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The AIH transcript for July 01, 2025

For more episodes of this podcast, please click this link.

NIL KÖKSAL: Hello, I'm Nil Köksal.

CHRIS HOWDEN: Good evening, I'm Chris Howden. This is As It Happens.

[theme]

CH: Tonight:

NK: Remain attraction. In a bid to thwart talk of separation, a new petition is asking Albertans if they want to stay in Canada. The former politician behind that push tells us why he's confident the result will go his way.

CH: Northern exposure. A volunteer at a radio station south of the border goes all in on Canada Day by programming 24 hours of exclusively Canadian music.

NK: Glass calf full! We'll revisit my interview with the CEO of Metis Crossing in Smokey River, Alberta -- when the wildlife park was celebrating the birth of seven new bison calves, a century-and-a-half after the last wild bison were seen there.

CH: A show of hands, and feet. A cross-border rivalry between the top-ranking jogglers in Canada and the U.S. -- as in, joggers who juggle, obviously [NK chuckles] -- wasn't always a toss-up.

NK: Larger than leaf. From Our Archives, a conversation with the nine-year-old who found the largest maple leaf ever recorded -- which turns out to be a real rake-up call.

CH: And...the way she gives the cake really takes the cake. Every Canada Day, a baker in one Ontario community makes a cake big enough to feed thousands. We'll talk to her as her massive cake makes the high-stakes journey from the kitchen to the centre of town.

CH: As It Happens, the Tuesday Edition. Radio that knows the thing about a layer cake is it always ends in tiers.

[theme]

Part 1: Alberta Refrain Referendum, NY Canada Day Radio Station, Canada Day Cake

Alberta Refrain Referendum

Guest: Thomas Lukaszuk

CH: "Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?” That’s the question asked by a new citizens' petition. And it's not separatists asking -- it's a group that's trying to head them off at the pass. It's being called the "Alberta Forever Canada" petition -- and former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk is behind it. Starting on Friday, the Alberta government will officially make it easier for citizens to initiate a provincewide referendum on any subject -- including separation. So, Mr. Lukaszuk is taking advantage of a first-come, first-served rule to get his petition approved before a rival campaign pushing for an independence referendum. We reached Thomas Lukaszuk in Edmonton.

NK: Thomas Lukaszuk, the fact that you put this application forward at all suggests that you're seriously worried that separation could become a reality. Is that accurate?

THOMAS LUKASZUK: Yup! Not despite the fact that there is a very vocal, but also very small minority of Albertans who would actually seriously consider separation. I think the collateral damage that takes place when we are discussing the possibility of separation is just as devastating. You know, we saw what happened in Quebec during the referendum. Business and investment evaporated. We saw what happened with Brexit. So, the economic damage to Alberta and all of Canada is irreparable as a result of these discussions. But it goes further. We live in a very turbulent world, and our federal government should be focused on building our economy, forging new relationships abroad. And being divided internally is nothing but a distraction that actually plays into the hands of our adversaries, who are hoping to destabilize our democratic institutions. So, I decided to put an end to this. And hopefully, this referendum will accomplish that.

NK: As our listeners heard, the question you are putting forward is do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada? The question the group promoting independence would have posed, should their application have been chosen first, is, quote, do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become an independent country and cease to be a province of Canada? From where you sit, what matters more, who puts this petition forward or how the question is posed?

TL: Both, both, but I think what is most important is who runs this campaign, who is in charge of this process. This conversation must be led by Canadians who are proud of being Canadians, who care about the future of Canada as a whole, and who are going to campaign based on facts. So, it is very important that this campaign is run properly and is constructive. And not, you know, promote further deterioration and anger.

NK: I spoke with Dennis Modry from the Alberta Prosperity Society back in May. We'll play for you and our listeners a little bit of what he told us at that time.

SOUNDCLIP

DENNIS MODRY: Separate sort of implies that the land of Alberta is going to be moved somewhere else. What we're really talking about is sovereignty. Sovereignty for the individual and sovereignty for the province, which really means self-control, controlling one's future, controlling one's ability to purchase the goods and services that they want, to not be oppressed by values that don't align with the values here, to get out from under the oppression of censorship.

NK: What do you make of that reasoning?

TL: What Mr. Modry echoes is what Danielle Smith is saying, and she has this, I would call a word salad of a phrase, she talks about Alberta sovereignty within United Canada. It has no legal basis, and frankly, if you were to paraphrase it, it really means, you know, I am single within the confines of my marriage. It just makes no sense whatsoever, but she's playing a very dangerous game. She is trying to keep openly declared separatists in her caucus and cabinet and in her party membership happy, but at the same time, she does not want to come out as a fully-fledged separatist. So, she passes bills to make separatism referenda easier. But at the same time, chooses to wash her hands off of it.

NK: In her Canada Day statement today, Danielle Smith, she released that earlier before our conversation, and it reads in part, Alberta helps power, feed, and drive this country. Forward from our energy and our agriculture to our innovation and entrepreneurship, Alberta is a driving force for good in a united and prosperous Canada. Unquote. Just part of the premier's statement. That wording, does that give you any confidence that she's leaning a different direction now?

TL: No, not at all. It's Canada Day, so she chooses to say that. Let's not forget that she is proclaiming Bill 54, which is a bill designed to help separatists have a referendum, on American Independence Day on July 4th. So, Danielle Smith can negotiate with Prime Minister Carney, or any prime minister for that matter, different terms of our federal relations. But she should not be allowed to hold a gun to the rest of Canada's head and threaten separation if she doesn't get it her way. And my referendum will simply take that gun away from her hands.

