The toonie's 30th anniversary lands this week, and the coin's origin story has a detail most people missed. The $2 bill was officially withdrawn on February 16, 1996, three days before the coin debuted. The government's reasoning: coins last longer than paper bills, so it would save money. The TTC's reasoning, announced one day before the toonie launched: transit now costs exactly $2. Convenient for everyone, apparently.

The polar bear on the coin was sketched by wildlife artist Brent Townsend, who deliberately drew the fur wet to make it more visible on the metal. Early stress tests showed the core could withstand 181 kilograms of pressure, which is why people immediately went home and tried it with hammers. The mint produced 375 million of them in 1996 alone. The rejected name list includes the Beary, the Moony, and the Doubleoonie, which does sound like a Tim Hortons combo.

The coin that was supposed to make paying for things simpler made transit more expensive the day it arrived. That pattern didn't end in 1996.

Topics: toonie 30th anniversary, 1996 Canadian history, $2 coin Canada, transit fare increase, throwback Thursday

Originally aired on 2026-02-19

The toonie's 30th anniversary lands this week, and the coin's origin story has a detail most people missed. The $2 bill was officially withdrawn on February 16, 1996, three days before the coin debuted. The government's reasoning: coins last longer than paper bills, so it would save money. The TTC's reasoning, announced one day before the toonie launched: transit now costs exactly $2. Convenient for everyone, apparently.
The polar bear on the coin was sketched by wildlife artist Brent Townsend, who deliberately drew the fur wet to make it more visible on the metal. Early stress tests showed the core could withstand 181 kilograms of pressure, which is why people immediately went home and tried it with hammers. The mint produced 375 million of them in 1996 alone. The rejected name list includes the Beary, the Moony, and the Doubleoonie, which does sound like a Tim Hortons combo.
The coin that was supposed to make paying for things simpler made transit more expensive the day it arrived. That pattern didn't end in 1996.
Topics: toonie 30th anniversary, 1996 Canadian history, $2 coin Canada, transit fare increase, throwback Thursday
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-19

Shane Hewitt & The Nightshift is your late-night companion for real talk, bold ideas, and unfiltered conversations that matter. Hosted by Canadian radio veteran Shane Hewitt, each episode dives into the headlines, human stories, and hidden truths shaping our world—always with curiosity, compassion, and a sharp edge.

From politics and pop culture to mental health, technology, and everyday life, this podcast is where night owls, deep thinkers, and curious minds come to connect. Featuring expert guests, passionate callers, and Shane’s signature style—thoughtful, fearless, and refreshingly real.

If you crave meaningful dialogue, smart perspectives, and late-night radio energy in podcast form, subscribe now and join The Nightshift.

Shane Hewitt &amp; The Nightshift is your late-night companion for real talk, bold ideas, and unfiltered conversations that matter. Hosted by Canadian radio veteran Shane Hewitt, each episode dives into the headlines, human stories, and hidden truths shaping our world&mdash;always with curiosity, compassion, and a sharp edge.
From politics and pop culture to mental health, technology, and everyday life, this podcast is where night owls, deep thinkers, and curious minds come to connect. Featuring expert guests, passionate callers, and Shane&rsquo;s signature style&mdash;thoughtful, fearless, and refreshingly real.
If you crave meaningful dialogue, smart perspectives, and late-night radio energy in podcast form, subscribe now and join The Nightshift.

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift

Shane Hewitt is known for his engaging and relatable on-air personality, which captivates listeners. His ability to blend insightful commentary with humour and empathy creates a genuine connection with listeners.  Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift provides relatable content, informative discussions and expert insights – along with a balance of anecdotes and entertainment.

Shane Hewitt is known for his engaging and relatable on-air personality, which captivates listeners. His ability to blend insightful commentary with humour and empathy creates a genuine connection with listeners.  Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift provides relatable content, informative discussions and expert insights – along with a balance of anecdotes and entertainment.

