Canada is Boring
by Jesse Harley, Rhys Waters
Canada is boring? Nope. Canada is unhinged. Hosted by Rhys, a new Canadian with an outsider’s obsession for the country’s strangest stories, and Jesse, a proudly disengaged average Canadian, the show digs into the weirdest moments in Canadian history, politics, crime, culture, and folklore. Part history show, part comedy podcast, part national identity crisis, Canada Is Boring is for anyone who likes their learning with jokes, their politics with chaos, and their Canadian facts deeply, deeply strange. The show has built a loyal audience by making Canadian stories feel surprising, accessible, and genuinely entertaining, earning recognition as Canada’s No. 1 Politics Podcast on Goodpods, breaking into the Top 5 Podcasts in Canada on Apple Podcasts, hitting No. 1 Trending on Spotify Canada, and reaching No. 3 in Canada for Comedy. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'
Episodes
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The Dagg Poltergeist
A haunted farmhouse, flying furniture, mysterious fires, missing butter—and a ghost with a potty mouth. In this Halloween episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys Waters and Jesse investigate the Dagg Poltergeist, an unsettling 1889 ghost story from Pontiac County, Quebec. The Dagg family’s reported...
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Introducing: The Bambi Trap
Coming soon! Rhys has a new project! Subscribe here. Somewhere in the depths of the internet, a secretive collection of audio files promises something extraordinary: the ability to rewrite who you are. They call it Bambi Sleep. For some, it's fantasy. For others, an escape. But for those who...
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Spirits, Scams & Stolen Oats
For Halloween, we head to Huron County, Ontario, to tell the story of Margaret “Maggie” Pollock, a local woman who said she could communicate with spirits and help people find lost things. In 1919, after a man asked her to locate missing oats, Pollock was charged under a Canadian law against...
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The Man Who Stole 1,300+ Canadian Artifacts
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys Waters and Jesse uncover the strange true story of John Mark Tillman, an affluent Fall River, Nova Scotia man who stole historical artifacts from universities, museums, libraries, and private collections across Atlantic Canada. The case came to light…
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The Parkdale Murder Mystery Part 2
A mysterious Toronto murder, a disputed confession, and a trial that captivated the city, welcome back to Canada Is Boring for part two of the Parkdale murder mystery. In 1894, 18-year-old Frank Westwood was shot and killed, and Clara Ford, a Black woman who made her living as a seamstress, was...
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The Parkdale Murder Mystery - Part 1
On October 6, 1894, 18-year-old Frank Westwood answered the door of his family's Toronto mansion, Lakeside Hall in Parkdale. Someone standing outside shot him through the gap left by the door chain. In part one of this two-part Victorian true crime story on Canada Is Boring, Rhys Waters takes…
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He Drove a Jet Boat Off a 40-Foot Waterfall
Canadian stuntman Dusty Friesen didn't just drive his jet boat off a 40-foot waterfall, he spent over a year researching whether it was legal first. Which is possibly the most Canadian thing that has ever happened. On May 25, 2026, Dusty (aka Dusty Dozer) of Dawson Creek, BC took his battered jet...
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The Intergalactic Politics of Count Binface (Premium)
Rhys and Jesse dive into the surreal and surprisingly inspiring story of Count Binface, the intergalactic space warrior with a bin for a head who keeps showing up on UK ballot papers. Starting from the obscure 1984 sci‑fi film Hyperspace and the original character Lord Buckethead, they trace how…
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How a Tiny Canadian Community Took on a Drug Dealer
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys Waters and Jesse “Two Cups” Harley dive into the wild true story of Grand Manan Island, a tiny community in New Brunswick, Canada, that lost faith in the RCMP and carried out its own brand of mob justice. Discover how a small coastal island (population <...
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Eccentric Millionaire’s Bizarre Baby Contest in Depression-Era Canada
Eccentric Millionaire’s Bizarre Baby Contest in Depression-Era Canada In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys Waters and Jesse Harley dive into the unbelievable true story of Charles Vance Miller, a wealthy and eccentric Toronto lawyer whose bizarre will triggered one of the strangest...
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Bigfoot on Trial
In this final episode of the Tinfoil Tuque series, Rhys and Jesse dive into the bizarre true story of Todd Standing, a filmmaker and wilderness guide from Alberta who actually took the British Columbia government to court over Sasquatch. Todd claims to have encountered Bigfoot in the Rocky...