NK: You know very well that this sentiment predates Danielle Smith as well. There are many Albertans who are unhappy and feel that they and their province are not getting their due.

TL: I am not questioning the anger or certain Albertans dissatisfaction. You know, that's fine. And there are reasons to be unhappy. But the fact is that in a country, those are things that we negotiate. Those are things we discuss. There are tables at which premiers sit down once a year and all cabinet ministers sit down once a year. There is a process to negotiate that. But that process should never include the threat of separation. Because as unlikely as it could possibly happen, because there are actually legal barriers to unilateral declaration of separation, it is simply not constructive. It destabilizes our country. It causes us to lose focus on the bigger game, which right now is negotiating with the United States, with the European Union, and growing our national economy as a whole.

NK: You now have to collect 600,000 signatures in just a matter of months. How are you feeling about the chances that you'll actually make that number?

TL: Extremely positive. As a matter of fact, my personal goal is to get many, many more. And I can tell you, judging by the response, I literally cannot go to a store right now without several people asking me, where do I sign? How do I volunteer? There has been a lot of negativism in Alberta, and perpetuated by Alberta's government. And this sort of unhappiness is keeping Danielle Smith in power. But I'm noticing that Albertans are tired of being told how unhappy they really are and are latching onto something positive.

NK: And if you don't hit that number, though?

TL: But you know what, I don't even consider that. I've been in politics for 15 years, and so if I have to personally go from door-to-door for the next three months, I will do it.

NK: Thomas Lukaszek, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

TL: My pleasure, thank you for having me.

CH: Thomas Lukaszuk is a former deputy premier of Alberta. He's in Edmonton.

[indie rock]

NY Canada Day Radio Station

Guest: Eric Corley

CH: For months now, we've been covering the vertiginous ups and downs of the Canada-U.S. relationship -- and its impacts on the economy, immigration, domestic policy, travel patterns, and a lot more. And on the other side of the border, in New York State, Eric Corley has also been watching -- and listening. And now, he wants other Americans to listen, too. Mr. Corley is a volunteer with W-U-S-B, the radio station at Stony Brook University. And today, for Canada Day, that station is playing 24 non-stop hours of exclusively Canadian music. We reached Eric Corley in Stony Brook.

NK: Happy Canada Day to you, Eric!

ERIC CORLEY: Happy calendar Day! [NK chuckles]

NK: Have you ever celebrated this day before?

EC: You know, I never actually celebrated it. I've observed it, but I didn't really know what to do. And this year, I felt like, well, maybe there's something I can do. And, yeah, I kind of talked to some friends at the local radio station and we came up with a plan.

NK: And here we are. The coverage, Canadian coverage, let's say, the Canadian content, began at midnight. Were you up at the stroke of midnight?

EC: I've been up all day. I'm going to be up until the next midnight happens. [NK chuckles] And yes, that first show was a hip-hop show. It was awesome, you know, I was listening and the guys were talking about Canadian ice hockey teams. They really cut into the spirit and it was really an amazing show.

NK: And we have some incredible hip-hop icons, really, from Canada, so I'm glad you started there. As we're speaking to you now, we're about halfway through the full day of programming. How is it going from your perspective so far as the person who came up with this idea?

EC: It's going amazingly well. I mean, you know, the problem is whenever I hear something on the speaker, I want to hear more. I want to listen to the songs. I wanna know what the songs are. And if our listeners are having that kind of a reaction, then it's definitely a good thing.

NK: What was the point you decided that you needed to do something, that you wanted to do something?

EC: You know, earlier in the year all the nonsense that was being spouted by our government towards your country, that bothered, I think, just about everybody. And when I looked up when July 1st was, I realized this is a Tuesday; we can make it work. If there are people interested in doing this, let's do it. And the ideas just kind of came fast at that point. Everyone had a plan for a particular type of a program. I focused on the music of Newfoundland and also Indigenous music. You know, I'm not an expert on either one of those, but I'm a great admirer of each. And I did research, and I put together a couple of shows, and I'm, really, I am more of a fan now than I ever was before.

NK: Well, it's so great that they're going to be exposed to all of this, your listeners. As you were doing that research, how did you approach it?

EC: Well, you know, I just did some research on the internet, listened to some Canadian radio, got some Canadian video as well, and just kind of built from there. And I didn't want to stop. It just kept getting more and more interesting. I mean, I found out about the Snotty Nose Rez Kids, which is a rap band from Canada. And they're great. They're amazing. I'd never heard of them before. I found about Gazebo Unit from Newfoundland. They're also amazing. I found all these Celtic artists from the Maritimes. There is so much music up in Canada that we don't know about in the United States. So, that alone is a reason to do this.

NK: You said in your statement about this that there's so much we don't know about our neighbours to the north, and so much that we're familiar with that we don’t know that comes from Canada. I'm paraphrasing you from your statement that you sent out when you decided to do this. What else has surprised you and your colleagues, whether it's something musical or otherwise? What have you learned about Canada that surprised you?

EC: Gosh, well, I think the response was more than we expected. People really read what we sent out and paid attention. I have to tell you, American media did not do that. I just find that Canadians seem to listen more. And here in America, we tend to be distracted and always in some kind of a crisis. So, getting somebody to take you seriously is a lot harder. But I feel, and I felt this when I've gone to Canada and talked to people, I feel like people are actually receptive, listening, and open to creative conversations, and it's a really healthy thing. And I'm hoping to spread more of that here in the States.

NK: That's lovely to hear. You mentioned, okay, so your segment, your show, is going to air in not too long from when we're speaking now. Newfoundland and Labrador, you've got that covered. You mentioned hip-hop earlier. What are the other themes you've on the go today?

