Latest Episodes

Episode 399: As the clock strikes midnight, not everyone welcomes the New Year with champagne and resolutions. In this episode of Dark Poutine, we explore the darker, stranger, and sometimes…

Episode 398: It was supposed to be a quiet Canadian Christmas—until every butter tart in the country vanished overnight. From Nanaimo to Newfoundland, kitchens were left empty, bakers bewildered, and…

Episode 370: In this episode, we journey into the chilling case of Jesse Imeson—a man whose troubled past and violent crimes left a deep scar on Southwestern Ontario. In the…

Episode 362: We explore chilling events that unfolded at POW Camp 132 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, during World War II. This prisoner-of-war camp, one of many scattered across Canada, became the site of…

This is part 2 of our coverage of the Gay Purge in Canada. Last week, we uncovered the origins of the Canadian government’s purge of gays and queer folk, a campaign that began in the early years of the Cold War. This week, we take a chilling dive into one of the government’s most sinister methods—the Fruit Machine. This pseudoscientific device was meant to expose gay individuals through invasive tests, and how the RCMP and military’s attempted Purge of gays from civil service continued unabated all the way through to the 1990s.

In this episode, part one of two, thanks to Mathew’s intrepid and unflinching research, we’re peeling back the layers on one of the most harrowing chapters in Canadian history: the Gay Purge. Officially, the campaign targeted LGBTQ+ individuals as part of a national security effort—citing their supposed susceptibility to blackmail by Soviet agents - But the real story is that these purges were driven more by institutional homophobia cloaked in Cold War fears and rhetoric than by legitimate security concerns. The blackmail excuse became a convenient cover for the government's systemic discrimination, allowing a deeply entrenched homophobia to flourish unchecked. This campaign stretched from the 1950s through to the 1990s, destroying lives, careers, and communities along the way. We’ll explore the origins of this agenda, how it escalated, and look at a few of the stories of individuals affected.

In the early 1980s, a wave of fear with its origins in Canada, swept across North America, igniting what would become known as the Satanic Panic. This moral hysteria, fueled by sensationalized media reports and dubious claims of widespread satanic ritual abuse, had its roots in a controversial book published in 1980 titled “Michelle Remembers.” As the panic spread, it manifested in several high-profile cases across Canada. One of the most notorious incidents occurred in Martensville, Saskatchewan, where unfounded allegations of ritual abuse at a local daycare center led to multiple arrests and a community torn apart by suspicion and fear. Other cases emerged in various provinces, each feeding into the growing narrative of a vast, underground network of satanic cults preying on innocent children.

This episode of Dark Poutine is brought to you by MasterCard. In this special episode, we’re exploring a growing threat hitting more close to home than ever—cybercrime. We’ve dived deep into all sorts of dark tales before, but this one is a bit different because it’s happening right now, affecting people and businesses across Canada.

The history of Chinese immigration to Canada is a story marked by adversity. Chinese labourers played a pivotal role in building the Canadian railway under harsh conditions, yet faced institutional discrimination, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, which limited immigration and separated families for years. Despite these challenges, the Chinese community's resilience has left an indelible mark on Canadian culture. Today, we honour their contributions and recognize the need to confront our history's shadows, striving for a more inclusive Canadian identity that values people of all backgrounds.

On the afternoon of December 20, 1974, a storekeeper in Calgary, Alberta, alerted the police about a customer, Philippe Laurier Gagnon, 26, who became aggressive after being denied the sale of airplane glue. The individual fled, and police pursued him to his residence two blocks away. When officers approached the suspect's residence, they were met with gunfire. Additional police, more than 130 officers, arrived to find the suspect armed with two rifles rifle in a garage. Gagnon refused to come out. A shootout ensued, resulting in the death of Detective Boyd Davidson, 43, after being shot in the neck. Six other officers were wounded by gunfire, and several others were injured. After a military armoured car arrived, police gained the upper hand, smashed into the house and dislodged the gunman from his hideout. Gagnon, who had two rape convictions, a history of assault as well as a record of mental illness and drug abuse, also died at the scene in a hail of bullets as he charged at the officers. Detective Davidson, a 23-year veteran of the police force and key figure in establishing the combined police and fire arson squad, left behind a wife and five children. His death and what was learned from the events led to the creation of the Calgary Police Service’s tactical team and changes to policing nationwide.