10/3: Canada Covered

Polls are showing that a minority government is a very real possibility, prompting increasing talk of a Liberal coalition with the NDP. To appeal to progressive voters, both parties are targeting the oil and gas industry turning Alberta into somewhat of a villain. Justin Trudeau is vulnerable to on this issue because he purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline. However, he argues that all revenues fr...

Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet has revived the fortunes of the separatist party in Quebec. Blanchet performed well in both the French and English debates and has aligned the federal bloc with Quebec's right leaning CAQ government. While both the Liberals and the Conservatives were both hoping to expand their seat count in the province, Blanchet's growing popularity means that is less...

Earlier this week, 14-year old Devan Bracci-Selvey was stabbed in front of his Hamilton school while his mother watched in horror. Toronto Sun crime columnist Brad Hunter visited Hamilton and spoke with teachers and students. Bracci-Selvey was bullied constantly since the beginning of the school year. The Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School administration is being accused of being in denial ove...

None of the federal party leaders are taking deficits seriously, National Post columnist Andrew Coyne argues. Failing to put Canada's fiscal house in order means less room for spending during a recession, less wealth for future generations and an inability to make budget priorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two weeks out from election day, the six  major federal leaders traded blows in the campaign's only English language debate to feature Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer called Trudeau a "phoney" who doesn't deserve to govern Canada, while Trudeua accused his opponent of being in service to the rich. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party leader Elizabeth May attack...

As the trial draws nearer for the man charged with killing 10 people and injuring 16 using a rented van as a weapon, we're beginning to learn more about the accused.   A video and transcript of the police interview with Alek Minassian, hours after the deadly attack offers frightening new details.   Toronto Sun columnist Michele Mandel walks us through Minassian’s ties to the incel movement and how...

After a somewhat rocky start, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has started to recover some lost momentum. But in what polls are showing is a two-way race between the Liberals and Conservatives, expectations for the NDP are somewhat muted. Parliamentary bureau chief John Ivison walks us through how Singh has regained some steam, but how his attempts to make the election a class war could backfire. Learn mo...

For decades Canadian governments have been making lofty climate change commitments. And for decades, Canada has failed to meet any of these goals. Ottawa Citizen reporter Tom Spears explains why solving climate change is so hard from a technology, as well as a policy point of view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cellblock footage shows a London police sergeant kick, punch, stomp and step on a 24-year-old woman, an unco-operative, intoxicated suspect who was cuffed, bound at the ankles and restrained by four other officers, who do nothing to stop the assault. Afterwards, the woman was charged. It was months before the truth was uncovered. London Free Press reporter Randy Richmond doggedly pursued the story...

Suburban Toronto is usually a bellwether for Canadian elections.  National Post reporter Brian Platt visited ridings in Brampton and Etobicoke. He found that the NDP could be a spoiler in Brampton, thanks to Jagmeet Singh's popularity there. In Etobicoke he found voters were concerned about gun violence. In both cases, Doug Ford is only one issue among many, despite what Liberals candidates might...

Multiple years-old photos have emerged of Justin Trudeau wearing brownface and blackface costumes. Trudeau's persona as a progressive who stands up for minorities is being challenged as critics call him a hypocrite. The National Post's Vanmala Subramaniam joins Dave to explain how the controversy unfolded and why blackface and brownface are so offensive. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY Learn more about you...

Both the Liberals and Conservatives have accused the other side of being associated with far right activist Faith Goldy. National Post reporter Joe Brean joins Dave to explain how Goldy skidded into the election campaign. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the election kicked off, new details emerged related to the SNC scandal. The Justin Trudeau Liberals have refused to lift cabinet confidentiality even for the RCMP. Dave is joined by Andrew Coyne who explains how this latest development could affect the Liberals chances of re-election. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political parties of all stripes talk about making life more affordable for average Canadians. But will they actually focus on the reasons why wages have stagnated, and why Canada isn't as competitive as it could be? Dave is joined by National Post politics reporter Jesse Snyder. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Liberal government’s tally stands at 4,545 spending announcements worth about $12.8 billion, for August alone. That is an unprecedented number of announcements and can tell us a lot about how the Liberals plan to focus their efforts during the election campaign. Dave is joined by National Post politics reporter Stuart Thomson. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is almost at the end  of his four-year mandate. And as Canadians get set to head to the polls, there are lots of unanswered questions about how this election will go. Dave is joined by National Post political columnist John Ivison. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is facing a looming battle with unions representing teachers and support staff in the province’s schools. And the situation may get magnified if provincial cuts become fodder for federal liberals in next month’s election. Dave is joined by Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been nearly two weeks since Kevin O'Leary was involved in a fatal boating collision. Dave is Joined by Toronto Sun crime columnist Brad Hunter who gives an update on the police investigation. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Violence in Vancouver’s underworld flared up again this summer, with the death of a prominent member of the Hells Angels. Suminder Grewal, from Surrey’s Hardside chapter, was gunned down at a Starbucks drivethru last month, the second member of that chapter to be killed in less than a year. Dave is joined by Vancouver Sun crime reporter Kim Bolan. Please take our survey. Learn more about your ad c...

How does a vulnerable teen wind up dying of an overdose, the victim of a bad trip that was filmed and broadcast on social media? Carson Cremeni died in hospital in early august after falling victim to just such a scenario. Dave is joined by National Post features writer Richard Warnica. Background: What came first, cruel intentions or an addiction to creating content? Learn more about your ad choi...

Anger at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over pipelines, his carbon tax and a seeming lack of support for western issues has spurred some to start talking western separation. Depsite current separatist parties being a non-entity, and Alberta electing staunch federalist Jason Kenney in the spring, the Idea of a “Western Exit” or Wexit is catching the attention of some. Dave is joined by National Post...

A debate has sprung up in Canada over the controversial practice of gay conversion therapy. Cities and provinces have banned it, and now there is discussion over making the practice a criminal offence. We look at why conversion therapy is seen as harmful to the LGBTQ community, what it entails, and the legal questions around a push to criminalize it. Dave is joined by Edmonton Journal reporter Lia...

A scathing report for the federal ethics commissioner has brought  the SNC Lavalin scandal back into the news cycle. And with a federal election looming, it could prove problematic for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. We look at what the report says, what new we have learned and what the fallout has been in Ottawa. Dave is joined by National Post federal politics reporter Brian Platt.  Learn more ab...

China is currently facing scrutiny for its actions against protesters in Hong Kong, but that isn’t the only human rights crackdown raising concern. In the northwest province of Xijiang, millions of people from a Muslim minority group known as Uyghurs have been detained in what the government calls re-education camps and some commentators call concentration camps. Uyghur students in Canada are fear...

Should estheticians who offer services to women be allowed to refuse service to transgender women who have not yet gone through with reassignment surgery? That’s a question before the B.C. human rights tribunal, and one which has sparked controversy across the country. We look at how this case got started, why it is such a hot-button issue, and what the ramifications are. Dave is joined by Nationa...