EC: Well, we have a psychedelic show. We have some Acadian music from the Maritimes. We have Canadian punk. We have country shows, a couple of different country shows. French-Canadian, progressive rock. We pretty much cover a lot of things, but there's so much more.

NK: Oh, you think, well, you're gonna bring more days in, you think?

EC: I hope so. I really hope that listeners start requesting this music, and that our staff goes out and learns more about Canadian music because, you know, you guys are right next door. It's accessible and it's so inspirational.

NK: What would you like people to take away from this day of Canadian content?

EC: Just, you know, we're not all bad. There are a few idiots that get all the attention, but I guarantee you the vast, vast majority of Americans do not want the kinds of disrespect that has been hurled towards Canada to be the norm. And anything we can do to prove that we're better than that, we will do.

NK: Eric, I'm glad we could speak. Thank you for your time.

EC: Thank you so much.

CH: Eric Corley is a volunteer with W-U-S-B, the radio station at Stony Brook University, in Stony Brook, New York.

[‘60s Britpop]

Canada Day Poet

CH: Royalty, dignitaries, and Canadian legends flocked to LeBreton Flats Park in Ottawa today to celebrate Canada Day with speeches and performances. Including Mi'kmaw poet Jennifer Alicia Murrin who performed an original poem called Ode to Nature.

SOUNDCLIP

JENNIFER ALICIA MURRIN: Every day, my son says good morning to the sky, birds, flowers, bees. Says thank you as he wraps his little body around a tree. He [deep breath] takes time to breathe. I am teaching him to love and appreciate all living things. We are all interconnected. We all start from a seed. The land carries stories and so do we. Our feet landing in the same sacred spaces people have been travelling since time immemorial. Indigenous people have here since

time immemorial. A refuge from the chaos that waits for us in the surrounding under the guise of kind eyes and allies, a sanctuary. It's no wonder why she is called Mother Earth, the way nature nurtures us. Her full bloom blanket wrapping us up in the safety of her warmth reminding us that we are the land and the land is us. She's a caregiver, providing everything that we need, plant medicines, water, ecosystems, trees to breathe, and like a mother, she keeps giving and giving and giving and giving. And as a mother, I know that we will give until there is barely anything left. And if we are the land, and the land is us, then we need to reciprocate and fill her up because I also know that you can't pour from an empty cup. When the world slowed down, we were forced to change the ways we engage with space. We met outside. We sat in parks. We explore places maybe we've never been or truly appreciated, like these huge maples and pines whose roots have been grounded before our lifetime. The faint acoustics of the river, carrying stories of salmon survivance and settler violence. From the woodpeckers tap, tap, tapping on the tallest tree, all the way down to the slithering garter snakes, a sacred space. And it is all of our responsibility to be caregivers, to listen, to learn, to respect her as a lifegiver. When I say all my relations, I really mean all of us. Everything we are and everything we touch is made of stardust. We are the land and the land is us.

[clapping and cheering]

CH: Poet Jennifer Alicia Murrin performing Ode to Nature in Ottawa today.

[dancehall]

Canada Day Cake

Guest: Catherine O'Donnell

CH: You might be barbecuing today. Or planning to go out to watch fireworks. Or planning to watch fireworks on YouTube while lying on the couch after eating a bunch of barbecue. But if you're in my hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, there's a good chance you've spent part of your day in Simcoe Park, waiting to be served a slice of a giant Canada Day cake. Every July 1st for over 20 years, local baker Catherine O'Donnell has prepared a cake large enough to feed 3,000 people, and paraded it down Queen Street for the town to enjoy. But this year, things are a little bit different. We reached Ms. O'Donnell earlier today, as the cake was making its way from the kitchen at Niagara College to the park.

NK: Catherine, how is the cake doing so far? I mean, I'm even afraid to ask you questions because I wanna make sure [laughing] nothing happens to the cake as you walk.

CATHERINE O'DONNELL: We're walking to the park now.

NK: Okay.

CO: And so, I'm walking with a lot of Niagara College students because they allowed us to bake the cake at the school for the facility since it's feeding 3,000. And we're heading to the park where 3,00 people will come and eat cake.

NK: And so, how far do you have to go as we speak?

CO: We still have about another eight minutes.

NK: Okay.

CO: To walk down.

NK: And what's the total time?

CO: It's usually 25 minutes.

NK: It's a 25-minute transport effort. Okay, you said you had some students --

CO: Oh yeah, out in the heat! [laughing]

NK: Out in the heat. Okay. Holding my breath. How many people, what are the logistics involved to get this cake where it needs to go?

CO: There's a, it's on a giant trailer that they custom-made for it about 10 years ago. And it's nerve-racking going down with it.

NK: Yeah, I can hear that in your voice, [CO laughs] and I hear some some chatter behind you. Was that because there was concern about a bump or something?

CO: We went through a pothole. [laughing]

NK: Oh my god! [laughing]

CO: Yeah. So, it's always like, [gasps] will it stay standing? And that's my big nerve thing. But, I mean, this is, I do this for our community because we have such an amazing community. And this year, I had to ask for help because I sized my business down, and my community came to bat. We have a new Foodland coming in; Ms. Leslie Brigham owns it, and she donated the butter. So, it really helped offset the cost because the cake costs usually about $8,500 to make.

NK: Yeah. And you've been, I mean, it's remarkable that you've been doing this all these years, paying out of pocket to do it. How much, what kind of costs were we talking about at this moment in time in this economy? Because a cake that feeds 3,000 people, that's more than a stick or two of butter.

