Orange skies, record breaking fire seasons, and smoke that travels thousands of kilometres have made wildfires impossible to ignore. But beyond the visible destruction lies another story, one measured not only in burned forests and evacuations, but also in economic impacts that ripple across communities and industries.

How do wildfires affect Canada's economy? How are these impacts measured? And what do they tell us about the challenges Canadians may face in the years ahead?

In this episode, we spoke with Mike Flannigan, a leading expert on wildfire science and climate change at Thompson Rivers University, and Mark Brown, Principal Researcher at Statistics Canada, to explore how wildfires are reshaping Canada’s forests, communities, and economy.

Canada’s population is getting a makeover, and it is changing the way we live. We are digging into new demographic data with Patrick Charbonneau, Section Chief in Demography at Statistics Canada, to see how big boomer and millennial generations, plus fewer younger people, are shaking up demand for housing, schools, and healthcare. We also look at the rise of the sandwich generation, the caregiving squeeze that comes with longer lives and smaller families, and the many ways older Canadians keep things running through volunteering, childcare, and family support.

Everyone wants to be happy, but just how happy are Canadians? On this episode of the Eh Sayers podcast, join quality of life experts from Statistics Canada and Engage Nova Scotia to explore the importance of quality of life programs and what they tell us about our well-being.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) tells us about the health and size of Canada’s economy. But for those of us who don’t own or operate multi-million-dollar companies, why does it matter at all? In this episode, Amanda Sinclair, Assistant director for the National Economic Accounts at Statistics Canada, explains some surprising ways GDP can be useful and why, for certain Canadian households, the numbers don’t always seem to add up.

Economic accounts statistics

Think your Christmas tree knowledge is top‑notch? Time to put it to the test!

In this holiday special of Eh Sayers, our colleagues face off in a trivia showdown all about Canada’s Christmas tree industry.

Discover which nation first sparked the tradition, how much Canadian Christmas tree farmers earned in 2023, the surprising numbers behind exports and imports, and more festive facts.

After listening, you’ll be the go‑to expert on Christmas trees at your holiday party!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree - Statistics Canada

Has Canada become a sedentary nation?

Health data have never been more accessible. We have smart watches to count our steps, notifications about our screen times and apps to track our daily diets.

Despite the futuristic tech, researchers are growing concerned. And they’re especially concerned about young Canadians.

Today we sat down with Rachel Colley, a senior health researcher at StatCan for a deep dive into Canada’s obesity, physical activity and screen time trends. And the new data from the Canadian Health Measures survey may surprise you.

The Daily — The prevalence of overweight and obesity is on the rise in Canada: New results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, 2022 to 2024

Calllllll-i-forrrrr-nia... here we come?

If you've changed your plans to visit the US recently, you're not alone. Nowadays, Canadians are more likely to be singing along to "Bobcaygeon" than "Sweet Home Alabama."

Today, we're sitting down with Jane Lin, of the Tourism Statistics Program at Statistics Canada, to dig into StatCan's tourism data and talk about how travel is different these days.

Travel and Tourism Statistics

Two countries, both alike in dignity,

In North America, where we lay our scene,

From ancient friendship break to new trade tragedy,

Of data on trade and tariffs, what might we glean?

Join us as we speak with Guy Gellatly, Chief Economic Advisor, at Statistics Canada, as we explore what’s been going on with trade with our closest neighbour, what the early numbers suggest about the conflict, and what impact it might have on Canada’s economy.

Focus on Canada and the United States