The Toonie Turned 30 and Transit Raised Its Price the Day Before It Showed Up

Toonie buying power in 1996 is the kind of throwback that starts as a fun memory and lands somewhere genuinely uncomfortable. You walked into McDonald's with two dollars and came out with three hamburgers. You grabbed a large Tim Hortons coffee and a fresh sesame bagel, both a dollar fifty, and still had change to spare. Gas in Toronto was 56 cents a litre. The same coin sitting in your pocket right now once covered all of that, and somewhere along the way it quietly stopped being able to cover most of it.

What's interesting is how fast businesses moved to reshape their prices around the new coin. The TTC raised its fare to exactly $2 the day before the toonie launched, calling it a convenience for riders who could now pay with a single coin. McDonald's built three-for-a-toonie hamburger promotions around the new anchor price, and video stores offered two rentals for two dollars on older titles. The coin became a pricing reference point almost immediately, and every deal set that week became the baseline everything else got measured against for years.

Tim Hortons bagels have only moved from $1.50 to $2.20 since 1996, which is surprisingly modest. The small coffee is still $1.50. But somewhere in between those gentle numbers and today's grocery receipts, two dollars went from buying a bunch of grapes to buying one.

Topics: toonie buying power 1996, 1996 Canada prices, food inflation throwback, McDonald's toonie deal, Tim Hortons bagels

Originally aired on 2026-02-19

Toonie buying power in 1996 is the kind of throwback that starts as a fun memory and lands somewhere genuinely uncomfortable. You walked into McDonald's with two dollars and came out with three hamburgers. You grabbed a large Tim Hortons coffee and a fresh sesame bagel, both a dollar fifty, and still had change to spare. Gas in Toronto was 56 cents a litre. The same coin sitting in your pocket right now once covered all of that, and somewhere along the way it quietly stopped being able to cover most of it.
What's interesting is how fast businesses moved to reshape their prices around the new coin. The TTC raised its fare to exactly $2 the day before the toonie launched, calling it a convenience for riders who could now pay with a single coin. McDonald's built three-for-a-toonie hamburger promotions around the new anchor price, and video stores offered two rentals for two dollars on older titles. The coin became a pricing reference point almost immediately, and every deal set that week became the baseline everything else got measured against for years.
Tim Hortons bagels have only moved from $1.50 to $2.20 since 1996, which is surprisingly modest. The small coffee is still $1.50. But somewhere in between those gentle numbers and today's grocery receipts, two dollars went from buying a bunch of grapes to buying one.
Topics: toonie buying power 1996, 1996 Canada prices, food inflation throwback, McDonald's toonie deal, Tim Hortons bagels
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-19

NEW - Three Hamburgers for Two Dollars Used to Be a Real Offer

Food inflation Canada recorded in January was 7.3%, and yes, the GST holiday makes that number look worse than it is. So Dr. Charlebois did the math without it. Remove the holiday effect entirely and you land at 6.2 to 6.3 percent, which is still enough to put Canada at the top of the G7. You were hoping the holiday was the whole story. It wasn't.

Skimflation is harder to spot than shrinkflation because the package doesn't change. The grandson of the man who invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups says Hershey swapped ingredients for cheaper alternatives, and the taste changed. Cocoa fell from $12,000 US per metric ton to $3,800 in 2025, so why haven't prices followed? Your Easter chocolate was already manufactured before the drop. Halloween candy is a different calculation.

Loblaw runs grocery margins between 22 and 32 percent gross, with net profit across all divisions at 2.5 to 4 percent. That number includes banking and real estate. The grocery store profit debate has an actual answer, and it's more complicated than the headlines suggest.