CO: Yeah, we had 300 pounds of butter.

NK: Oh my!

CO: So, it was a lot of ingredients. We had to take, like, eight trips to the college. We have to use three vans [people cheer] to get it from the college back to the bakery to put it onto the cart. So, it's a lot of logistics, but the town comes out in droves. And financially, they have been amazing because we did a GoFundMe and people were just giving money and giving money, and it's been amazing.

NK: How much did you raise in the end? How much it cost to make this?

CO: We were calculating last night, we're probably at about $9,200.

NK: Wow!

CO: And we were at about $8,600 by last night, counting the butter and stuff like that to finish.

NK: Oh, that's remarkable. The cheers, we couldn't help but hear those, obviously. What were they cheering?

CO: They're cheering because the cake has actually gotten this far.

NK: Yeah. Oh, you're almost there. You're almost there.

CO: We're almost there. Yes, we are.

NK: And you're so wonderful for taking time to talk to us at this particular moment. You mentioned the cake, the theme is Canadian Wilderness Fun. You always pick a theme. Why did you pick that one this year?

CO: Because I've been a chef for a long time. And I started to realize I went to a conference this year and nobody's wearing the white jacket. So, they're trying to bring back at World Chef the white jacket. That you've earned this title, and so I thought, oh, what about, I love the wilderness, and I hadn't done, really, a wilderness one. So, I thought a white jacket with skunks, some raccoons, and I had some ex-employees come to my house and we sat and made animals on my encounter because we don't eat this stuff but it's edible. And it's been an amazing experience because we get to play with food, which we don't get to do normally.

NK: Yeah. Canada Day, clearly, you always have fun with it every year. It's taken on a different meaning and feel for many people across the country this year. Does it feel different to you?

CO: I think that we are more proud. I think that Canadians, we've really kind of stepped up and said, hey, we're Canadian and pay attention. And the streets here in Niagara-on-the-Lake are packed, which means people have come out to celebrate.

NK: You mentioned downsizing your business, you clearly sound upbeat and you're obviously caught up in the moment of what you're doing right now, but that's not a small thing. You had that business for a long time.

CO: I had the business for 21 years, and I decided to downsize it because I have an amazing granddaughter I raised and I wanted to have moments with her. And I found that you're working seven days a week when you're that big. And so now, I get to pick and choose what I'd like to do.

NK: And you still wanted to do this? You could have said I'm out!

CO: I did! I can't. I can't, it's too much fun. It really is fun. We spend weeks and weeks and weeks working on it. And when you see it all come together today, it's like damn this is fun.

NK: Let me just ask you, what are you seeing around you? How close are you now?

CO: Well, they've just stopped because the band is going to start, so they've made they've kind of stopped it so that the band can play. So, they have the band from Fort George will actually take us down into the park. [distant music] There's your band playing. Can you hear it?

NK: Yeah!

CO: Yeah. So, they will play until we go down the hill.

NK: And they do this every year.

CO: Every year. Yep. And then, all the politicians are here and the whole street is lined with people, and then they follow down into the park. And then, all these volunteers help slice up the cake and give it to all the people in the park for free.

NK: How long does it take to slice it up?

CO: Only half-an-hour, that's what's funny, how fast it goes. Just one second. Guy's I'm gonna get you to walk either ahead of it or behind so that people can see the cake. They can't see through you.

NK: [CO laughs] I mean, obviously, the cake is --

CO: Well, you do all the work, you don't want people not to be able to take their photo of it. [both laugh]

[cheers]

MAN: There you go. Happy Canada Day. Happy Canada day.

CO: Hi, sorry, we're just getting everything ready to cut now, so.

NK: No, Catherine, you've been so generous with your time. I heard the cheers there. The cake is safe, yes? [chuckling]

CO: Yes, cake is safe.

NK: Congratulations to you, and I hope you get some rest. Happy, happy Canada Day, Catherine. Thank you.

CO: Happy Canada Day to you, too. Thank you.

CH: Catherine O'Donnell is the owner of Willow Cakes. We reached her in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

[disco?]

Part 2: ‘As It Happened: It’s A Canadian Thing’

[theme]

CH: Tonight:

NK: Apropos of something, it feels like a good time to celebrate the people who make this country what it is, from coast to coast to coast and beyond. So, we're going to look back at our show's long history of bringing inspiring stories about Canadians to Canadians.

CH: Herd to believe. In the 19th century, wild bison were on the brink of extinction -- so it was cause for celebration in Alberta, and amongst Métis people especially, when a herd added seven new calves.

SOUNDCLIP

WOMAN: Two minutes later, the baby was up and running around. It was phenomenal. I mean as a mother whose given birth, that was amazing."

NK: Running with the balls. In 2006, As It Happens closely followed a cross-border rivalry, when two remarkable athletes -- one Canadian and one American -- went head-to-head in the Boston Marathon vying to see who was the faster joggler -- which, of course, of course, someone who juggles while jogging.

SOUNDCLIP

MAN: A lot of times, people would look to their right and see a joggler and say woah, and then they look to their left and be like, oh my gosh. There's two of them!

CH: And… Leaf on a high note. A nine-year-old tells us about getting a phone call from the people at Guinness World Records -- when it turned out the big maple leaf he found was actually the biggest maple leaf anyone ever found.

SOUNDCLIP

BOY: It was big and colourful and it was at the top of a leaf pile, so I just picked it up.

CH: As It Happened, the archive edition. Radio that appreciates the finer things in leaf.

