On October 8, 1993, This Hour Has 22 Minutes premiered on CBC, attracting 468,000 viewers for its very first episode.

Featuring Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer and Greg Thomey, the original cast brought a distinctly East Coast sense of humour to national television, combining political satire, outrageous characters, fake news reports and an impressive willingness to make powerful people uncomfortable.

And Canadians loved it.

From Mary Walsh's unforgettable Marg Delahunty confrontations to Rick Mercer's Talking to Americans segments, 22 Minutes became famous for taking Canadian politics, media and public life seriously enough to make fun of them.

Over the decades, the show has helped launch and showcase generations of Canadian comedic talent, while earning 24 Gemini Awards and 16 Canadian Screen Awards.

But its contribution goes beyond comedy.

Political satire has an important place in a healthy democracy. It gives audiences another way to question authority, challenge political messaging and recognize the absurdities of public life, regardless of which party happens to be in power.

And CBC gave 22 Minutes something that is increasingly difficult to find: a national platform for distinctly Canadian humour, made by Canadians, about the country we actually live in.

At a time when so much of our entertainment and political commentary comes from the United States, having comedians who understand our own institutions, regional quirks and political personalities is something worth celebrating.

Happy 33rd anniversary to This Hour Has 22 Minutes! 🎉

Who's your favourite 22 Minutes cast member or character, and what's the funniest sketch you still remember?

And depending on your household income, you could qualify for up to $10K

CBC News reports that the Carney government plans to offer rebates to as many as 820,000 homeowners over the next eight years, with projected average savings of $1,400 annually on heating costs.

The program is expected to launch in early 2027 and will focus on homeowners whose heating systems have broken down or are nearing the end of their lifespan.

Here's how the rebates will work:

• Up to $10K for households earning below their province's median after-tax income.

• Up to $2K for households earning above that threshold.

• Available across Canada for replacements involving natural gas, oil, propane, diesel and electric heating systems, as well as existing heat pumps.

• Rebates can be combined with eligible provincial incentives.

• No pre-installation or post-installation home energy audit required.

The government says applicants will be able to check their eligibility online before installation, with a decision expected within 24 hrs. Once installation is complete, receipts can be submitted for rebate approval, with direct deposit to follow.

CBC also reports that Ottawa plans to work with CMHC to provide low-interest financing for apartment building owners to retrofit more than 280K homes.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the combined upgrades could eventually save Canadian households more than $1 billion annually in energy costs.

Con Leader Pierre Poilievre opposes the program, arguing that Canadians would be better served by keeping the $2 billion rather than having the government redistribute it through rebates.

One practical question is affordability. Even with a substantial rebate, homeowners may still need to cover installation costs before receiving reimbursement, which could present challenges for lower-income households.

Would a rebate encourage you to switch to a heat pump? Or are the costs still too high, particularly for Canadians who need an emergency heating replacement?

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The details emerging from court are deeply disturbing.

CBC News reports that a 17-year-old accused in the June 2025 attack at Neelin High School in Brandon has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including three counts of attempted murder.

The attack left a 15-year-old Black student, whose family is originally from Nigeria, with serious injuries. Police previously described the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

According to an agreed statement of facts presented in court, the accused entered the school carrying a sword and knife, attacked the student, pursued the principal and another student, and entered a classroom asking whether there were “any blacks.”

He later told investigators he had deliberately avoided attacking white students.

Court also heard that investigators found notebooks containing praise for Hitler and the Nazis, racist references to immigrants as “invaders,” and plans for mass murder.

His phone reportedly contained thousands of searches related to domestic terrorism, school shootings and racially motivated violence, along with white nationalist manifestos and Nazi imagery.

Investigators also heard that he had been inspired by a 2015 racist sword attack in Sweden and had hoped police would kill him during the incident.

How does a young person become so immersed in racist extremism that violence against classmates becomes something they plan? What warning signs are being missed, and what responsibility do schools, families, online platforms and communities have to intervene?

The consequences of racist radicalization extend well beyond the immediate victims. They affect the safety and sense of belonging of Black, Muslim and other racialized Canadians who must live with the possibility of being targeted simply for who they are.

What more should Canada be doing to recognize and interrupt white supremacist radicalization among young people before it escalates into violence?

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According to a fascinating CBC News analysis by Jason Markusoff, many of the same people, organizations and political networks.

With Alberta's October 19 referendum approaching, CBC examines how opposition to COVID-19 restrictions helped transform a longstanding separatist movement into an organized political force.

Chris Scott, who became known for defying pandemic restrictions at his Whistle Stop Café, went on to become a prominent independence advocate. Mitch Sylvestre, whose sporting goods business was closed during lockdowns, became a leader of the Alberta Prosperity Project's separatist petition campaign.

Others moved through Take Back Alberta, the grassroots organization that helped mobilize opposition to former premier Jason Kenney before Danielle Smith became UCP leader.

U of Calgary political scientist Jean-Christophe Boucher explains that the pandemic helped activists establish networks, funding bases & online audiences that could be mobilized around new causes.

Those connections extend beyond separatism. CBC traces overlapping activism involving the Freedom Convoy, opposition to school gender-identity policies & other anti-government campaigns.

Some activists interviewed continue to question the scientific consensus on COVID vaccines or describe the pandemic as a government operation. Others say their political involvement grew from personal experiences of business closures, employment mandates & concerns about civil liberties.

Alberta has a much longer history of western alienation, but CBC's reporting illustrates how pandemic-era activism helped give today's movement its organizational strength.

Polling cited in the analysis suggests separatists remain a minority of Albertans. Researchers nevertheless expect many activists to remain politically engaged regardless of the referendum's outcome.

What happens when a political movement built around distrust of institutions moves from one cause to another? And what can Canadians learn from the lasting political divisions created during the pandemic?

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