The Big Five Podcast

Trudie Mason is joined by Jonathan Kalles, Senior Vice President at Vantage, a Government Relations and Strategic Communications Firm and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom. U.S President Donald Trump has announced new 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods. Premier Christine Fréchette reacted on...

Trudie Mason starts the week off with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Catherine Hogan, high school teacher at Westwood Senior High in Hudson. The Quebec government officially announced its plans for the interior renovation of Olympic stadium. It has been Christmas in July for many in Quebec for the past few weeks as Prem...

Trudie Mason is joined by Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, and columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. The Quebec government has given the green light for the interior renova...

Trudie Mason is joined by Lionel Perez, Former city councilor and former leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy, A new report shows that Canadians trust China more than the U.S. The report from Pew Research says that 44 percent of Canadians have a favorable view of China.&nb...

Trudie Mason is joined by Sue Smith, a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. Premier Christine Fréchette has decided to join the other leaders and promise to hold a summit on homelessness in 2027 if she is re-elected. Speaking of Fréchette, it seems she and other candidates for t...

Trudie Mason is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Political analyst Karim Boulos. Notre-Dame Street East has been named the worst street in Montreal by CAA-Quebec. Montreal is giving automated pothole filling another try. The city has just launched a new call for tenders to replace its decommiss...

Trudie Mason welcomes in Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. A new report by Ipsos in coordination with MNP reveals that over half of Quebecers have at least half of their income already committed to bills, debt payments and regular expenses before it arrives. The state of New Y...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues. Among the topics discussed were: Prime Minister Mark Carney is defending a major shift in Canada's forei...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Dan Delmar, political analyst and co-founder of TNKR Media, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. Among the topics discussed were: Air Canada has a new CEO; Anko Van der Werff. He can speak French. But he’s not Canadian. Is this an improvement? With signs that read “Not one more in...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Karim Boulos, Political Analyst, and Jonathan Kalles, Senior Vice President at Vantage, a Government Relations and Strategic Communications Firm and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Among the topics discussed were: Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed four new people to the Senate yesterday, with two names getting special attention A new su...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, and columnist for the Montreal Gazette. Among the topics discussed were: One of the latest recruits for the Quebec Liberal Party, former Big 5er Justine McIntyre, gave her first interview as an official candidate on Monday....

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies. Among the topics discussed were: Justine McIntyre will run for the Quebec Liberals this October after a month of specula...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Among the topics discussed were: The United States of America turns 250 years old tomorrow. Great country, or greatest country? A new report from RBC says it is now more affordable to buy...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Graham Singh, CEO of Releven. Among the topics discussed were: Former Quebec Premier Francois Legault took to X to share his version of a patriotic message for July 1st. If you are the owner of a heated pool, hot tub or heated driveway, Hydro-Quebec is coming after you. A Montreal...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were: Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Tasha Kheiriddin, a writer and commentator for the National Post, GZero Media, and Substack. Among the topics discussed were: A new Leger poll out this week says that 84 percent of Canadians are proud to be Canadian. Prime Ministe...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, and columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. Among the topics discussed were: We had Dr. Karim Elayo...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. Among the topics discussed were: Mark Carney is on the defensive over his government’s massive B.C. condo bailout plan. Even usual backers of the go...

Joining Elias on this morning's show were Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, and columnist for the Montreal Gazette & Lea Streliski, best-selling author, comedian and columnist. Among the topics discussed were We’ve been asking our panelists this question on the Big Five the last few days… Should there be an English debate? Politics and...

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.

Dan Delmar is joined by Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. The pannel discussed the following topics: One day after the tragic shooting in Côte-des-Neiges that saw a police officer, a civilian and the suspected shooter die, the mayor of Montreal Soraya Martinez Ferrada is calling for tougher gun con...

Robyn Flynn is joined by Sue Smith, a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Océane Corbin, PhD student in communications at UQAM who spent years immersed in an international incel forum analyzing violent and misogynistic online comments.  Three people are dead...

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.

Elias Makos caps the week off with Trudie Mason, veteran newscaster at CJAD 800 Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. Prepare to see homeless encampments on camera when the city of Montreal hosts the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in September. A new poll from Leger shows that 90 percent of Quebecers are in...

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Lea Streliski, Best-selling author, comedian and columnist. The Quebec Liberal Party unveiled a big name yesterday in their list of candidates for the provincial election. Antoine Dionne Charest, the son of former Premier Jean Charest, will be running in the riding of Verdun for the party in...

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Montreal journalist and broadcaster Sue Smith and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. Among the topics discussed were A new Leger poll this morning sees the Parti Quebecois slightly increase its lead over the Quebec  A...