[theme]

CH: When As It Happens first started airing, on November 18th, 1968, the idea was to connect with Canadians over the phone -- and over the radio -- through a fully live, five-hour broadcast that rolled across all the time zones. Here is what the show sounded like on Day One.

SOUNDCLIP

MAN: We're going to rollercoaster across the country talking to you about different stories and ideas and we hope to be hearing back from you, the listeners, with some of your own ideas and views on the show.

MAN #2: And we'll be rollercoastering, as the phrase, which our producer has coined for this occasion, and the others which we hope will follow it. But the end is five hours away.

MAN: That's right, so stay with us, As It Happens.

CH: Really did sound like a rollercoaster. And in terms of connection -- for a while in the early years, As It Happens even had a "classifieds" section. People could call in and record a help wanted ad, or an ad for something they wanted to sell, or -- if they were looking for romance -- an ad for themselves. And we'd broadcast that ad on national radio.

SOUNDCLIP

GORDON WILSON: Gordon Wilson, I am a 40-year-old bachelor who is a federal public servant, and has recently built himself a comfortable three-bedroomed, fully-winterized cottage in a developing resort area near Ottawa, where I reside year-round. I would like to share this little paradise on a permanent basis with some quiet self-reliant young lady with no dependence, but with a genuine love for the great outdoors and winter sports, et cetera.

CH: Now, obviously, the show has changed in some ways -- we no longer rollercoaster, for example -- but connecting with Canadians, and connecting Canadians with each other, is still a central part of As It Happens. In 2023, we introduced a couple of Canadians to each other -- and to you. One was looking for something; one had that something. And both shared a passion for a particular classic car. Greg Henderson of Tobermory, Ontario had spoken to our colleagues in London, Ontario about his dream car -- a red-and-white 1955 Chevrolet 2-10, which he had once owned but been forced to sell in 2015, after he got sick and couldn't work. Brad Fritzke of Yorkton, Saskatchewan heard that story and was moved, so he called the London newsroom hoping to get in touch with Mr. Henderson. That's when As It Happens comes in. The two men hadn't spoken to each other at that point, so Nil got Greg and Brad on the phone to make an introduction.

SOUNDCLIP

NK: Greg, meet Brad. Brad, meet Greg.

BRAD FRITZKE: Hi, Greg. Hello, Greg. It's good to meet you.

GREG HENDERSON: Same here.

Speaker 1: Is this bizarre?

BF: This is bizarre, yes. [chuckle]

NK: But it's actually quite a, well, it's a lovely story. And, but I want to go back to the beginning. So I will start with you, Greg. 2015, And you need to make a really difficult decision. And you decide to sell your 1955 Chevrolet 210. What was that like?

GH: You know, you're, sometimes you're stuck in a tough position, and you make a decision. I thought it'd be better to keep the house and get rid of the car. And it's one of those things you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone. And within months of selling the car, and, and I realized I'd made a mistake.

NK: Why was it so meaningful to you? What was your connection to this car?

GH: Well, the money came from life insurance from when my brother passed away in 2007. Even though he was not a car guy or he liked that kind of car or anything, it was a bit of a connection. You know, I'd lost my brother, and this car, and being in the car and driving the car, made me happy. And I needed something to, you know, lift my spirits, as it were. And just the memories of driving that car in the summer, I still think of it today.

NK: You also love a particular movie. That's another layer of connection to this.

GH: Yes. Oh, yeah, yeah. So one of my favourite movies is American Graffiti. It's a very iconic movie. And there's there's many great classic cars, but my favourite was the 55 Chevy that was driven by Alfalfa, played by Harrison Ford.

NK: [chuckle with fond memories] I remember that. Brad, that love of that movie is just one of the ways you two strangers -- maybe not anymore. You have a connection on that front. So, why were you so moved when you heard Greg's story?

BF: To start off, I'm a cancer survivor now. And I'm 61 years old. And when I read his story, a 55 Chev car, to me, I've had several. One of my first cars was a 210 two-door post when I was in high school in the late '70s. And they're more than a car. Like, I feel sorry for this younger generation. They might not experience what I felt in the '70s in having that car. It was, it's not like a Honda Accord of today. It's, it was a 55 Chev. It's just so iconic for me and a lot of people from that era or the same age as me. Yeah, seeing that movie in '73, it just, that black '55, that was the one for me. And as I got older, that's, that's where I went down that path. Give me one of those cars. And in reading about Greg, it just touched my heart, too. Like, sometimes in life, I feel I have a second chance as a cancer survivor, and I just want to do my part to help out and just let Greg have another chance at having a car like he had.

NK: Oh. And what do you want to offer him?

BF: Well, I want to offer him, I have to project cars. I sent the picture. I guess the story is when I was recovering from my cancer surgery and going on Kijiji because all of a sudden when you realize you have a second chance at life, there's a few things you want to revisit in life and redo. And one of them was a '55 Chevrolet I bought. And because I sold my last '55 Chev, it was a two-door Bel Air hardtop, in approximately 2001. So now, the kids are on their own. They're making their own lives. We have two daughters. And I thought, you know, I'm going to get a project car. And, you know, a few hours on Kijiji, I found one five hours from where I live. And a few phone calls later, and I had a '55 Chev project car. So, it was a Bel Air. And it needed other parts. So I ended up finding another one from the same person, actually. And after reading the story, I really felt touched. I, I think Greg needs those cars more than I do. [NK and GH chuckle warmly] You know, forgive me if I sound emotional. One thing that has come out of me after my surgery, I definitely feel more emotional, so.

NK: Yeah, it's, it's clearly not just about the cars. That's a big piece of it, but the connection over, you know, medical concerns, you know. Greg, what is it like to hear this from Brad?

