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Updated 12/18/2019
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Updated 03/11/2020

2D AGO

Carney looks more like Trudeau with every update

They’re blowing windfalls. They’re setting up government agencies to subsidize favoured schemes. They’re dithering on infrastructure. And they shrug at Canada’s uncompetitive tax regime. The policies of Mark Carney’s Liberals, confirmed in last week’s economic update, are increasingly giving off strong Justin Trudeau vibes, as Brian discusses with Ian Lee, professor at Carleton’s Sprott School of Business, and Carlo Dade, at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. They consider how, a year after getting re-elected on promises to undo the damage of Trudeau’s devastating decade and make Canada more economically resilient, the Liberals seem to have no new playbook. And they warn of more destruction, particularly in the face of U.S. trade negotiations, if they don’t find one soon. (Recorded April 29, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2d ago

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1 hr
APR 27

Liberals are ‘hijacking’ the Charter, says Canada’s last living framer of the Constitution

Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford is the one man still alive who was personally in the room with then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau when provinces and the federal government agreed, together, to a new Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He talks to Brian about the real basis for Section 33 — the notwithstanding clause — and how it came into being. He explains why the story that the federal government is telling about the clause’s alleged misuse is false, why Ottawa’s attempts to override it are unconstitutional, and why the Supreme Court has no authority to weigh in on its use, as the justices are now doing at the justice minister’s request. (Recorded April 17, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 27

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51 min
SEASON 1, EPISODE 1

How anti-vaxxers set the stage for pandemic conspiracies

When the pandemic began more than a year ago, there wasn’t much hope of a vaccine against a disease that had just emerged in humans. Now, though, millions of people around the world are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 every day. But not everyone will get the shot. While the vast majority of Canadians say they’ll get vaccinated, there are still about 21 percent of people who are vaccine hesitant. About seven percent of them say they will not be vaccinated. As COVID spread around the world, so too did the anti-vaccination movement. In today’s episode, reporter Dalson Chen, of the Windsor Star in Windsor, Ontario, takes us for a journey into the history of the anti-vax movement. And explains why it is still going strong today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1, E1

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20 min
APR 6

Mark Carney is about to get hammered left and right by populism

Canada’s two national opposition parties, the Conservatives and NDP — now under Avi Lewis — are relentlessly focused on affordability and dismantling a system they say screws non-elites. As this week’s panel discusses, both Lewis and Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre clearly stand for something, which raises questions about what Prime Minister Mark Carney stands for … besides fighting President Donald Trump. Brian is joined by former Conservative campaign director Jenni Byrne, longtime NDP strategist Kim Wright, and former Liberal adviser Warren Kinsella. They break down how the new NDP leader, unlike the last one, will make life more difficult for the Liberals. They also consider the likelihood Carney will prorogue Parliament after securing a majority, and how much it will (or won’t) help him. (Recorded April 1, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 6

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1 hr
SEASON 1, EPISODE 2

Where conspiracy theories come from

As the coronavirus spread around the world over the past year, something else spread along with it — conspiracy theories. You’d see them on Facebook. Or maybe your family or friends shared them with you. Even political leaders sometimes spread them. There’s a long history of conspiracy theories flourishing in human society. It’s part of the way we cope with new information. In today’s episode, the Windsor Star’s Dalson Chen is back to look at covid conspiracies and where they came from. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1, E2

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20 min
SEASON 1, EPISODE 3

Why people believe outlandish conspiracy theories

Back at the end of 2019, if someone had told you that a global pandemic was going to sweep the world in 2020, would you have believed them? Could you have imagined that people all around the world would get sick and that nearly four million would die of a disease no one had heard of? That planes would be grounded, restaurants closed and even haircuts would be off limits? It would have seemed far-fetched to most of us in 2019. So maybe it’s not that surprising that some people have been easily swayed by the conspiracy theories that have flourished with the pandemic. In today’s episode of Covid Conspiracies Jennifer Bieman of the London Free Press looks at why so many of us have turned to outlandish theories to try to understand what has happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1, E3

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18 min
APR 20

Trump’s plan for Cuba isn’t what you’ve been told

It’s running short of oil, electricity, food, medicine and currency, but Cuba’s communist regime is digging in as the Trump administration demands economic and democratic reforms. Brian discusses the situation with his guests, former State Department insider Mike Gonzalez, now with the Heritage Foundation, and author and longtime regime critic Humberto Fontova. They explain Washington’s imperative to finally curb Cuba’s malign global influence, including inside the U.S.; the motivations for the Castro family and its cronies in defying the pressure; and the challenge of total regime change. They also explain why news about President Donald Trump’s plan is scarce and largely spurious, and why so few people know what’s really going on. (Recorded April 17, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 20

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59 min
APR 13

Canada’s defence is still a mess despite Ottawa’s NATO-spending claims

It’s not actually official that Canada’s defence budget meets NATO’s two per cent of GDP target, despite the press releases claiming so. Yes, spending has been going up, but what is it really meant for? This is Brian’s discussion this week with David Perry, president of the Global Affairs Institute, and Christian Leuprecht from the Royal Military College of Canada. They explain how the government still can’t figure out if it wants to project power or sit on the sidelines and criticize those who do, and whether it wants excellent equipment or just the grandest job-creation promises. We might suddenly think we’ve become serious about defence, but our allies and our enemies have reason to question how serious we really are. (Recorded April 2, 2026) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 13

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54 min
SEASON 1, EPISODE 4

How Christian pastors have pushed back against COVID conspiracy theories

Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve heard about some of the people who refused to follow public health rules. There are the anti-maskers, the people who can’t seem to stay two meters apart from others and those that set up illegal gyms for their workouts. And then there are the religious institutions. Public-health officials in Canada and the United States have intervened to shut down different religious groups that persisted in holding gatherings despite legal orders to ban them. While a few pastors publicly repeated conspiracy theories about COVID-19, other pastors took a different approach. To engage with the skeptics in their congregations. In today’s episode, the National Post’s Tyler Dawson takes a closer look at churches and COVID conspiracies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1, E4

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15 min
SEASON 1, EPISODE 5

The very real cost of COVID conspiracy theories

There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed an enormous cost on, well, everyone. Lost lives, lost jobs, delayed schooling, stress and anxiety. Some people think there’s another cost too — the cost of COVID conspiracy theories. It’s almost like a second virus, infecting peoples’ minds instead of their bodies. And the cost to humanity is going up as conspiracy theories like anti-vaccination campaigns just prolong the pandemic. Today, Phil Tank of the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix takes a closer look at what COVID conspiracy theories are costing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

S1, E5

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19 min

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