Episode Details

Canada's oldest military partnership with the United States has been quietly suspended. The UN has walked back its worst-case climate scenario. And Alberta has a signed pipeline agreement with a construction date.

Jim Csek and Iain Burns work through the latest developments in a Canada-U.S. relationship that is deteriorating in real time, from the suspension of the oldest bilateral military body on the continent to Washington's formal trade investigation into Canadian broadcasting law.

They also put the Alberta-Ottawa pipeline agreement under the microscope. Is this a genuine commitment to construction, or another round of heel dragging dressed up in signed paperwork? And the question underneath all of it remains the same one Canadians have been asking for a decade. Will this country ever actually capitalize on its resources?

Today on The Really Big Show:

- The United States has suspended the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, an 86-year-old bilateral military cooperation body established in 1940, with no public explanation from either government

- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces a signed agreement with Ottawa establishing a formal pathway to a new Pacific oil pipeline, with a project proposal due to the Major Projects Office by July 1, a national interest designation targeted by October 1, and construction as early as September 2027

- Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Chong visits Taiwan this week in direct defiance of China's ambassador, who explicitly instructed Canadian MPs to refrain from travelling to the island

- The UN's climate science body has retired its worst-case warming scenario in what scientists are describing as the most significant shift in climate modelling in decadesGlenfarne Alaska LNG signs a 30-year gas supply deal with ConocoPhillips as global energy partnerships consolidate without Canadian participation

-Canada has posted the highest food inflation rate among G7 nations since November 2025, with the average family of 4 now spending $17,571 annually on groceries- Ontario is spending an estimated $20 million annually to warehouse $79.1 million in unsold American alcohol pulled from LCBO shelves in March 2025 as a tariff protest, with $2 million already expired and the province refusing to confirm storage costs to taxpayers

- The U.S. has launched a formal Section 301 investigation into Canada's Online Streaming Act, with retaliatory tariffs and CUSMA modifications on the table if the legislation is found to be discriminatory

- Signal threatens to exit Canada, while Apple, Meta and U.S. congressional committees warn that Bill C-22's surveillance architecture is broader than any comparable Western law and creates cross-border privacy risks for Americans

- CBC and APTN's taxpayer-funded prank production allegedly lured retired RCMP veterans to a Vancouver studio under the guise of a "Life After Service" tribute, confiscated their phones, seated them before a live audience, and ambushed them with institutional criticism

- Postmedia is withdrawing its 130 titles from The Canadian Press by May 25, gutting the wire service's revenue and its 600-outlet subscriber base, as Postmedia posts a $16.9 million loss despite receiving $15.6 million in government subsidies

- A federal judge dismissed a bid to guarantee legal counsel for all foreigners in immigration proceedings, as federal legal aid for asylum seekers has already risen 378% to $55 million annually and immigration court filings have quadrupled since 2017

- Is Canada finally turning a corner on energy, or is the pipeline deal just the one good headline in a week full of warnings?