GH: Well, it's hard to put into words. It's nice talking to someone that knows the same way I feel. Like, before for this phone call, I remember saying that, you know, I was worried that he was going to offer me another make, and I didn't want to, you know, "55 Guys" are a total different breed. [NK chuckles] We like 55s, and we only like 55s. It's very good to know there's another person out there.

NK: We do have to say that these are in pieces. They need, need some paint to say, to say the least.

GH: Oh yeah, no.

NK: When you say project, it's, it's a project.

GH: No, I'm assuming I know, I know exactly what you mean. And I'm very honoured. And I'd definitely like to take a look.

NK: And you want to offer them for free, Brad, is that right?

BF: For free, yes. What I would like to see out of this, somebody start a GoFundMe page to get those cars to Ontario. I would love to see a GoFundMe page to have somebody restore those cars for Greg. The thing about this, the great thing is, for me, I have a daughter that's a nurse in Ottawa. And she is going to have her first child coming up this summer, her and her husband. And you know what? Nothing would make me feel better to be able to go, my wife and myself, to be able to fly into Ontario and, you know, what? Be able to cruise around with, with Greg in that 55 Chev car. That would be just awesome.

NK: That would be a pretty great, pretty great image.

GH: It would.

CH: That was Greg Henderson and Brad Fritzke speaking to Nil in 2023.

[industrial]

CH: Whenever possible, we tell you where we've reached our guests. And we've reached tens of thousands of people over the last 50-plus years. And we've reached them all over Canada -- sometimes in unusual places with unusual names and origins. On Canada Day 1987, co-hosts Al Maitland and Dennis Trudeau took it upon themselves to investigate some of Canada's more peculiar place names.

SOUNDCLIP

ALAN MAITLAND: Now, of course, we've all heard of Dildo, but what about Pick-eye? Leading Tickles West.

DENNIS TRUDEAU: I'll buy that. Or Dumpling Harbour.

AM: We received many suggestions. And one name we thought we had to find out more about was Blow Me Down, and who better to tell us than William Porter, who's lived there all his life?

DT: William Porter, why is it called Blow Me Down?

WILLIAM PORTER: They called, I've called around this afternoon to a few people, and they used to have gusts of winds come over the headlands, and they use to bounce off the other mountains and that, and it'll blow, and it'll blow you off your feet. And there's no place there to get out of it, it's all out in the open. And when the wind comes in from the north, you haven't got a prayer.

DT: It's called blow me down because it'll blow you down?

WP: That's why it's called Blow Me Down because the wind will blow you down.

CH: That's William Porter speaking to Dennis Trudeau in 1987. They reached Mr. Porter in Blow Me Down, Newfoundland and Labrador. Al and Dennis also did some investigating into the origins behind the place named Toad River in British Columbia, which seemed like it would be pretty straightforward. To find out more, they called Bob Price who ran the Toad River Lodge.

SOUNDCLIP

AM: Bob Price, if your place is named Toad River, you must have a lot of you-know-whats.

BOB PRICE: Oh, we do have the odd ones left. What had happened in the late '30s, there was a bunch of trappers camped over here in our flats. And in the morning, there was two bears come in and stampeded their horses, and they named it Bear Flats. Then when the American Army came up here, they had a 2,500-man camp here. And where the lodge is situated is on the south side of the highway. This is where the officer's quarters were and they called it Skunk Hollow. Of course, I guess this wasn't a very appropriate name for them. And at that time, there were an awful lot of these little green toads in the place. So, they then named it the Toad River.

AM: Bear Flats became Skunk Hollow, which became Toad River.

BP: Right. [chuckling]

[ambient electronic]

CH: You're listening to our archival show "As It Happened: The Canada Day edition" on CBC Radio One and on public radio in the United States.

(FADE STING OUT)

CH: Before the formation of Canada -- and before anyone was considering naming a place Blow Me Down or Toad River -- the land was home to diverse and abundant populations of fish, birds and mammals. But when settlers arrived in the 19th century, those once-healthy populations of wildlife were decimated by over-hunting and habitat loss. Some were driven nearly to extinction -- including wild bison in Alberta. So in 2023, it was a very big deal when a population of wild bison expanded, after seven calves were born at Metis Crossing Wildlife Park north of Edmonton -- 160 years after the last wild bison were seen in the region. At the time, Nil spoke with Juanita Marois -- CEO of Metis Crossing -- in Smokey River, Alberta.

SOUNDCLIP

NK: You were there when they were born, right?

JM: Yes, I was there when one of them was born.

NK: And what stands out in your mind from, from watching that?

JM: The amazing process of nature. So we pulled up in the vehicle, and I could see that the that mama, the cow bison, was kind of huffing and puffing. And so we just kind of stopped to watch her. And the rancher I was with, who knows bison like the back of his hand, said she's about to give birth. And I looked, and I'm like, wow, that's amazing. So we sat there for not more than 15 minutes. And she huffed, and she puffed, and she pushed it out. She was standing up. And the baby kind of hit the ground. And then she turned around and bit the sack and licked it off. And two minutes later, the baby was up and running around. It was phenomenal.

NK: Wow!

JM: I mean, as a mother who's given birth, that was amazing.

NK: [both chuckle] Is it also true that you played country music?

