The Nintendo Switch 2 is here. Are the upgrades worth the hype?
Nintendo has unveiled its latest console, the Nintendo Switch 2, eight years after the original hit console landed on shelves.
Launching on June 5, the Nintendo Switch 2 boasts powerful new hardware, new ways to connect with other players and a broad range of games — including system exclusive titles like Mario Kart World. But are these upgrades worth the wait, and the price tag?
On this podcast-exclusive episode of Commotion, CBC reporter Jonathan Ore checks in with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud from the Nintendo Direct event in New York City.
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Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rick Mercer's long finished ‘Talking to Americans,' but he's got new ways to address neighbourly tension
TORONTO – Rick Mercer picks up the bottle of sparkling water he just ordered, puts on his glasses and inspects the label. 'Where's that from? We're not having that in the shot if it's American. Jeez,' he says, glancing at the video camera with an impish smile. It's a product of Italy, but he moves it out of the shot anyway. 'Are we rolling?' We are. On this Tuesday afternoon in late spring, Mercer sits in a booth by the window at a Toronto restaurant. The sparkling water, his now-discarded reading glasses and some notes he doesn't reference are the only things in front of him as he promotes his new comedy tour, 'Stand-Up for Canada,' which gets underway in September. The show's message, he says, meets the moment: one in which U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed punishing tariffs on Canada and threatened this country's sovereignty. 'That has permeated almost every aspect of our lives, but it actually hasn't impacted my act at all. I'm doing the same act,' he says. 'I decided a long time ago that everything I do was going to be celebrating the country.' Mercer believes people are looking for that now more than ever, given the animosity that's developed between Canada and the United States: a relationship that is in some ways foundational to our national self-image. 'If you want to have that conversation about what it means to someone to be Canadian, you've really got to dig because the first thing that nine out of 10 Canadians will do is they'll start talking about how we're different than Americans, which is no way to define yourself,' he says. 'What's happening in the country now — people are standing in the middle of drugstores Googling what's a Canadian toothpaste, and they're reading labels in the ways that they've never read before, and their making choices about whether they'll eat a kiwi fruit — that's new. But I think it's always been there: Canadians, we're a proud country, there's no doubt about it.' Playing off of this cross-border kinship is part of how Mercer became a household name north of the 49th parallel. His wildly popular segment 'Talking to Americans' took off on CBC's 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' and spawned an hour-long comedy special in April 2001. More than two million viewers tuned into the special to watch Mercer ask Americans leading questions about Canada based on ludicrous stereotypes. Would they consider a visit to our national igloo? What do they think of Canada's national dish, the beaver ball? 'It really was one joke over and over again, but it was a joke that Canadians really enjoyed,' he says. The execution of that joke relied on two things, Mercer says: Americans' ignorance about Canada and their goodwill towards Canadians. 'I was aware that by and large Americans knew nothing about Canada. But they did know we were the neighbours, and they wanted to be only generous and kind to the neighbours,' he says. 'That has clearly changed somewhat. People are very suspicious of Canada. I think Americans are more suspicious of everyone, both inside their country, their neighbours, and then outside their country as well.' That Americans are looking more closely at Canada is one of many reasons the bit wouldn't work today, Mercer says. The list also includes the general mistrust in mainstream media and the likelihood that once-unsuspecting Americans might recognize him from online clips. For his purposes, that's OK. It seems like it's time to look inward rather than measuring ourselves against others, he says: 'In order for Canada to be good, Denmark doesn't have to be bad.' The temptation to focus on the giant underneath us is ever-present, but Mercer is practised at resisting it. He left 'Talking to Americans' behind when he launched his flagship TV show, 'Rick Mercer Report,' in 2004. Over the course of 15 seasons, he travelled across the country, poking fun at politicians along the way. 'When I was doing 'Mercer Report,' one of the big learning curves that writers who worked on the show had to deal with was that in our universe that we created, America didn't exist. Like, it really didn't. We were just like, 'we don't talk about that.'' Americans got enough attention elsewhere, he says, so if the show talked about entertainment, it wouldn't be American entertainment. If it talked politics, it wouldn't be American politics. Whether his September tour will take the same tack remains to be seen. It's early yet, he says, but he doesn't foresee dunking on the United States overmuch. Tickets go on sale later this week, but he isn't due to hit the road until Sept. 11, performing 22 shows in 38 days alongside comedians Sophie Buddle, Mayce Galoni and Julie Kim. This is Mercer's third standup tour. He's leaned into live performance since leaving TV behind in 2018. Last year, he toured in conversation with musician Jann Arden. He also wrote two memoirs, 'Talking to Canadians,' about everything leading up to 'Rick Mercer Report,' and 'The Road Years' about the time he spent on the show. 'If you're in my business, if you're creating TV shows, if you're doing one-man shows — which I used to do in my early 20s — if you're writing books, if you're writing scripts, it really helps if you love your subject matter. And my subject matter has always been my country,' he says. 'And I'm not saying it's perfect, not by a long shot. It's just, that's someone else's lane. Right now it's all about celebrating.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
