Now or Never

Today Now or Never digs into four mysteries that are keeping people up at night, and forcing them into action.
When air cadet trainer pilot Brian Renaud was flying with a student, he saw something in the sky he couldn’t explain. Not once…twice. Now he searches the sky above Gimli, Manitoba — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — looking for other unidentified flying objects trying to figure out what it was that he saw.

For the past 26 years, someone known only as “JY” has posted thousands of lovestruck personal ads in the Toronto Star, all addressed to the same woman: Frances. So who is JY, and why does he have it so bad for Frances? Three readers — Edward Brown, Sue Brophey and Vicki McKee — share how they came together to get to the bottom of this real-life love mystery.

Stan Dworkowski woke up from an eight-day coma with no memory of how he ended up badly injured in a ditch just outside of Nisku, Alberta. Now, he’s investigating his own mystery trying to piece together the hours he simply can’t remember.

Have you ever loved a song so much that you want to know everything about it? Over 40 years ago, a mysterious song was recorded from a Toronto radio station onto a cassette tape. More than a thousand people all across the world are now trying to find out who wrote this song. We’ll meet the people who are searching for the band behind the song they’ve named CIA.

What does it take to come through overwhelming odds, discover your passion, and get to the top of your game?

Today on Now or Never the answer is: the right mentor.

Meet three people taking stock of how far they’ve come, turning to the person who helped get them there and saying thank you.

As a kid in Winnipeg’s inner city, Dale Turcotte III had to grow up fast. His biological dad was in jail. His parents struggled with addiction. And he often had to take care of his five younger siblings, while figuring out where their next meal would come from. Today Dale is 18-years-old, captain of his football team, and settling in at university on a football scholarship. He tells us the story of what it took for him to get here, and how two complicated father figures helped keep him on the right path.

Twenty-nine musicians take to the stage with one goal: to thank the retired music teacher
who changed their lives. Meet David “The Proz” Proznick and find out how musician Mike Ardagh finally convinced him to come to the sold out concert you won’t want to miss.

Hannah Chown thought she was hanging up her cleats and her dreams of playing pro soccer. She’d landed a teaching job and had said goodbye to her record-breaking run as the captain of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's team. But then one call from the Ottawa Rapid FC changed everything. David Chown, her dad and first coach, shares what this moment means to him.

If you're feeling sticker shock every time you fill up for gas or go to the grocery store, you're not alone. So what are you supposed to do when everything feels more expensive? Meet people finding outside-the-box ways to make their money stretch further.

When magician Brian Glow sits down to a meal at Winnipeg’s Bistro on Notre Dame, he won’t pay his bill with money. He’ll use the local barter bank, MK Global Trade, and exchange magic shows for food, services, and even home renovations. Find out how it works and why Martin Kahan, the man behind the bank, says barter is growing in these expensive times.

When Whitehorse resident Joanne Doyle drops stuff off at the dump, she’s not leaving empty-handed. Find out how community-driven "free stores" in the Yukon are helping people save money, declutter their homes, and score amazing free stuff.

Ify goes thrift shopping with Heidi Kristensen, who tells us how thrifting isn't just helping her wallet -- it’s also helping her maintain her sobriety.

After two decades in the education industry, Lethbridge, Alta. teacher Verna Mabin didn’t expect she’d still be working a side hustle…and searching for another.

Nova Scotia mom Alex MacLaren has a motto when it comes to cooking on a budget: We use what we have. So every day, you'll find her MacGyvering every last vegetable in her crisper into meals even her five-year-old loves, and sharing those tips with her 800,000 followers.

We’re more divided than ever and sometimes, it feels like meanness is winning. So this week, Now or Never is going all in on kindness, with five totally unexpected stories on the kindness of strangers that will hopefully nudge you to be a little kinder, too.

Two weeks ago, Ben Shannon got a call at work that every parent fears: his 12-year-old daughter, Sumire, was alone, at one of Toronto's busiest intersections, experiencing a sudden medical emergency. He raced to the scene and found a stranger cradling his daughter amidst the chaos. In the rush to get to the hospital, Ben didn't get the Good Samaritan's name. But now that Sumire is OK, Ben is on a mission to find the stranger who stepped up for his daughter in a crisis.

On September 11, 2001, a terrifying plane detour brought Americans Sue Riccardelli and Maureen Murray to Gander, Newfoundland and into the life of a stranger named Mac Moss. Today, the three friends reunite to talk about kindness and gratitude, at a time when tensions between Canada and the U.S. are particularly high.

We asked you for your stories about a recent moment of kindness involving a stranger, and you delivered! Hear how these small moments of connection have stayed with them.

An act of kindness cost Nadine Green her business, her friendships, and her home. But that is only making Nadine double down on her efforts to help unhoused people in her community. Find out what motivates Nadine to keep giving, sometimes to her own detriment.

A cancelled flight left Patricia Robinson wondering how she was ever going to make it to her 90th birthday celebration. Then two strangers stepped up and gave her a birthday road trip that she will never forget.

When Colin Vickers was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a stem cell transplant was his only hope. From across the ocean came a match — an anonymous genetic twin. Once he recovered, Colin made it his mission to find the donor. Meet Scotland’s Charlie Devlin and find out how you make friends with the stranger who saved your life.

When the Canada-U.S. trade negotiations broke down in spectacular fashion last month, that got us thinking about the tough negotiations playing out in our own lives right now. Whether you're battling your kid over screen time or negotiating a pay raise, how do you find a middle ground when you don't see eye-to-eye?

So on this episode of Now or Never, we're bringing you stories of people on opposite sides, who are figuring out how to talk to each other.

You might remember Vivian Ketchum, kookum, activist, and long-time friend of the show. After a violent incident between a security guard and a First Nations man at the Dollarama in downtown Winnipeg, Viv took to the streets protesting the security company responsible. Enter Ron D’Errico. He's the CEO of that security company, who calls Vivian his "greatest adversary." He also knows he needs to do something about racial profiling. Trevor pulls up a chair between the two, to find out how they went from butting heads to working together.

In his day job as a realtor, Mohit Agarwal makes deals and encourages his clients to negotiate before signing. He says there's always a deal to be done in everyday life. So Ify joins him as he puts his skills to the test on the streets of Toronto.

As one of the stars of Dragon’s Den, Manjit Minhas knows what it’s like to negotiate under pressure. So we asked her: how does she apply her negotiation tactics as a CEO on her own teenagers?

When negotiations failed and a trade war started, Osee Podolsky knew he was in trouble. As a third-generation bee farmer near Ethelbert, Manitoba, 90 per cent of his customers were big U.S. bulk buyers. So overnight, Osee had to pivot and renegotiate in order to keep the family business buzzing.