The small Alaskan town of Skagway usually welcomes plenty of visitors from neighbouring Yukon, but this year Canadians aren’t coming because of tensions with the U.S. The CBC’s Julia Pagel went to Skagway, where people say that the financial hit to tourism is bad, but what really hurts is watching years of friendship break down before their eyes.

The trial of five former world junior hockey players accused of sexual assault has begun in London, Ont., with the Crown telling jurors that the case will centre on what constitutes consent — and what does not. Matt Galloway talks to The Globe and Mail’s Robyn Doolittle, who is at the trial; and Landon Kenney, an educator who teaches hockey players about consent.

Three leaders from Canada’s North share what’s on their minds in the closing days of the election campaign, from sovereignty to the cost of living to climate change.

Meta and Google have been hit with landmark antitrust trials recently, centred on allegations of operating illegal monopolies. The CBC’s Nora Young breaks down what this might mean for the power of major tech companies, and the people who use their platforms every day. 

Matt Galloway travels to Halifax to hear what’s on voters’ minds, in the final stop of The Current’s election road show Crossroads: Coast to Coast with Canadian Voters.  

First up, the sea is both a livelihood and a way of life in Nova Scotia, flowing into how many people will vote. Galloway talks to a fisherman fed up with how his industry is being treated by the federal government, a restaurant owner serving up haddock with a side of national pride and a seaweed exporter worried about U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.  

Then, housing costs have soared in Halifax since the pandemic, leaving people like Michelle McClung feeling squeezed. Her adult children can’t afford to move out, including one son living in a campervan out front. She wants less talk of Trump, and more work to solve the housing crisis and bring down the cost of living.

Four more listeners make the case for their favourite vacation spots, hoping to win a place on The Current’s list of great Canadian travel destinations. Sandra Trask says that Cape Breton Island, N.S., is a place for everyone and every season; Lana Gauthier explains why her family fell in love with Basin Head Provincial Park, P.E.I.; Lisa Proulx shares what’s so special about Gros Morne National Park, N.L.; and Annette Barclay says you just have to visit Kouchibouguac National Park, N.B. You can see the full shortlist and vote for your favourite on cbc.ca/thecurrent.

Nova Scotia musician Joel Plaskett got a special surprise for his 50th birthday, a cover album of his own songs — secretly recorded by his friends and some of the biggest names in Canadian music, including Sloan and Arkells. Plaskett talks to Matt Galloway in Halifax about the album, Songs from the Gang, and why it was so fascinating to hear what other people hear in his music.

The first wins and losses of next week’s federal election will be announced in Atlantic Canada, where the political landscape has shifted dramatically in recent months. Matt Galloway heads to Halifax to talk to CBC reporters Silas Brown, Peter Cowan and Taryn Grant about what voters want, as part of Crossroads: Coast to Coast with Canadian Voters. 

Pope Francis worked to be close to people right up to the final day of his life, says Jesuit priest and journalist Father Sam Sawyer. We look at how that focus on human dignity has shaped his papacy, from speaking out for refugees and the marginalized, to his apology for the conduct of some members of the Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system.

The bones of a massive blue whale will soon hang at Dalhousie University. Veterinarian Chris Harvey-Clark tells us what it took to salvage the whale that washed up outside Halifax, and what we still don't understand about the largest mammal on earth.

Ashley Casciato from Innisfil, Ont., says she’s struggling to make ends meet, yet still sees herself as middle class — and she’s not alone. With the federal election just a week away, many Canadians are feeling the pressure of a rising cost of living that’s putting homeownership and the traditional middle-class lifestyle increasingly out of reach. We explore how the definition of “middle class” is changing and what party leaders should do to make life more affordable.