CANADALAND

It’s the final election stretch, and the vetting continues. This week we talk conversion therapy, million-dollar pyramid schemes, & the dangers of doorbell cameras Host: Sam Konnert, Noor Azrieh Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor) Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

The “adult in the room” tends to be shouty.  Mark Carney has been portrayed as a measured and methodical counterpoint to Trump throughout his campaign, but earlier reporting reveals a different side of his personality.  But is it a problem if Carney isn’t as cool-headed as he appears?  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical...

While most Canadians are gearing up to head to the polls, some are looking for an escape plan. This week, we’re examining the deep roots of Western alienation, Danielle Smith’s separatist flirtations, and what could erupt if Mark Carney’s Liberals sweep to power. To do that, producer Sam Konnert heads out to Alberta to talk to some voters, and calls up Preston Manning, the man behind the conversat...

The north is a hot topic. Trump, China, Russia, everyone suddenly has eyes on the Arctic. The Canadian government is promising everything from submarines to ice breakers to show the world we really are a nation stretching from sea to sea to sea. Today’s headlines might feel like we’re now in uncharted waters but Canada has been here before. In the 1950s Cold War tensions roiled round the north. Th...

Complaints of Rebel Media hogging question period after Wednesday's French-language leaders debate led to chaos just minutes before the English-language leaders debate was set to take place. Cops were called, slurs were thrown around. What the hell happened in the media room on Thursday night? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Produce...

There are 1959 people running to represent YOU in this federal election in the year of our lord 2025 - and we’re looking for dirt.  This week - a liberal candidate that didn’t want to be a distraction was replaced by an EVEN bigger distraction, a far-right media personality has some INSANE takes, and independent candidate Elliot Moose is on the loose. Host: Sam Konnert, Noor Azrieh Credits: A...

Radio-Canada’s Tout le monde en Parle asked some tough questions. We decided to translate.  Hear what Poilievre and Carney had to say about Trump, Climate, Trudeau, and where their campaigns are headed in the final stretch.  Plus, more Jagmeet Singh cringe.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins...

With two weeks out from election day, Ottawa is buzzing. Staffers are partying late into the night and reporting to work at 7 a.m., Chipotle’s are turning into war rooms, and the polls are telling stories. We went to three party-specific events in Ottawa for a pulse check on how people feel in the nation’s capital. From 11-year-old door knockers to Jagmeet Singh to Trump’s former trade representat...

We have been hearing a lot about Prime Minister Mark Carney and a company called Brookfield Asset Management. That's the company he left when he entered politics.  Today's episode is not a look back at Carney’s time at Brookfield. It's about right now. Because among all of those claims and arguments about Carney and Brookfield and the past, there's something else that hasn’t made as many head...

What would it look like to take the agenda back? With reports of unprecedented message control on the Conservative campaign trail, San Grewal and Dr Lori Turnbull consider the threat to our democracy when the media no longer sets the agenda.  Host: San Grewal Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Di...

It’s an election, we’re googling your candidate. There's a candidate for the Green Party who’s actively campaigning for the Conservative Party. There’s a famous YouTuber candidate with an icky social media history, there’s a guy who is promising to fix housing problems that HE created. And then we’ll get to the explicit Garfield porn. It gets crazy. Host: Sam Konnert Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior...

CTV faces backlash after hiring (then firing) Rachel Gilmore for an election fact checking segment.  Is the role of the fact checker still viable in the modern media ecosystem?  Plus, reports of foreign interference in the current Canadian election.  Host: San Grewal Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Directo...

Last week, Pierre Poilievre said tick tock goes your biological clock. This was the first time that host Noor Azrieh noticed, during the campaign, that someone ( anyone! ) was speaking to women directly and explicitly. And it prompted a wave of pushback…and some praise.  The gap between men and women is widening. If the election happened today, and only women voted, Mark Carney would be on tr...

In the last 50 or so years the number of independent first-time political candidates elected to office in Canada could fit in a car. Five candidates have made it to, albeit a very small portion of political power, without party support. That covers both provincial and federal elections. As Canadian elections become increasingly presidential affairs, focusing on the personality at the top of the ti...

A lapse in leadership and Canada’s China conundrum.  Liberal MP Paul Chiang’s troubling comments gave Carney an opportunity to take a strong stance on Chinese interference, but he fumbled his chance to distinguish himself from Trudeau.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Di...

There are hundreds of unvetted candidates vying for a seat in Parliament… Canada has 343 federal electoral districts stretching from coast to coast to coast. In every riding, candidates are stepping up…some for the first time. This means there are hundreds of unvetted candidates vying for a seat in Parliament. This week, we’re looking at a few standouts: a candidate who bragged about making coin f...

The call is coming from inside the party.  With reports swirling about Poilievre’s campaign dysfunction at the end of week one, Sandy Garossino joins to unpack why Conservatives are sabotaging their own party.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Br...

With 78 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons, Quebec isn’t just a battleground…it could decide the entire election. And this time, the usual Bloc-Liberal-NDP tug-of-war is taking some unexpected turns. We hit the streets of Montreal to find out what is on people’s minds, and host Noor Azrieh sits down with Martin Patriquin to unpack what it all means.  And, you’ll hear from Philippe J. Fo...

Internet trolls, doxing, conspiracy theories, harassment, criminal investigations, all the usual things that spring to mind when you think of small town council meetings. Welcome to Pickering, Ontario, best known for its nuclear power plant. Is the alt-right driving Pickering to political meltdown? Or is the town council trying to silence a duly elected official over political disagreements? Eithe...

Canada’s sudden political reorientation. As Trump continues to escalate the trade war, Paul Wells joins to consider the lasting impact on our relationship with the US. What started as anger is reshaping our politics.  Host: Jesse Brown Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse...

First on the list of Paul Wells’s 4 Rules of Canadian Politics: “For any given situation, Canadian politics will tend toward the least exciting possible outcome.” In an election marked by foreign interference, an unelected newcomer leading the incumbent party, and annexation fears, what does “least exciting” even look like?  Journalist and aforementioned rule-maker Paul Wells joins Jesse to r...

And we’re off to the races! It’s time for the matchup, and election, of a generation. Newly minted Prime Minister Mark Carney is taking on former front-runner Pierre Poilievre on April 28th. It’s a 5-week campaign. In the backdrop of a trade war, Trump’s annexation threats, And almost 10 long years of Liberal leadership.  For over a year, Poilievre pretty much held a 20-point lead. A landslid...

It’s possible that this will be the most consequential vote you’ll ever cast. With our sovereignty, our nation, our very future on the line Jesse breaks down the big questions for you. How can Miss Manners help Carney? And why is Poilievre’s Schwarzenegger impersonation glitching? Host: Jesse Brown Credits: Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor, Mixing & Mastering), Julian Abraham (Fact Check) Bruce Th...

Poilievre bans journalists from travelling with him on the campaign trail, but did he get a free  ride in the press so far? Dougald Lamont joins San Grewal to discuss coverage of Poilievre heading into the next election.  Host: San Grewal  Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collins (Director of...

Mark Carney’s visit to Europe signals Canada’s new approach to the trade war with the US. Dougald Lamont joins The Pointer’s San Grewal to discuss the economic reality behind the trade war theatrics.  Plus, pulling the plug on Doug Ford’s electrical fiction.  Host: San Grewal  Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Sam Konnert (Fact Checking), max collin...