CBC
8 hours ago
- CBC
Is your favourite show CanCon enough? Here's why the definition of Canadian content may get a reboot
What's your favourite bit of CanCon? Maybe Schitt's Creek, which aired on CBC but also streamed on Netflix, comes to mind. Perhaps some iteration of Anne of Green Gables. Or maybe a classic David Cronenberg flick like Dead Ringers? These are all considered to be CanCon — shorthand for Canadian content, it refers to film and television productions made in Canada by Canadians. But maybe you have a favourite show like CBS's Tracker, which airs on Global TV in Canada. It's one of the most watched shows on broadcast and streaming according to the Nielsen ratings, a U.S.-based audience measurement system. It's filmed in British Columbia and employs Canadians, but it's not considered CanCon. That matters because broadcasters in this country have obligations to ensure that a minimum percentage of the content they distribute to viewers meets government CanCon requirements to ensure Canadian stories are available on Canadian TV screens or streaming devices. On-demand streaming changed the game, with global companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ dominating the market. But they haven't been held to the same CanCon standards as traditional Canadian broadcasters, and the streaming companies say it's not realistic to expect them to do so. That's not necessarily something that's on the minds of viewers when they settle into the couch and reach for the remote or the laptop. So here's what you need to know about CanCon and the challenge of getting Canadian eyes on it. I just want to watch my shows. What do I care? Canada's broadcasting regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), is at a bit of a fork in the road when it comes to CanCon. The reason there are CanCon requirements is to ensure that Canadian stories and points of view don't get drowned out by the flood of content flowing in from the U.S. "We are a small market in a big world and we sit next to a very experienced, prolific producer of content," said Dave Forget, executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada. "There should be some shelf space for the Canadian stories so that Canadians can also see themselves in their own experience." In 2023, Canada's Online Streaming Act came into effect, updating broadcasting laws to include content streaming services. It meant that foreign streaming companies would not only have to promote or recommend Canadian programming on their platforms, but streamers making $25 million or more in Canada will have to start paying five per cent of their domestic revenue to support the production of Canadian media content. The CRTC estimates that the levy would raise around $200 million a year and said the funding would be used to boost local and Indigenous broadcasting. But now the CRTC is also looking into updating what it considers to be Canadian content. "Our goal is clear: to modernize the definition of Canadian content to reflect today's reality," said Vicky Eatrides, the CRTC's CEO and chairperson, during the start of public consultations last month aimed at reviewing what exactly constitutes CanCon, and to determine whether foreign streamers should be held to the same standards as traditional broadcasters in Canada. The public hearings in Gatineau, Que., spanned two weeks and wrapped up on May 27. WATCH | Breaking down the existing definition of CanCon and how it might change: Why the definition of CanCon might get a reboot 3 days ago Duration 3:57 So, how Canadian do series and movies have to be? While many south-of-the-border movies and shows may have been filmed in Canada, with Canadian crews and talent, it's not enough to be considered CanCon in the eyes of the CRTC. First, the film or show's producer has to be Canadian. Then, there's a 10-point system for key creative roles, and six out of 10 points are needed to meet the bar to be considered CanCon. For example, if the director or writer is Canadian, that gets you two points. But, between the director and the writer, at least one must be Canadian. That also goes for the top performers; one of the two leads must be Canadian. That counts for one point each. Other crew roles such as production designer, director of photography, editor and music composer count for one point each. Other rules apply for animated productions. On top of the point system, Cancon rules state that 75 per cent of production and post-production expenses have to go to Canadians or Canadian companies. The requirements have been loosened before. The CRTC reduced the minimum number of points needed from eight to six in 2016, something the commission said would allow more films to become eligible for certain funding programs. At last month's hearings, there was talk of actually increasing the number of points needed to 15, as well as whether a requirement to reflect Canadian cultural elements should be introduced. WATCH | Why Canadian films struggle at the box office despite international acclaim: Canadian films win awards but struggle at the box office 1 year ago Duration 2:03 So, what do Netflix, Disney+ and other streamers want? Canadian broadcasters, producers — and even artists — want the foreign streaming services, primarily the big U.S. ones many Canadians use, to meet minimum CanCon requirements like they do in order to maintain broadcasting licences and qualify for subsidies. Anthony Shim, a director whose credits include the critically-acclaimed 2022 independent film Riceboy Sleeps, admits it's a challenge to balance the freedom of creativity with the need to protect Canadian artists and storytelling — a goal he says should always be top of mind. Toronto-born writer, producer and director Anthony Q. Farrell, who has worked on series including The Office, the British series The Secret Life of Boys and CTV's Shelved, says the definition of CanCon is more important than ever. "Especially in a time where we're really focusing in on buying Canadian and taking care of our national voice, I think it's important that we … use our Canadian creatives to tell our stories," said Farrell, who provided recommendations at the CRTC consultations on behalf