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Thetis Lake Monster
In this episode, Rhys and Jesse dive into the soggy saga of the so‑called Thetis Lake Monster—a five-foot fish-man allegedly terrorizing teens near Victoria in the 1970s. From the original reports by Robin and Gordon to the “supporting” sighting by Russell Van Nice and Mike, the story quickly...
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The Eastern Cougar: Extinct Cat or Government Cover‑Up?
Rhys and Jesse dive into the mystery of the “extinct” Eastern Cougar in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick—sharing sightings, sketchy government responses, dubious DNA tests, and why officials might prefer this big cat to stay officially dead. Along the way, they detour into conspiracy vans in...
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Project Magnet: Canada’s Secret UFO Program
In this episode of Canada Is Boring: The Tinfoil Touque, Rhys Waters and Jesse dive into Project Magnet, Canada’s secretly funded UFO research program from the 1950s, led by government engineer Wilbert Brockhouse Smith. They unpack how a respected radio and broadcasting expert went from...
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The TikTok Giant
In this episode of Tinfoil Touque from Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the viral case of Andrew Dawson, the TikToker who claimed to film a giant on a BC mountainside—then later posted strange follow-ups about government agents, mysterious helicopters, and being stalked… before…
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Cattle Mutilations: Aliens, Cults, or Maggots?
Are aliens surgically mutilating cattle across the Canadian prairies… or is there a far more grounded (and grosser) explanation? In this episode of Tinfoil Touque, Rhys Waters and Jesse dive into decades of bizarre prairie cattle mutilation reports from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and BC. We...
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Burned by a UFO? The Falcon Lake Incident
In this episode of The Tinfoil Tuque, Rhys and Jesse dive into one of Canada’s most famous UFO cases: the Falcon Lake incident. Was Polish immigrant and amateur prospector Stefan Michalak really burned by a UFO in 1967—or was it a bizarre self‑inflicted hoax? Along the way they rant about...
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The Time-Travel Hipster
In this debut episode of Canada Is Boring Presents: The Tinfoil Touque, Rhys and Jesse dig into one of Canada’s most famous “evidence of time travel” photos: a 1941 crowd scene at a bridge reopening in British Columbia featuring a mysterious man in wraparound shades, a logo sweater, and what…
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Kelly the Bear (PREMIUM)
In this premium “special friends” episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys shares a surprisingly heartwarming Disney-level story from his own Nova Scotia neighborhood: a mother black bear and her two cubs, one of which, soon christened Kelly the Bear, ends up roaming alone through suburbia and…
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Introducing the Tin Foil Touque!
Picture this: it’s too hot to think, the news is depressing, and your brain wants something fun and strange that still feels entertianing. That’s Tin Foil Touque. This summer series is Rhys and Jesse taking a detour from “respectable” Canadian history into all the stuff your high school textbook...
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The One-Eyed Welshman Who Mapped Canada
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the life of David Thompson, the Welsh-born orphan who became one of the most important mapmakers in North American history. Along the way, they detour through tales of the Lake Louise Tea House, roast the bizarre social-media energy of...
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A Gentle Crime: The Man Who Fed the Cats
When 33-year-old Christopher Hiscox ran out of money halfway across Canada, he didn’t rob a bank—he stole a truck, found a ranch, fed the cats and horses, did some laundry, made coffee, and settled in like he lived there. Rhys and Jesse dive into the viral “gentle crime” that captured headlines,...
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Shrinking PP
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse wade back into Canadian politics to unpack Pierre Poilievre’s slow slide from “inevitable” prime minister-in-waiting to a guy desperately trying to stay relevant against Prime Minister Mark Carney. Through a series of clips, they look at PP’s...
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The Psychic Scam King
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the bizarre, lucrative world of psychic mail-order scams led by one of Canada’s most successful fraudsters, Patrice Runner. Starting with his obsession with old-school magazine ads and get-rich-quick schemes, we follow Runner’s journey...
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CSIS, Oil, and the Pipeline Protestors (Premium)
In this special friends–only episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dig into the story of how CSIS, Canada’s spy agency, allegedly spied on Indigenous and environmental activists protesting the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, and then shared that information with oil companies and the...