JM: We play country music whenever we're in the paddocks with the buffalo. Actually, the ranching partner that we work with has, from birth with his herds, drives in amongst them with country music, and that is how they know that the vehicle is safe, that this is not going to harm them. So they put their heads up when they see you coming, you turn on the country music, and they realize who it is, and they go back to whatever they're doing. [NK chuckles] So they're just nice and calm as we're in there. Or if you're moving them, they will actually follow the vehicle playing the country music at times, and they'll move from pasture to pasture. It's like watching the Pied Piper. I have to give credit to Len. He has raised, he has a very large bison herd, a commercial herd, and he raises them from generation to generation, from calf. He loves those animals like many of us love our dogs.

NK: Do they have a favourite artist?

JM: Not that I'm aware of. The ranching partner says it's Shania Twain, but I think that's a personal preference as opposed to a bison preference.

NK: [chuckles] Well, we can't blame them for that. And we can't blame the bison, either. You talked about the significance, you know, for, for Metis people to see bison beginning to thrive again in Alberta. Just, just tell me about what that means to you?

JM: Well, the Metis people and bison, our history is absolutely intertwined. So the Metis people are children of the fur trade. If the fur trade did not exist in Canada, we, as a nation of Indigenous people, would not exist. And certainly, we began to thrive in what is now Canada, before it was Canada, along with the buffalo. So we would follow the buffalo across the Prairies. In the spring and in the summer, our communities would gather to have the buffalo hunt. And we would come together in groups as large as 1,500 people, and they would know to come together from across what is now Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We would come together. And when we came together, the first thing we would do would elect a council of the buffalo hunt, and they would govern the activities of that community while they were together. They would appoint a captain of the Buffalo hunt who would take his hunters out and hunt the bison. And when you think about a thousand bison running across the plains and you're on the back of a horse chasing them down, that's a life and death situation for those hunters on that horseback. But not only that, also for the community, because we didn't have Costco, we didn't have Safeway. If that hunt wasn't successful, our communities didn't flourish. So there was a role for everyone. And it's really important now that the bison that we're bringing them back in modern-day society to again share in our economic system, they're an important part of the visitor experience at Metis Crossing. They're an important part of our food system, our food security. So bringing them back is really culturally significant in terms of our own resilience and strength as an Indigenous Nation.

CH: That was CEO of Metis Crossing Juanita Marois speaking to Nil in 2023.

[lounge jazz]

CH: Canada versus the United States. A natural cross-border sports rivalry. Especially when the sport is hockey. The countries have faced off against one another in huge games over and and over again. In Olympic gold-medal matches.

SOUNDCLIP

ANNOUNCER: Back to Fortino, Fortino, rolling puck, down low, shot, scores, it's Poulin again, Canada wins gold in overtime.

CH: Or, more recently, in the 4 Nations Face-Off:

SOUNDCLIP

ANNOUNCER: Forward and nearly got a shot off. Car sends it around Marner, scores!

CH: It just so happens that we randomly selected two examples in which Canada won. That's fine! Canadians often do better than their American competitors on the ice. But that's been the case on the track, too. In 1997, Canadian Donovan Bailey and American Michael Johnson were two of the fastest people in the world, both winning gold medals in track-and-field events in the previous year's Olympic games. And so, to determine who was faster, the two sprinters took part in a one off 150-metre race in the Sky Dome in Toronto.

SOUNDCLIP

MAN: Set! [gunshot]

ANNOUNCER: Johnson on the outside, Bailey with a great spark running through the turn. In the lead, now they race towards the finish. Johnson pulls up, Bailey's going to win it. Donovan Bailey looks back at the 100 metre mark. Johnson pulled up, the time 15 seconds flat. Donovan Bailey.

CH: Donovan Bailey crossed the finish line first. But as you heard, in the final stretch, Michael Johnson started limping as if he was injured -- so there was unfortunately no definitive answer to the question: who is the fastest person in the world? This is what Donovan Bailey had to say after the race.

SOUNDCLIP

REPORTER: You came out of the turn, you took the lead, you were leaving him two-thirds of the way through the race when he pulled up. Are you disappointed he pulled but he didn't finish?

DONOVAN BAILEY: He didn't pull up, he's a chicken. He didn't pull up at all, he's just a chicken. He's afraid to lose. I think what he should do is we should run this race over again, so I can kick his ass one more time.

CH: Some tough words for Mr. Johnson there. Almost a decade later, As It Happens followed a similarly feisty rivalry between two premier athletes in their field.

SOUNDCLIP

MICHAL KAPRAL: Zach had beaten my record, so I immediately challenged him to a duel, because he broke it by 41 seconds, which in marathon running is kind of the blink of an eye. So, I thought it would make a great showdown.

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS: And Zach, you obviously accept it.

ZACH WARREN: I did, yes. Well, it was too much fun to pass up. [chuckle]

CH: From 2006, that's Canadian Michal Kapral and American Zach Warren speaking to guest host Christopher Thomas, before their "duel" to determine who was faster. The stage: the Boston Marathon. The sport: joggling.

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS: Michal, let me start with you. What is joggling?

MICHAL KAPRAL: Joggling is a combination of jogging, or running, and juggling.

CT: Juggling what?

MK: Uh, juggling anything. I juggle, uh, balls.

CT: So, three balls going around in a circle while you're running?

MK: In a cascade pattern, so alternating sides.

CT: Oh, excuse me. [CT and MK laugh] Zach, is that what you used too?

ZACH WARREN: That's right, three beanbags, yeah.

CT: Three beanbags.

ZW: We're moving in the symbol of the infinity on its side.

CT: Oh! So, it's not just athletics, it's spiritualism as well.

MK: You might say that, yeah.

CT: And, Michal, are yours bean bags as well?

MK: No, mine are excerballs. They're custom-made joggling balls.

CT: And why do you do this?

MK: It's fun and it's challenging.

CT: Yeah, that's for sure.

