The Craig Needles Podcast

The Downtown London Business Association is looking ahead to the next four years, with the release of their strategic plan . What's in the plan? How do we make sure it is actually executed? How can the federal, provincial and municipal governments help? And what about those vacant downtown store fronts? Vicki Smith, the interim executive director of Downtown London joins Craig on the podcast to ex...

The Thames Valley District School Board remains under supervision by the province - but the newly elected board of trustees is getting sworn in next week. Why is that happening? Craig spoke to  trustee-to-be Davis Ross about his election, his swearing in, what his priorities are for the board and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London, and the Covent Garden Mar...

London's new city councillors will be sworn in later this month - what will be their first big decision? Homelessness service providers want to know what's next . The big multi-year budget update is coming, and we're closing in on the next four year plan. What do we think will happen? Craig was joined by consultant Mojdeh Azad and London Home Builders Association Executive Director Jared Zaifman o...

The election is in the books - let's talk about what happened and what's next. Craig is joined by Dr. Shawna Lewkowitz and Dr. Carol Dyck at the Covent Garden Market studio to breakdown the vote, how Josh Morgan won by a large margin, other election trends and what sort of council this might be. Then, they look at what's happening with Thames Valley District School Board trustees - which isn't a l...

In his election night predictions, Craig only missed big on one race. Ward 3 - where Ben Durham defeated incumbent Peter Cuddy. How did it happen? Ben joined Craig on the podcast to talk about his campaign, his priorities when he gets to city hall and what sort of future he wants for London. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London, and the Covent Garden Market. Follow...

It's a post-election round table with three members of London's new city council Ward 2 winner Shawn Lewis and Ward 11 winner Skylar Franke joined Craig to breakdown their re-elections - along with Ward 4 councillor-to-be Tom Cull, who was elected the first time. The panel breaks down how the vote unfolded, why it clearly wasn't a "change" election, what the big priorities will be for the next cou...

There's an election on Monday! That means there's only a weekend between now and voting day, so Craig is breaking down all the angles on the Friday Round Table. He was joined by AORS Executive Director Kelly Elliott and London Property Management Association Executive Director Nathan Caranci and political insider Ryan Gauss to discuss the final days of the Mayoral race in London. Has Susan Stevens...

As the race to be London's next mayor moves closer to its final week, Craig is joined by London Development Institute Executive Director Scott Collyer and former London Transit Commissioner Sheryl Rooth to breakdown what's happened in the last week and look ahead to the campaign's final days. Has there been a shift in messaging from Josh Morgan? How should Susan Stevenson's campaign respond? Four...

Downtown London is in the midst of a tight council race. Ward 13 is unique in the city - what are voters there prioritizing? Council candidate Stephen D'Amelio joined Craig to share his thoughts on the race, what voters are talking about and the future of the city's core. Meantime, Mayor Josh Morgan has announced his plans to combat the homelessness crisis. Craig spoke to the Mayor at a news confe...

A new study from the University of Toronto paints a disturbing picture of what's happened in Ontario with the legalization - and proliferation - of sports gambling. A major increase in emergency department visits by patients with gambling addiction, especially among men between ages 18 and 29. What caused this and what can they do about it on Parliament Hill or at Queen's Park? Or is it too late?...

We're just over two weeks from election day in London. Is the race between Josh Morgan and Susan Stevenson going to come down to the wire? Is it getting closer? Craig is joined by former city councillor Cheryl Miller and community advocate Jeremy McCall joined Craig for their analysis on the Friday Round Table. They also looked at some of London's closer council races - including Wards 1, 4, 13 an...

Glen Dietz first donated blood when he was 17. Now he's 73 and he has rolled up his sleeve 304 times - with number 305 coming up later this month. Why is donating blood so important to Glen? The former LHSC lab technician shares his story and explains why blood donation is so important to him - and to the community. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and the Cove...

London Mayor Josh Morgan is asking for your vote in his campaign for re-election. Why should you give it to him? Morgan joined Craig at the Covent Garden Market Studio for the second of back-to-back conversations with London's top two mayoral candidates. They talked about his plans for homelessness, taxes, transit, and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London and...

