Full Comment

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Full Comment is Canada’s podcast for compelling interviews, controversial opinions and fascinating discussions. Hosted by Brian Lilley. Published by Postmedia, new episodes are released each Monday.

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Carney's China deal is deeper and more dangerous than tariffs

It’s setting off alarm bells in the White House for good reason: Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new “strategic partnership” with Beijing is bigger than just the diversification and freeing up of trade in Canadian food exports and Chinese electric vehicles that he claims. As Brian discusses with longtime China-watcher Sandra Watson Parcels, there are details of the pact that haven’t been widely covered. And it risks making Canada increasingly vulnerable to Beijing’s coercive power tactics while putting us on the wrong side of the urgent effort necessary to preserve the western-backed global system from the threats of a rising revisionist power. There’s a case for trading with China, Watson Parcels says, but not on terms like this. (Recorded February 2, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

38 min
2 FEB

The Conservatives’ plan to outflank Carney in a snap election

Brian Lilley was live on the floor of the Conservative convention in Calgary, where the party gave emphatic support to keeping Pierre Poilievre as leader — and expectations were high for the Liberal government to call an election this spring. While there, Brian spoke with longtime Conservative MPs Michelle Rempel-Garner and Chris Warkentin about why they think Prime Minister Mark Carney is more vulnerable at the ballot box than he might think. He talks to campaign manager Steve Outhouse about the strategy when an election comes; and Gary Keller, a veteran of the Conservative organization, about what could be giving Carney second thoughts. He also chats with Jamil Jivani about the party’s changing image among voters, especially younger ones. (Recorded January 31, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

47 min
26 JAN

Fighting with Trump is a Liberal strategy for a fresh election

The bromance between Donald Trump and Mark Carney is over. The president is back to jeering at the prime minister after Carney’s “hegemon” speech in Switzerland. And Liberals are back in their election comfort zone, acting as defenders of Canada against American hostility, as Brian discusses with Stuart Thomson and Tasha Kheiriddin, hosts of Postmedia’s Political Hack newsletter. It worked so well for Carney last election, they say this could be just the thing for Carney to call an election to try for a majority. But what about damage to Canada? They get into the advantages and risks, and the problem for Conservatives, who are still trying to regroup from the last time they got flattened by this drama. (Recorded January 23, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

55 min
19 JAN

The activist class is conspicuously quiet about Iran

Untold numbers of people demanding basic human rights have been killed by a corrupt, bigoted regime, but in the West there are no tent cities on campuses or raucous marches. As Iranian-Canadian human-rights lawyers Payam Akhavan and Kaveh Sharooz tell Brian, Western leaders, and even U.S. President Donald Trump, are proving largely ineffectual at helping the people of Iran. For now, the regime still seems to have the upper hand against a populace mostly abandoned by the international community. And while this is much wider and deeper than previous uprisings in Iran, it could end just as tragically — or worse. (Recorded January 15, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

49 min
12 JAN

What Venezuelans say about Trump’s incursion isn’t what we’ve been told

Emilio Figueredo and Freddy Guevara understand better than any western analyst the Venezuelan reality, the regime of dictator Nicolas Maduro, and the aftermath of his capture by President Donald Trump. Figueredo, editor of independent Venezuelan news outlet Analitica, talks to Brian from Caracas and explains what it’s like there now, why Maduro was foiled by his reliance on Cuba, and why Trump needed to leave the Bolivarian regime in power — for now. Guevara, an exiled opposition politician once imprisoned by Maduro, tells Brian about support among Venezuelans for the military operation and why foreign complaints about Trump violating international law carry little weight there. Both describe Venezuelans’ hopes as higher than they’ve been in a long time, although freedom hasn’t come yet. (Recorded January 8, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

59 min
5 JAN

How the CBC lost its purpose

Canada once had a public broadcaster in the true sense of the word. Now we have a behemoth we pay nearly $1.5 billion a year for that almost nobody watches and doesn’t come close to serving its original purpose, as David Cayley tells Brian. Cayley, author of the new book, The CBC, was a producer there for decades. He says even the news division it prides itself on proved its inability to serve the public during the COVID pandemic, when it consciously chose to promote government narratives, blacklisted dissenting scientists and failed to ask basic questions. Amid stark audience polarization and an unprecedented media revolution, Cayley explains why the CBC needs a total rethink if it’s going to justify its continued existence. (Recorded November 27, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

45 min
29-12-2025

BEST OF 2025: Don’t let police take away your right to self-defence

Over the holidays we’re looking back at some of the best episodes of 2025. Self-defence laws are back in the news, with Alberta’s government recently directing Crown prosecutors to refrain from charging people for using force in “defending themselves and their loved ones.” Yet police suggest that if you face a violent home invasion, you need to give up and not fight back. That’s wrong, as criminal lawyer Solomon Friedman told Brian Lilley: The power to defend yourself, your home and others (including killing an assailant if it’s justified) is backed by the courts and the law. In this episode, Friedman and Lilley discussed why the message cops keep sending risks making innocent people into defenceless targets while encouraging criminals to become fearless. (Originally recorded September 5, 2025.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

57 min
22-12-2025

BEST OF 2025: How a few rich dairy farmers are sabotaging Canada’s big, beautiful trading future

Over the holidays, we’re looking back at some of the best episodes of 2025. As in July, Canada’s restricted dairy market was recently raised again by U.S. officials who say it stands in the way of ending disputes and settling trade deals. This summer, Brian spoke with Martha Hall Findlay about how Ottawa’s refusal to liberate our globally detested supply-management system from trade negotiations continues to hurt our economic potential while causing endless headaches with major trading partners — all to benefit of a few thousand dairy-farmer millionaires. In this episode, Hall Findlay explains how this small cartel works, why it’s so powerful and why it hurts not just consumers, but every other trade-exposed Canadian business. (Originally recorded July 4, 2025) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

57 min

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TRAILER

Introducing Full Comment

Host Anthony Furey introduces Full Comment, Postmedia's new podcast for compelling interviews, controversial opinions and fascinating discussions. We'll go where other media outlets won't, ask the tough questions, and feature the colourful opinions you have come to expect from us. We're not worried about pushing buttons. We'll be bringing you interesting opinions and compelling ideas, even if they are a little bit controversial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

01-04-2021

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1 min

Anthony Furey

Host

Full Comment is Canada’s podcast for compelling interviews, controversial opinions and fascinating discussions. Hosted by Brian Lilley. Published by Postmedia, new episodes are released each Monday.