The Big Five Podcast

CJAD 800
  • 4.4 (16)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED DAILY

The Big Five is the quintessential Montreal podcast, and the best way to get caught up on the top stories impacting the city. Every weekday, host Elias Makos and a roster of Montreal thought leaders debate and inform.

  1. 1D AGO

    Charles Milliard inherits a mess. Plus: How would you fix Tim Hortons?

    Elias Makos is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. Today is the deadline to apply to be leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, and it's all but official – with no opposition, Charles Milliard will become the new leader of the Liberals on Sunday. A CAQ MNA says there should be limits placed on columnsists. Valérie Schmaltz made the comments after being annoyed by a column in the Journal de Quebec by Rémi Nadeau.  Several public institutions are using artificial intelligence to create photos for their social media platforms. Tim Hortons is making changes. The company announced that it will soon distribute a new and improved English muffin, add fountain drink machines and debut a new piece of equipment for their espresso.

    29 min

  2. 2D AGO

    The Quebec Liberals find nothing wrong inside the Quebec Liberal Party. Plus: Should Montreal host the Winter Olympics?

    Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Trudie Mason, veteran newscaster at CJAD 800. We’re finding out more about the suspect in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge B.C.  The independent investigation into the Quebec Liberal Party fiasco was unveiled yesterday.  With indications that the Swiss bid to host the 2038 Winter Olympics may fall through, Canada is considering swooping in to host those games.  Convinced that her life was in danger, a Montreal woman handed over more than $250,000 in gold bars and cryptocurrency to fraudsters in four days.

    27 min

  3. 3D AGO

    Montreal’s Police Chief says you’re safer than ever. Is he right? Plus: Canada’s men’s hockey team ditches the village for a five-star hotel at the Olympics.

    Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster. 10 people are dead and 25 others are injured following a mass shooting inside a B.C high school yesterday afternoon. The SPVM released its 2025 results yesterday, and Police Chief Fady Dagher says the data is clear: Montreal is safe. The United States hockey squad will sleep in the Athlete’s village for the entire tournament, embracing the dorm-room lifestyle for two weeks. Team Canada will visit the village for two days - but then go live in a five-star hotel once the games actually begin. Who’s got the better Olympic spirit? In what should have been a celebration of an olympic medal for a Norwegian athlete, turned into a beg for forgiveness live on air.

    24 min

  4. 4D AGO

    U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to “not allow” a new bridge. Plus: Meta and YouTube's ‘Digital Casinos.’

    Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to “not allow” a new bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, to open unless the United States is “fully compensated for everything” it has given Canada.  The Quebec government has no intention of reviewing its funding of concert giants Evenko and Live Nation, despite questions about how the companies favour English in concert bookings. Opening statements made yesterday in a landmark trial that claims Meta and YouTube created ‘Digital Casinos.’ Despite being told by several travel agencies that we should not be worried about going to Cuba, Air Canada, Air Transat and WestJet have all suspended flights to the Caribbean destination.

    33 min

  5. 5D AGO

    More signs that Mark Carney will call a snap election. Plus: Montreal is nuts over the Super Bowl and the Epstein Files.

    Elias Makos is joined by Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Political analyst Karim Boulos. What does it say about Canadian culture that our number one TV event is a U.S. sporting event for a league that doesn’t have teams in Canada? The Globe and Mail is reporting this morning that Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have been talking behind the scenes of a plan for a spring federal election. Journal de Montreal reports that the latest batch of Epstein documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal that the convicted sex offender and financier loved Montreal.

    25 min

  6. FEB 6

    With EV rebates back, will your next car be electric? Plus: Crotch-gate takes over the Olympics, and the cost of a Super Bowl ad in Quebec.

    Elias Makos caps off the week with Lea Streliski, Best-selling author, comedian and columnist, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. The federal government announced the return of purchase rebates for electric vehicles. Starting next week, the SAQ will sell a limited selection of U.S. wines and spirits online and at Dépôt stores, at a discount, to clear stock sitting in warehouses. The Winter Olympics are upon us, and there’s already a controversy over the performance enhancing measures some athletes are taking. The scandal is unfolding in ski jumping over so-called “crotch enhancements.”

    26 min

  7. FEB 5

    Stealing groceries and TV. Plus: Islamophobia envoy Amira Elghawaby gets the boot.

    Elias Makos is joined by Lionel Perez, Former city councilor and former leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor. Robin des Ruelles – Robin of the alleys – says they are responsible for the Tuesday mass theft of goods from a Rachelle-Bery store.  Faced with the soaring price of subscriptions and the fragmenting of where everything is streamed, a growing number of people are resorting to stealing TV.  Prime Minister Mark Carney has decided to eliminate two roles created by Justin Trudeau. Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs to stop blaming Donald Trump and start adjusting to a harsher global reality.

    24 min

  8. FEB 4

    Can men refuse service from women at the SAAQ? Plus: The city fills the now-famous Notre-Dame potholes.

    Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church. Men can refuse service from women at the SAAQ. The surprising news came out of the public hearings on Bill 9, the government’s effort to double down on secularism in Quebec. And speaking of Bill 9, secularism minister Jean-François Roberge is emphatic: The proposed law is not 'against certain religions.'  The now famous potholes on Notre-Dame Street that gave Montreal Mayor Sorraya Martinez Ferrada a couple of flat tires have been patched up. For the first time since the beginning of the Quebec Liberal party crisis, MNA Marwah Rizqy returned to the National Assembly yesterday as an independent.

    25 min
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4.4
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

The Big Five is the quintessential Montreal podcast, and the best way to get caught up on the top stories impacting the city. Every weekday, host Elias Makos and a roster of Montreal thought leaders debate and inform.

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