of the Writers Guild of Canada. He agrees that streaming companies "making money off Canadians" should be putting some of their profits back into distinctly Canadian film and television production. The streaming companies, however, don't see it quite the same way. They were collectively represented at the consultations by the Motion Picture Association of Canada, which argued that they're already an integral part of Canada's film and television production sector but that they shouldn't be held to the same content requirements as traditional broadcasters. Wendy Noss, the association's president, appeared at the hearings on May 16 and said the CRTC should make changes to its CanCon policies, including reassessing the number of points required in the 41-year-old CanCon points system, as well as re-evaluating which roles qualify for points. She said that before the CRTC imposes Canadian content requirements on foreign streamers, they need to "introduce meaningful flexibility in modernizing the definition of Canadian programs." "Broadcasting policies should be straightforward, sustainable and flexible to enable global producers to do what they do best: creating entertainment for audiences at home and worldwide," said Noss. The CRTC will hold further CanCon consultation hearings at a later date. But the big streaming companies are also set to battle the CRTC in court over the implementation of the Online Streaming Act. They filed an appeal last year, after the commission ordered global online streaming services to fork over five per cent of their domestic revenues to support the production of Canadian content. WATCH | Why some Canadian content creators are upset about the Online Streaming Act:
Winnipeg Free Press
16 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg-born director wins big at Canadian Screen Awards
Matthew Rankin began his speech in Farsi, took a detour into French and wound back toward English when accepting the Canadian Screen Award for achievement in direction Sunday for Universal Language, a feature film set at a dreamy intersection connecting Winnipeg to Tehran. 'This is delightful,' Rankin told the crowd at CBC's Broadcast Centre in downtown Toronto. 'I'm from Winnipeg — I'm not accustomed to winning anything — so this is really weird and sweet and nice, so thank you very much.' It's a line that Rankin will now be forced to retire: with six wins — including original screenplay, editing, costume design, casting and art direction, handed out at Saturday's industry gala for cinematic arts — Universal Language, shot in Winnipeg and Montreal, was a repeat champion on Sunday night. Chris Young / The Canadian Press Matthew Rankin won as best director; his Universal Language took home five more awards. Based for several years in Quebec, which Rankin hailed as 'one of the last places where art and culture is thought of and defended as a public good,' the director, who also co-wrote and co-starred in the film, was quick to mention his upbringing at the Winnipeg Film Group, where as a teenager he enrolled in filmmaking workshops. 'I really want to take the opportunity to thank all the weirdos of the Winnipeg Film Group,' he said, later mentioning the late Cinematheque programmers Dave Barber and Jaimz Asmundson in a message shared with the Free Press. 'This is where I learned how to make movies in an artist-run centre. Those people are really keeping Winnipeg weird, and I love that.' Universal Language, which was the Canadian submission to this year's Academy Awards for best international feature, had its world première in competition at Cannes. Last spring after a sold-out local première at the Centre culturel franco-manitobain, Rankin carved up several Jeanne's cakes with the film's title written on top in green Farsi script. In a five-star review for the Free Press, Alison Gillmor wrote that 'while the film is laugh-out-loud funny — literally — it is also, by the end, as the wandering characters are finally brought together, ineffably sad and delicate.' 'Rankin's work has always been clever and comic, but there's a new tenderness here as the filmmaker brings in autobiographical strands, fusing them into a poetic expression of regret, longing and the meaning of home and family,' she added. Rankin, who in addition to French and Farsi is also learning Esperanto, has built a stellar career playing with the narrative strands of Canadian identity and political memory. His debut feature The Twentieth Century is a fantastical reimagining of former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's origin story, while short films including 2014's Mynarski Death Plummet and 2010's Negativipeg are more localized, equally rewarding experiments in semi-fiction. Monthly What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. An email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing. In February, Universal Language — co-written by Rankin, Ila Firouzabadi (who took home the best casting award) and Pirouz Nemati (who lost the award for leading performance in comedy to Cate Blanchett in Guy Maddin's Rumours) — was named best Canadian feature by the Toronto Film Critics Association, earning a $50,000 prize. Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Universal Language co-writers and co-stars Pirouz Nemati (left) and Matthew Rankin 'This is a movie we made with our whole heart,' Rankin said Sunday. 'We all know what political moment we're living in. Every day there are new Berlin Walls shooting up all around us and pitting us against each other into very cruel binaries, and if our film stands for anything, it stands for the fact that kindness can, in fact, be a radical gesture, and that's really what we believe in now more than ever.' Other Winnipeg-related winners at the awards include the locally made Wilfred Buck, which nabbed David Schmidt an award for best editing of a feature-length documentary, and local writer Scott Montgomery as part of a team of winners for best writing, animation, for the Apple TV+ prodution Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin. The 2025 Canadian Screen Awards show, which aired live June 1 on CBC and CBC Gem, is also available to stream on Crave as of 8 p.m. Monday. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
