs since January 2024, when the new limits on int...

What happens when your bank dumps you

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A connection to a bank is an important financial relationship – between chequing and savings accounts, mortgages and loans, they are crucial for pay...

A mixtape of you: the summer of the Great Canadian Playlist

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canadians have been spending a lot of time thinking about identity and their relationship to Canada. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war drag...

A Canadian died in ICE custody. His family wants answers

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In May, a Canadian man, 49-year-old Johnny Noviello, was arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a probation office in Florida....

Canadian soldiers charged in anti-government militia plot

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On July 8, Quebec RCMP arrested four men connected to the Canadian Armed Forces. They are accused of trying to create an extremist militia and plannin...

What you should know about Canada’s growing tick problem

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The problem of ticks, and the diseases they carry are well known. But as the climate becomes warmer, ticks are no longer exclusively found in densely ...

Your new favourite influencer? She’s AI-generated

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Influencer profiles often have recognizable hallmarks: their feeds are highly stylized, filled with aspirational content and product placement. One of...

Why the Calgary Stampede is this summer’s biggest political event

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The 113th Calgary Stampede is in full swing. But the 10-day festival wouldn’t be complete without the biggest names in Canadian politics and busines...

How to talk to kids about climate change

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The threat and realities of climate change are real and visceral – punishing heat waves, families displaced, towns destroyed by wildfires, dangerous...

The B.C. billionaire fighting to take over Hudson’s Bay stores

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On June 1, Hudson’s Bay – the iconic department store brand whose operation predates the founding of Canada – sold its last striped blanket. Str...

Canada’s emergency room crisis is worse than we thought

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ever since the pandemic, emergency-room closures have become more common in Canada, especially in rural communities. This can leave people in dangerou...

The women changing the face of Canadian rodeo

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cowgirls love the rodeo just as much as cowboys, but for the better part of the past century, there’s only been one event for women – until now. B...

Making sense of Carney’s tactics in the U.S.-Canada trade talks

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Prime Minister Mark Carney set a deadline of July 21 to reach an economic and security deal with the United States after last month’s G7 summit. But...

Is AI making us dumb?

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

School is out for summer but this year some educators are wondering how much their students really learned. A KPMG survey found that over half of Cana...

The benchmark of housing affordability has changed in Canada

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has said it is no longer possible to return Canada to 2004 levels of housing affordability. We cannot buil...

Why cuts to a U.S. inspection agency matter for Canadian food

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For months, the “buy Canadian” movement has inspired Canadians to shift their shopping habits away from American goods. While this has mostly been...

Do you feel broke? How to overcome ‘money dysmorphia’

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the social media age, it’s challenging to know what’s ‘normal’ for your finances. How are others able to afford lavish trips and expensive ...

How Canada fits into the high-stakes NATO summit

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been in Europe for a series of meetings that are focused on strengthening ties. On Monday, he was in Brussel...