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Bear-Proof Dreams: The Legend of Troy Hurtubise
Rhys and Jesse dive into the legendary Canadian documentary Project Grizzly and the life of its unforgettable star, Troy Hurtubise—the man who spent years and thousands of dollars building bear-proof armor so he could safely get face-to-face with grizzlies. They cover: Troy’s near-fatal first...
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Red Ryan: Canada’s Fake Reformed Gangster
Rhys and Jesse dive into the wild life of Red Ryan, a Toronto-born hooligan who grew into one of Canada’s most notorious early 20th‑century criminals. From leading street gangs at 10, to hard labor in Kingston Penitentiary, to a wartime desertion and a “most daring” prison break that even…
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Our 2026 Show Trailer
Hosted by Rhys, a new Canadian with an outsider’s obsession for the country’s strangest stories, and Jesse, a proudly disengaged average Canadian, the show digs into the weirdest moments in Canadian history, politics, crime, culture, and folklore. From mystery tunnels and dead raccoon vigils to...
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From Olympic Snowboarder to Cartel Kingpin
A Canadian Olympic hopeful walks away from the slopes and into the heart of a violent international drug cartel. Rhys and Jesse trace Ryan James Wedlake’s path from Thunder Bay ski kid to Sinaloa lieutenant, weaving together family privilege, failed glory at Salt Lake City, cannabis grow ops,...
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Toronto's Mystery Tunneller
Rhys and Jesse dig into the bizarre true story of Toronto’s 2015 “mystery tunnel” near York University. What started as a three‑metre‑deep, hand‑dug hideout with plywood supports, a generator, rosary beads, and a poppy quickly spiraled into global speculation: terrorist bunker for the Pan Am…
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Toronto's Dead Raccoon Vigil
Rhys and Jesse return to with one of the most delightfully absurd Canadian stories ever told: the 2015 Yonge Street dead raccoon memorial. What begins as a sad little scene on a Toronto sidewalk turns into a full-blown public vigil—complete with Post-it notes, roses, sympathy cards, candles, a...
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From Brexit to Alberta: How The Fringe Goes Mainstream
When Jesse falls ill, Rhys steps in for a rare solo episode to issue a warning from lived experience. Drawing on his time in Wales during the 2016 Brexit referendum, Rhys explains how a seemingly fringe, “loonies and fruitcakes” movement blindsided the UK establishment, and what that means for...
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The Great Locust Apocalypse of 1874
In this Patreon-only episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the truly biblical 1874–75 Rocky Mountain locust plague that turned the Prairies and parts of the US Midwest into a “living eclipse of the sun.” They tell the story of swarms estimated in the hundreds of billions to...
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The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the bizarre true story behind Amazon Prime’s The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg, following former Winnipeg TV news anchor Steve Vogelsang from 1990s local celebrity and “sexiest man” titleholder to financially ruined, depressed journalism...
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The Hollowing of Tim Hortons (Part 2)
In this part two of the Tim Hortons saga, Jesse Harley and Rhys Waters dig into how predatory private equity and corporate ownership have hollowed out one of Canada’s most beloved brands. Building on examples like Friendly’s and Toys “R” Us, they explain how firms use debt-loading, bankruptcy…
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The Hollowing of Tim Hortons (Part 1)
Rhys and Jesse kick off a two‑part deep dive into how Tim Hortons went from a beloved Canadian community hub to something that feels strangely empty. They start with personal nostalgia: Jesse’s memories of the late‑90s Tim Hortons as a true “third place” where you’d just show up and see who was...
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Failed Theme Parks and Hostage Negotiations
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys shares the unbelievable true story of Eddie Haymour, a Lebanese-Canadian businessman who tried to build a Middle Eastern–themed mini theme park—complete with pyramids, mini golf, restaurants, and a giant camel—on tiny Rattlesnake Island in British…
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He Fought a Polar Bear in His Pajamas
When a 69-year-old Churchill, Manitoba resident hears screams outside his home, he steps out in pajamas, slippers, and armed with nothing but a snow shovel—only to find a woman in the jaws of a polar bear. In this episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dive into the incredible true story of...
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Canada’s 200 Years of Slavery
In this unexpectedly heavy episode of Canada Is Boring, Rhys and Jesse dig into a part of Canadian history many people never hear about: Canada’s 200‑year relationship with slavery. While many Canadians grow up hearing about the Underground Railroad and Canada as a safe haven, Rhys reveals a much...
