10/3: Canada Covered

Do you really know how safe your restaurant meal is? MacEwan University Associate Professor Steve Lillebuen joins Dave Breakenridge to uncover what an investigation found in Edmonton kitchens and what needs to change in food safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Vice Canada scandal resurfaces — new details about a former staffer accused of helping run an international cocaine ring. Adrian Humphreys joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the “deputy” at the centre of the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opioid poisonings have killed tens of thousands across Canada, the vast majority of them adults. But, in a heartbreaking group of cases, babies and toddlers have fallen victim to fentanyl or its more toxic cousin carfentanil. Sharon Kirkey joins the show to discuss how many young children have died from opioid overdoses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Iranian government is viewed by Canada and others as a human rights violator and sponsor of terrorism. Many in Canada’s Iranian diaspora oppose the regime, but some fear spying and intimidation. Reporter Tom Blackwell joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss these concerns and the federal government's response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canada’s drug crisis has some policy makers looking away from measures such as harm reduction and toward expansion of treatment beds. And along with that has come discussion of measures to compel addicts into treatment. Vancouver Sun reporter Lori Culbert joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how involuntary treatment works, the legal questions around the practice, and the stories of some patients wh...

MPs returned to Ottawa this week for what’s expected to be a busy legislative session, as Mark Carney’s Liberals look to make headway on its lofty agenda. But with big ideas can come issues around execution, politics, and how to pay for it all. National Post politics writer Simon Tuck joins me to discuss Carney’s priorities for the fall, how the government hopes to implement some of its agenda, an...

Canadian women are changing the conversation around when and how they want to have babies, with many of them opting to freeze their eggs. And more and more, led by Gen Z, they’re having the conversation online. Calgary Herald reporter Devika Desai joins Dave Breakenridge to explore why, and how social media is shaping the conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Modern brain surgery for mental health, like OCD, is far more precise than past methods like lobotomies—but is it safer or more ethical? Reporter Sharon Kirkey joins Dave Breakenridge to explore the history, new tech, and lingering concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

King Charles delivered Canada’s throne speech, emphasizing sovereignty after U.S. annexation comments. Catherine Levesque breaks down his message, the Carney government’s priorities, and what’s ahead in the short spring session. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government are charting a new course after a surprise election win, but his cabinet choices and decision not to table a budget have raised questions. National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin joins the show to discuss the key challenges ahead, Carney’s cabinet, and what the lack of a budget means for Canadians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

Is Canada really getting it right? Tristin Hopper joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss his new book on where the country may be falling short—and what it means for the federal election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With election day nearing, party leaders gear up for debates. Chris Nardi joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how Carney and Poilievre differ, debate expectations, and the NDP's position. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Montreal Gazette investigation shows a program meant for Francophone cooperation has been funding tuition for non-French-speaking foreign students, while Quebec raises fees for out-of-province English students. Reporter Andy Riga discusses the program’s purpose, the students' origins, and its cost to taxpayers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A college in Tennessee is set to become the first historically Black institution to ice an NCAA Division 1 hockey team.  Tennessee State University, which counts among its alum TV icon Oprah Winfrey and Olympian Wilma Rudolph, has more than a dozen players committed to the program, including a number of Canadians.  National Post contributor Allen Abel joins host Dave Breakenridge to discuss the ch...

Fentanyl has become a dominant street drug in Canada, claiming thousands of lives. Recently, it has also been used by U.S. President Donald Trump to justify tariffs on Canadian exports. How did it get to this point? National Post reporter Tom Blackwell joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the factors behind fentanyl's rise, the growth of labs in Canada, and Canada's role in the global market. Learn...

Ontario PC leader Doug Ford is nearing a third term after calling a snap election. Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how U.S. President Trump's threats, including tariffs, have overshadowed other issues in the campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Canadian politicians, aiming to avoid a trade war amid U.S. tariff threats, have met with White House officials and appointed a 'fentanyl czar.' National Post's Catherine Levesque joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss these efforts and their potential impact on President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For two decades, Afghan women had freedom. Then everything changed in an instant with the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021 amid the withdrawal of Western troops. Ehsanullah Amiri, the 2024 recipient of Postmedia’s Michelle Lang Fellowship, joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the conditions under which women now live in Afghanistan, what their lives were like prior to the Taliban takeover,...

Canada's response to Trump’s trade war threats and the carve-out for Canadian energy has put Alberta’s oilpatch in the spotlight. While Alberta’s oil faced less impact from tariffs, the threat remains a major concern. Calgary Herald columnist Chris Varcoe joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the potential impact on Alberta’s economy and key industries if Trump moves forward with his plans. Learn mor...

Canada received a temporary reprieve from U.S. tariffs after committing to border security and drug policy changes. National Post reporter Stephanie Taylor joins the show to discuss the agreements and Canada’s new drug strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie-Josée Hogue, head of the foreign interference inquiry, has delivered her final report, making sweeping recommendations for the federal government, while asserting that, despite allegations of some MPs possibly being foreign agents, there is no evidence of traitors in Ottawa, as discussed by National Post politics reporter Chris Nardi with Dave Breakenridge. Learn more about your ad choices....

The question in Ontario politics is whether a trade war over Trump’s tariffs will boost Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives’ majority, as he calls a snap election, with Bryan Passifiume and Dave Breakenridge discussing Ford’s strategy and opposition reactions. Background reading:Premier Doug Ford confirms he’s calling snap Ontario election Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

Is Donald Trump set to try to annex Canada? Or is he trolling us in the worst possible way. Truly only he knows at this point, but it has raised somewhat of a sovereignty crisis in this country. Carson Jerema, National Post’s comment editor, joins the show to discuss what Trump could be angling for, how our leaders have responded, and what the politicians in Canada should be doing. Learn more abou...

After much speculation about his political future, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would be stepping down... eventually. David Staples and Lorne Gunter join the show to discuss the factors that led to Trudeau's departure, how his legacy will be viewed in western Canada, and whether there is a potential successor who could turn Liberal fortunes around. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

Federal politics saved perhaps its biggest surprise for one of the last weeks of the year with the surprise cabinet resignation of Chrystia Freeland. But it has been a very eventful year in Canadian politics. National Post Parliamentary Bureau Chief Stuart Thomson and parliamentary reporter Antoine Trepanier join Dave Breakenridge to break down the year that was in 2024. Learn more about your ad c...