Topics: food inflation Canada, skimflation Reese's peanut butter cups, cocoa prices 2025, grocery store margins, G7 food inflation

GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @‌foodprofessor

Originally aired on 2026-02-19

Food inflation Canada recorded in January was 7.3%, and yes, the GST holiday makes that number look worse than it is. So Dr. Charlebois did the math without it. Remove the holiday effect entirely and you land at 6.2 to 6.3 percent, which is still enough to put Canada at the top of the G7. You were hoping the holiday was the whole story. It wasn't.
Skimflation is harder to spot than shrinkflation because the package doesn't change. The grandson of the man who invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups says Hershey swapped ingredients for cheaper alternatives, and the taste changed. Cocoa fell from $12,000 US per metric ton to $3,800 in 2025, so why haven't prices followed? Your Easter chocolate was already manufactured before the drop. Halloween candy is a different calculation.
Loblaw runs grocery margins between 22 and 32 percent gross, with net profit across all divisions at 2.5 to 4 percent. That number includes banking and real estate. The grocery store profit debate has an actual answer, and it's more complicated than the headlines suggest.
Topics: food inflation Canada, skimflation Reese's peanut butter cups, cocoa prices 2025, grocery store margins, G7 food inflation
GUEST: Dr. Sylvain Charlebois | @&zwnj;foodprofessor
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-19

SHIFTHEADS: Strip Out the Excuses and Canada Still Wins the Worst Food Inflation Race

The US military buildup aimed at Iran is the largest in over 20 years, and the strangest thing about it might be how little noise it's making. You'd expect a deployment of this scale to dominate the conversation, but there's been almost no public debate about what the end game is, whether this is a pressure campaign, a prelude to strikes, or something that fizzles the way last year's strikes did without igniting anything larger. The silence around it is its own kind of signal.

Rob Breakenridge puts the week's central contradiction plainly: Trump sat in front of his Board of Peace, visibly disengaged at points, while the largest US military deployment in two decades was assembling nearby. He's made noise about deserving a Nobel Peace Prize. He also has warships in position. China has reportedly been feeding Iran intelligence while Trump works toward a Beijing visit in April and softer relations with Russia, which makes the posture toward Iran read differently depending on which part of the picture you're looking at.

Canada's week had its own strange geometry. A Conservative MP who explicitly said he wasn't crossing the floor crossed the floor months later to join the Liberals as a paid advisor. Rob also breaks down what Alberta's premier is likely to blame for a difficult budget, and it's a familiar playbook with a new target.

Topics: US military buildup Iran, Trump Middle East conflict 2026, floor crossing Canada, Alberta budget, China Iran intelligence

GUEST: Rob Breakenridge | robbreakenridge.ca

Originally aired on 2026-02-19

The US military buildup aimed at Iran is the largest in over 20 years, and the strangest thing about it might be how little noise it's making. You'd expect a deployment of this scale to dominate the conversation, but there's been almost no public debate about what the end game is, whether this is a pressure campaign, a prelude to strikes, or something that fizzles the way last year's strikes did without igniting anything larger. The silence around it is its own kind of signal.
Rob Breakenridge puts the week's central contradiction plainly: Trump sat in front of his Board of Peace, visibly disengaged at points, while the largest US military deployment in two decades was assembling nearby. He's made noise about deserving a Nobel Peace Prize. He also has warships in position. China has reportedly been feeding Iran intelligence while Trump works toward a Beijing visit in April and softer relations with Russia, which makes the posture toward Iran read differently depending on which part of the picture you're looking at.
Canada's week had its own strange geometry. A Conservative MP who explicitly said he wasn't crossing the floor crossed the floor months later to join the Liberals as a paid advisor. Rob also breaks down what Alberta's premier is likely to blame for a difficult budget, and it's a familiar playbook with a new target.
Topics:&nbsp;US military buildup Iran, Trump Middle East conflict 2026, floor crossing Canada, Alberta budget, China Iran intelligence
GUEST: Rob Breakenridge | robbreakenridge.ca
Originally aired on&nbsp;2026-02-19

The Toonie Turned 30 and Transit Raised Its Price the Day Before It Showed Up

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