The biggest promise of London's mayoral campaign is Susan Stevenson's pledge to get the tax increase down to between zero and one percent each of the next two years, which will require millions in spending cuts. Where will those cuts be? In the first of two sit-downs with the top two mayoral candidates this week, Craig was joined by Councillor Stevenson at the Covent Garden Market studio to breakd...

Ward 13 council candidate Andrew Crook had a bit of a disagreement with Craig this week - so they decided to talk it out on the podcast. They breakdown the homelessness crisis in London, what can be done to help alleviate it, and what the role of a councillor will be in bringing those plans to fruition. Then they look at other campaign issues and Crook explains his vision for the downtown core. Th...

London Cares - an organization in the centre of the homelessness crisis in the city - is out with a new message for the community. Housing First. Hope Always. They're asking Londoners to talk to election candidates about the key issues impacting the homelessness crisis, and trying to share what the organization actually does to help manage the crisis. Craig was joined by London Cares Executive Dir...

Susan Stevenson says if she's elected mayor, tax increases will be at 1% or less for 2027 and 2028. Is this possible without major cuts? Craig welcomes former Green Party candidate Dr. Carol Dyck, organizational consultant Mojdeh Azad and political insider Ryan Gauss to the studio to discuss her promise on the Friday Round Table. Will voters believe this plan? Will it remind them of the Fontana co...

London's Ward 4 has an unusual race in this council cycle - no incumbent! Craig sat down with candidate Mario Jozic to talk about issues like homelessness, development, taxes and more. Plus, some conversation about former Ward 4 representative Stephen Orser trying to get back on council - and a few thoughts on backyard chickens. The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by London Hydro, Downtown London...

The two leading London mayoral campaigns had launch events this week - and released platform ideas. Josh Morgan's platform is out and includes promises aimed at transit, taxes, and homelessness . Meanwhile, Susan Stevenson released priorities at her launch event - with the promise of more detail to come . Craig was joined for the Friday Round Table by former council candidate Jeremy McCall and adv...

It's been a brutal construction season in London - no way around it (literally). How can we speed up these projects and maybe not have so many ongoing at once? Incumbent councillors and candidates Shawn Lewis and Steve Lehman have an idea and joined Craig on the podcast - along with Ryan Aarts, CEO at J-AAR - to discuss it. What if, for big projects, crews work until 11pm? What if they work some S...

As we get closer to the 2026 election, council is debating an issue that many voters have identified as a high priority: transit. London Transit Commission – which is now run by councillors – is asking for a $2-million budget increase to help stay ahead of rising fuel costs and other price increases. Should council go for this? Former City Councillor Cheryl Miller and London Development Institute...

We go to the polls in less than two months - should candidates be talking about the environment more? Some have release platforms with little to no environmental mention. Others haven't released platforms at all. What should a council candidate be talking about? Dr. Brendon Samuels, and instructor at Western in the Masters of Environment and Sustainability Program joined Craig on the podcast to sh...

Local hospital leadership has talked about saving money and finding efficiencies - especially in the wake of the massive fraud investigation at London Health Sciences Centre. Would LHSC and St. Joseph's Healthcare returning to a one CEO model save some cash? In the Windsor area, a hospital partnership is being hailed as a multi-million dollar savings move. Craig asked hospital officials about this...

Kirsten Krose is running for Mayor of London - and just released her platform . Where does she think London can improve? How would city hall be different if she were mayor? What can we do about homelessness? What about traffic concerns? She's running against an incumbent and another candidate who has been on council for four years - what challenges does that bring in a campaign? Craig and Kirsten...

The 2026 municipal election is just over two months away - and the nomination deadline is Friday! Craig asked Mike Donachie of London Ontario Online News to join him for a podcast episode to analyze the races for Mayor and the 14 council seats. Who's running? Who are the favourites? Which incumbents are in trouble? Craig and Mike breakdown those questions and more. The Craig Needles Podcast is pow...