Elbows Up!

Now or Never

As the world faces a now or never moment, Canadians are examining their values, picking their battles, and figuring out how they can stand up for their beliefs. Today on Now or Never we’re discovering how people are pushing back with big and small acts of resistance.

The Trump administration’s tariff war and comments about making Canada a “51st state” has spurred a wave of defensive patriotism across the country. Meet Mike Robitaille, who refuses to spend a cent on any American products or businesses - and that includes everything, from toothpaste to Netflix.

When Manitoba’s Janet Braun came out as a transgender woman, she knew she would have to find a new church because she didn’t feel safe at her old one. Then she saw the rainbows on full display in Brandon’s Knox United, and knew she’d found a home. But Reverend Craig Miller says the church’s reputation as a place where all are welcome, has made it the target of hate.

For 38 years Pickering’s Shenul Williams has fought to keep her late father’s family business alive. Just last month she was on the brink of closing her Indo-African condiment business, Aki Fine Foods, when that surge of Canadian patriotism changed everything.

First Nations Chief Lance Haymond knows more about radioactive nuclear waste than he ever wanted to, but he says that’s what it takes to protect his people’s land. Why he has to keep fighting “a David and Goliath battle” to stop Canadian Nuclear Laboratories from building a near surface disposal site on traditional Algonquin territory.

Fighting back doesn’t necessarily have to mean joining a rally or boycotting a business. Sometimes, taking a stand can mean breaking your mom’s curfew for the first time at 18 years old. We ask young people in St. John’s, N.L. what acts of resistance they are taking part in.

Plus a mashup of Canadian protest songs, Jim Cuddy’s latest, and a surprise cameo by Unreserved’s Rosanna Deerchild.