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The Man Who Remembered Everything
The story of John Graham, a Canadian diplomat in 1960s Cuba who became an unlikely spy during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Because the United States had no embassy or formal presence in Cuba after the revolution, President John F. Kennedy quietly asked Canadian Prime Minister Lester...
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Shatterproof Logic
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, we dive into the bizarre and morbidly iconic death of Toronto lawyer Gary Hoy, a man so confident in shatterproof glass that he used his own body to prove it. From Bay Street law culture and 1980s Toronto skyscrapers to engineering failures and internet…
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The Secret Adventures of Emma Edmonds
Rhys and Jesse dive into the unbelievable true story of Emma Edmonds, a New Brunswick woman who fled an arranged marriage, reinvented herself as Frank Thompson, and fought for the Union Army in the American Civil War. As a soldier, nurse, and spy, she infiltrated Confederate lines under multiple...
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Hockey Night, Hostage Night
Brian Spencer grew up in remote Fort St. James, pushed toward the NHL by a hard working, hyper-intense sports dad who saw hockey as a path to opportunity. On the night of Brian’s first nationally televised NHL game, his father drove to a CBC station armed and took staff hostage after the Leafs…
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Five Hundred Episodes (A Listener Takeover)
After 499 episodes proving that Canada is anything but boring, we’ve reached Episode 500, and we’re handing the microphone to the people who made it possible. This special milestone episode of Canada Is Boring is a chaotic, heartfelt, occasionally abusive celebration featuring listener voice…
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Lady Macdonald: Extreme Train Rider
In 1886, Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, finally set out to see the country he had helped stitch together by rail. The Canadian Pacific Railway had just been completed, and a grand cross-country tour was planned, complete with speeches, pomp, and a private rail car. What no...
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Ottawa's Evil Christmas Elves
When a beloved Canada Post program lets kids write letters to Santa, what could possibly go wrong? In 2007, Ottawa families found out the hard way. Rhys and Jesse dive into the true story of the “rogue elves” who sent obscene letters “from Santa,” the full-blown national panic that followed, and...
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The Universal Ostrych Affair
Join hosts Rhys and Jesse as they dive into one of Canada’s wildest headlines: the ostrich farm saga! When bird flu hits a BC farm, government agencies, courts, and a whirlwind of online activists get involved in a controversy that's part public health crisis, part property rights battle, and...
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Chris The Dude Who Does Stuff (Premium)
In this explosive episode of Canada Is Boring, we dive into the political earthquake shaking Ottawa and Nova Scotia as MP Chris d’Entremont crosses the floor from the Conservative Party to the Liberals. The longtime Acadie–Annapolis MP, known for his strong local voter loyalty, stunned Parliament...
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Buffalo in a Buick
Join hosts Rhys Waters and Jesse Harley as they explore Canadian culture and share quirky, viral stories on their podcast. This episode features the unforgettable tale of Jim Sautner, Alberta rancher and wildlife enthusiast, who raised Bailey D, a domesticated bison, as his best friend, driving…
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The Chicken Cannon
In this episode of Canada Is Boring, we dive beak-first into one of the strangest and most important inventions in Canadian aviation history: the Chicken Cannon. As bird strikes continue to threaten aircraft worldwide, with over 50 bird strikes happening every day and more than 13,000 reported...
About this show
Canada is boring? Nope. Canada is unhinged.
Hosted by Rhys, a new Canadian with an outsider’s obsession for the country’s strangest stories, and Jesse, a proudly disengaged average Canadian, the show digs into the weirdest moments in Canadian history, politics, crime, culture, and folklore.
Part history show, part comedy podcast, part national identity crisis, Canada Is Boring is for anyone who likes their learning with jokes, their politics with chaos, and their Canadian facts deeply, deeply strange. The show has built a loyal audience by making Canadian stories feel surprising, accessible, and genuinely entertaining, earning recognition as Canada’s No. 1 Politics Podcast on Goodpods, breaking into the Top 5 Podcasts in Canada on Apple Podcasts, hitting No. 1 Trending on Spotify Canada, and reaching No. 3 in Canada for Comedy.
See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'
Hosted by
Jesse Harley, Rhys Waters