ZW: It's a whole lot of fun. It's great, it's good exercise.

CT: Zach, are you two the only guys that do this?

ZW: No, right? Are we?

MK: No, [chuckle] there are actually quite a few people who do it. We're just the fastest.

CT: Well, and that's what this race is going to determine, who was the fastest, right?

ZW: Yes.

CT: How did this race come about, Michal?

MK: Well, I set the juggling marathon record last year at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. A few months later, from a reporter out of Boston, saying that Zach had beaten my record. So, I immediately challenged him to a duel because he only, he broke it by 41 seconds, which in marathon running is kind of the blink of an eye. So, I thought it would make a great showdown.

CT: And, Zach, you obviously accepted.

ZW: I did, yeah. [chuckle] It's too much fun to pass up. Honestly, it was his own fault for breaking the record that inspired me to try to break it after him. So, I saw the article forwarded to me from a friend in Canada and he said why don't you go for this? So, I thought okay, sure.

CT: Are there rules involved here?

ZW: Yeah, the Guinness World Records has a specific set of rules. For example, if you drop, you have to go back to the spot where you dropped it and pick up from there and resume. And you also can't throw, say, two balls in one hand. You have to, at all times, be rotating left, right, left, right, and the balls have to be exchanging hands each time.

CH: From 2006, that was Canadian Michal Kapral and American Zach Warren speaking to guest host Christopher Thomas ahead of the Boston Marathon, where they would finally determine who was the fastest joggler. And, since you're on the edge of your seat waiting to hear the result of the race, you're in luck. As It Happens got in touch with both men again a week later about Mr. Warren's victory. Here they are speaking to guest host Helen Mann.

SOUNDCLIP

HELEN MANN: Congratulations, first of all, to both of you. Zach, I guess, in particular. First of all, how are you holding up today? You must be a little bit achy at the very least?

ZW: Yeah, my body feels like a cross between the Tin Man and Gumby.

HM: [ZW and HM chuckle] That's a good description. Michal, what about you?

MK: I have aches just about everywhere, and my eyes really hurt, I think just from trying to look at too many things at once. [chuckle]

HM: Well, that's interesting. That's probably something most marathoners don't have. You actually have a specific joggler injury.

MK: Yeah, I have an injury in my hand, too, an overuse injury in my right hand.

HM: Oh, you guys are the true athletes then.

ZW: Sorry about that.

HM: Now, Michal, you guys ran most of this race together. How was it doing that in the Boston Marathon?

MK: Well, it was actually hilarious. At the beginning, I just had these fits of laughter because I had never run with another joggler. So, just seeing Zach next to me was making me laugh. It was really distracting [ZW chuckles] because we were in this pack of huge piles of runners, and trying to navigate our way there. And something about it, just the absurdity of it, was making me laugh.

HM: Zach, what about for you?

ZW: I found it, it was great. I thought the audience reactions were great. It was fantastic to run with another joggler. You know, it's just, it is twice the fun. And the comments you get are twice as hilarious.

HM: What about the people running beside you though, were they too pleased?

ZW: Yeah, I think a lot of them laughed. A couple, I remember one guy ran up to us and said I just want to let you know you made my day. So, yeah, we got a lot of, I think, really positive comments. And a lot of times people would look to their right and see a Joggler and say whoa. And then, and they'd look to the left and be like oh my gosh!

CH: That wasn't the end of the joggling saga. Mr. Kapral re-captured the world record for fastest marathon juggling three objects later that year. And he holds the fastest time in that particular category of long-distance running to this day. In fact, that's one of several Guinness World Records Mr. Kapral holds. He recently set the world record for longest distance run while juggling three balls at 115 kilometres. Afterwards, he wrote on social media that in the final stretch, quote "I wanted nothing more than to lie down at the side of the trail and cry myself to sleep," unquote. It sounds like it might be one of the most challenging world records held by a Canadian. But in 2010, Joseph Donato of Pickering, Ontario may have set the most fitting world record held by a Canadian. At the time, Mr. Donato was nine years old. And he had found the biggest maple leaf ever recorded. Here he is speaking to Carol.

SOUNDCLIP

CAROL OFF: Hi Joseph.

JOSEPH DONATO: Hi.

CO: How's your maple leaf?

JD: It's good.

CO: [chuckling] Is it starting to drying out quite a bit now?

JD: Yeah.

CO: How big is it?

JD: Um, it's 13 and 50, 13 and 5/8ths wide by 15 and 5/8ths long.

CO: Is that in inches?

JD: Yes.

CO: Now, where did you find it?

JD: On my street.

CO: Just on your own street?

JD: Yeah. I was just walking.

CO: This huge maple leaf?

JD: Yeah.

CO: Are you often looking for big leaves?

JD: No.

CO: So, what got you to do it this time?

JD: Well, because it was so big. So, I was, like, riding my bike and I saw it. And it was big and colourful. It was at the top of a leaf pile, so I just picked it up.

CO: Now, how do you know that it might be the biggest maple leaf anyone has ever found in the world?

JD: Well, I haven't seen any bigger leaves than that, so I'm pretty convinced.

CO: [chuckling] But now, the Guinness World Records people have talked to you about your leave, haven't they?

JD: Yeah.

CO: What do they say?

JD: They said that it is the biggest.

CO: Have they ever had a contest for who has the biggest maple leaf?

JD: No.

CO: So you might be the first.

JD: Because it's a new record.

CO: Oh, you're gonna start a new record with Guinness?

JD: Yes.

CH: That was nine-year-old Joseph Donato speaking to Carol in 2010.

The AIH Transcript For July 1, 2025

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