Amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, escalating wars and threats to Canadian sovereignty, the Canadian government is committing to the biggest boost in military spending since WWII. So who’s signing up to join the armed forces today? On this episode of Now or Never, meet Canadians who are answering the call.

Would you volunteer five days a year to learn how to shoot a gun, drive a truck and fly a drone? That's the plan for a proposed new volunteer civil force of 300,000 Canadians, who would help out in national emergencies from climate disasters to potential invasions. So would you sign up for this? Ify hits the streets of Toronto to find out.

At age 53, Sebastien Chagnon decided to get his high school credentials, hit the gym, and begin the long application process to join the Canadian Armed Forces. He’s dreamed of joining the military since he was a teen, and he’s not doing it alone. His 17-year-old son, Jeffrey, is also applying, which is bringing up a range of mixed emotions for Sebastien.

Lauralee Mills joined the military after 9/11, serving in Afghanistan and driving huge supply trucks that were always a target. But from the minute she started basic training she was fighting a secret battle against sexual assault and harassment by some of her fellow soldiers. After decades of silence, Lauralee is finally speaking out about her experience of military sexual misconduct.

The Canadian Armed Forces is seeing a surge in enrollments, marking its highest recruitment intake in more than three decades. Who is choosing to sign up for the military, and why now? We ask 18-year-old navy hopeful Charlie Yu, Edmonton dad Brij Rathi, and Claudia Gaspar, a young woman in Nova Scotia making a big career switch.

26-year-old Zach Dunn spends all his free time tracking down World War II veterans and recording their stories, before their stories get lost forever. He tells us what he's learned from the experiences of these military vets, many of whom are sharing their war time stories for the first time.

What happens after you learn something so shocking, so unbelievable, about a person you thought you knew?

On this episode, four people knocked sideways by a revelation that changed how they see themselves, and the world around them.

Brian Petersen spent most of his life believing he was white, an only child, and had been put up for adoption by a mom who didn’t want him. Then one day Brian got a letter in the mail that blew up everything. He tells us what it’s been like meeting siblings he never knew existed, discovering he’s Metis, and grappling with the complicated legacy of the Sixties Scoop.

Sheila Munro found her passion for painting — and for life — when her old life fell apart following her discovery of her husband’s gambling addiction. Now, she’s using art to help others find joy in their own dark times.

A few days after Jenn Chen’s father suddenly died, she found letters tucked away in a box at the back of his closet. They were love letters, written to her father by men. It led Jenn to a series of discoveries that are changing her perception of the traditionalist, often distant man she feels she barely got to know.

Stephanie Deline was diagnosed with ADHD and autism at 45 years old. After decades of feeling misunderstood and unsupported, the diagnosis has opened up a whole new world for her.

We're uncovering hidden talents, finding out what it really takes to excel, and exploring what happens when your ability doesn't match up with your dreams, on this encore presentation of Now or Never.

When Rick Ammazzini sees a locked safe without a key, he doesn’t see an impenetrable door, he sees an opportunity to test his skills as an amateur safe cracker. For Rick, it's not about discovering potential riches inside, it's about unlocking a portal to a specific time in history.

When Julin Cheung joined the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, he was their youngest member at just 17-years-old. Now, Julin shares his thoughts on being labelled a prodigy, and what it really takes to be talented.

Tanya Ryan is a talented singer-songwriter from Alberta who's won country music ‘Rising Star’ awards and performed at Calgary Stampede. But after 12 years of trying to make it in the music industry, Tanya is hanging up her guitar for good. She tells us about coming to terms with the fact that talent isn’t always enough.

Don Vickers of Sydney Mines, NS says he has a horrible memory, but he still managed to break a world record in the competitive world of memory sports.

And Paul Anthony’s "Talent Time!" is a long-running live show in Vancouver with a very broad definition of what it means to be talented. A seniors' vaudeville troupe, a kids' Kung Fu class, a rabbit agility club – all have a stage here. Paul tells Ify why he doesn’t want to put the notion of ‘talent,’ or his show, in a box.

This episode originally aired in December 2024.