Canadian wildfires rage — and so do U.S. Republicans

Wildfire evacuations can spike with a moment’s notice, but is this country equipped to handle it? Federal Minister of Emergency Management Eleanor Olszewski responds to accusations that Ontario and Ottawa failed some communities hit by fires this week, and attacks from U.S. lawmakers who say Canada isn’t doing enough to stop wildfire smoke.

Plus, the prime minister has struck a deal with the Trump administration to open up the Gordie Howe Bridge — at the cost of a toll-sharing arrangement that remain murky. Is this another example of the Carney government dropping its elbows? Hill watchers Shannon Proudfoot and Paul Wells weigh in on that, plus the infighting splitting the Conservative party.

And, Canada relies heavily on fruits and veggies from warmer countries to feed itself, but big leaps in tech are promising year-round ways to grow it at home instead. Can Canada afford the price — or the electricity? House producer Derek Vanderwyk heads to a farm sealed inside a metal box and hears about technology that could let plants tell humans when they need light and water. Then, entrepreneur Jon Lomow makes his pitch for Canada to grow nearly all of what we eat.

This episode features the voices of:

• Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
• Paul Wells, author and podcaster
• Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer for The Globe and Mail
• Alida Burke, co-founder and CFO of Growcer
• Corey Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Growcer
• Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley
• Richard Lee, executive director of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
• Lesley Campbell, professor of plant biology at Toronto Metropolitan University
• Jon Lomow, co-founder of Fieldless Farms