Canada, as you may know, produces a ton of oil. Billions of tons every day, actually. Nearly all the oil we use was taken from the ground, one way or another, right here. And yet! When the Strait of Hormuz shut down, the price Canadians pay for Canadian-produced oil and gas went through the roof, just as it's done in nations that need to import almost all their oil.

The answer to why that happened goes back to a policy that Canada has flip-flopped on over decades. It touches on Western Alienation and separatism, the legacy of Pierre Trudeau and a system that we theoretically could change, but practically cannot.

Today, Economist Jim Stanford, of the Centre For Future Work, welcomes you to the world of Canadian energy policy!

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

This week we're checking in with the audience on the first few months of CanCon, discussing episodes we did or didn't (yet!) create, reading some of your feedback and getting a feel for where we're at before we dive back in to another few months of Canadian stories. If you haven't yet, don't forget to let us know what you think, and what you'd like us to cover. And thanks, as always, for listening.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

A roof over one's head has been a necessity of life since we lived in caves. But when that roof also represents Canada's class struggle, our income inequality issues and potentially the owner's entire retirement portfolio...things get complicated.

More than half of young Canadians don't expect they'll ever own a home. There are millions of Canadians right now who own their homes thanks to privilege, timing, relationships and...just plain ol' luck. Some of those lucky Canadians, including Cancon's host and today's guest, look around and see the generations following them stuck in shoebox apartments with no hope of qualifying for a mortgage and feel guilty for owning their homes.

Not enough to do much about it, mind you, but still, guilty. Are we part of the problem? Today we unpack the complicated dynamics of home ownership, at a time when a human right has become an investment strategy.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.cancon@gmail.com.