CANADALAND

It is the biggest leveraged buyout in history.  Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) just bought EA Games: one of the world’s biggest video game companies.  PIF joined forces with two American investment firms (one run by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner) to buy the gaming giant for $55 billion. But this could be about a lot more than just video games.  EA has more than 700...

A trend of “Blame Canada” memes is causing a schism amongst conservatives.  Far-right conservative influencers are gleefully amplifying MAGA-style messaging around Carney and Canada, while more moderate conservative voices are calling them “traitorous.”  Under Pierre Poilievre, the CPC embraced right-wing influencers, offering them “content creator” passes and access to events, but now t...

As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the CBC’s longstanding policy towards reporting on acts of terrorism suddenly became an international story. A leaked internal CBC memo that instructed journalists not to refer to 9/11 as a terrorist attack without attribution sparked backlash on both sides of the border.  In the context of the trade war, CBC’s journalistic policy became a flashpoin...

 BC’s Conservative caucus is hemorrhaging members. In the last three weeks, 8 MLAs have left the Conservative caucus, followed by accusations that paint a pretty clear picture: Whatever crisis is happening inside the BC Conservatives, Kerry-Lynne Findlay is at the centre of it.  Host Sam Konnert talks to BC political commentator and host of “This is Vancolor”, Mo Amir, to spell out what...

In the history of journalism, there have been a number of iconic interviews. Interviews that defined a generation and uncovered truths from some of the biggest political scandals of the time. Richard Nixon, Monica Lewinsky, the ex-Duke of York formerly known as Prince Andrew, to name only a few. Today, we bring you an interview with Nathen Mazri. Former Garfield Eats proprietor, former PPC candida...

Canadians are increasingly getting their news from the New York Times.  As the NYT increases its global footprint, growing to over 3 million international subscribers, Canada remains its largest international market.  With its expansion of staff and Canadian coverage, The Times is competing for scoops with outlets like The Globe and Mail and CBC.  Will an American outlet eventually...

Seasonal news items are just a thing in the media biz and Back-to-School is a big one. So we wanted to flip that concept and rather than dish out our own advice, we asked you to call in with your own. Look, we all know starting a school, especially at a new school, can be a stressful experience. But we all do it, and most of us get through it too. But if you’re nervous, or you know someone else wh...

There’s been wall-to-wall coverage of the breakdown in trade talks between Canada and the US, on both sides of the border.  Whether it’s Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario, gun-toting A.I. Canadian Geese, or continual investigations into what exactly happened during the final hours of trade talks.  But the rest of the world is also covering the Canada-US trade war in terms of the “rupture”...

Prime Minister Mark Carney made a nice speech last weekend. But what happens after you walk away from a blown-up trade deal? This episode host Noor Azrieh asks Matina Stevis-Grindeff, the Canada Bureau Chief for the New York Times. Apparently, it includes a renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America, and a whole lot more. Host: Noor Azrieh Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/...

In August 2026, the Government of Canada released a report titled Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences . The survey found that “95.7% of Jewish students said they had experienced or witnessed at least one instance of antisemitism over the previous 12 months.” So the back to school jitters are hitting differently for some kids.  There have been other issues involving staff, administrati...

As trade negotiations broke down, Canadian streaming policy, CanCon requirements, and French language discoverability have taken a surprisingly central role in the narrative.  Mark Carney says last minute US trade demands threatened our cultural sovereignty, while US Trade Representative Jameson Greer called this a “funny, fake story.”  Digital law expert Michael Geist joins to talk abou...

As trade talks break down between Canada and the US, the race is on to fill in the details. Both Carney and US Trade Representative Jameson Greer are offering their versions of the final hours of negotiations.  Meanwhile, reporters are talking to sources, all of whom are looking to spin the narrative.  What really happened?  Plus, the Jamil Jivani of it all, and TMU isn’t satisfied...

Mark Carney’s government is reviewing Canada’s Labour Code, and one of the biggest questions on the table is the right to strike. In recent years, the federal government has increasingly used Section 107 to intervene in strikes involving workers in industries like rail, airlines, and the postal service. Now, employers are pushing for new rules that could give the government more tools to prevent m...

As recent events in Ukraine, Russia, and Iran have clearly demonstrated, the nature of modern warfare is changing fast (think: drones). Canada will get left behind if it doesn’t start innovating fast. And that could have not just a winning effect on its defence capabilities but also it’s an opportunity to stimulate other industries.  Host Stephen Marche explores the advent of drone warfare wi...

E-scooters are making headlines as a dangerous transportation option. From Xav Trudeau not wearing a helmet in an e-Scooter ad, to editorials calling them a scourge. Are they a dangerous public nuisance or a sign that we haven’t yet embraced the future of transportation? Arno Kopecky joins Julian Abraham to kick around the coverage of electric micromobility options, and to consider if Canada is a...

B.C.’s wildfires spread at unprecedented speeds, resulting in tens of thousands of evacuations and a province-wide state of emergency. Yet, nationally, the fires didn’t garner the same level of media attention as Northern Ontario’s fires last month. Why the disconnect?  Arno Kopecky joins to unpack the coverage of the BC wildfires and explain why climate change should be a bigger part of the...

Pierre Poilievre has a lot of haters. But his biggest hater might just be Kory Teneycke. This is a guy who comes from inside the Conservative machine. He was Stephen Harper's communications director. He helped Doug Ford win. Then win again. Then again. And for months, Teneycke’s been publicly dragging Pierre Poilievre through the mud. No holds barred. He questioned Poilievre’s strategy. His leader...

Abdulahat Nur grew up in East Turkistan. That’s what many Uyghurs, a Muslim Turkic people of Central Asia, call it. But if you’re a Chinese state official the region is called Xinjiang, or “New Frontier.” For many it echoes the same sort of arguments that surround Tibet. China's treatment of the Uyghurs has led to intense international scrutiny, particularly its use of internment camps or what Chi...

A Canadian intern, Biwei Zhang, is alleged to have spied on NATO for China, raising questions about the persistence of Chinese espionage in Canada.  The former civil servant held positions for a number of Canadian agencies including StatsCan, the National Research Council, and the Canadian Space Agency. In 2023, she was found to have committed fraud on her application to the Canada Border Ser...

A report in the Globe and Mail says Canada is offering concessions to get a trade deal. Canadians and pundits aren’t happy with the idea. Is it just a trial balloon or is Carney willing to pay the political price to reduce tariffs?  Meanwhile, rolling back Trudeau’s digital policies targeting tech giants is one concession Carney seems happy to make. But how will it impact Canadian media fundi...

Wealthsimple just launched its new betting platform, but for now, Canadians can only bet on the economy, financial markets, and the weather. So what happens when we start betting on politics? Host Sam Konnert talks to Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Katherine Long about the wild world of Polymarket and Kalshi, the scandals that have followed them in the US, and what Canada can learn bef...

They’re shamed, banned, or driven underground but “repugnant markets” have a way of surviving. Organ sales, MAID, even blood sales fall into the category. Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth comes to Canadaland to discuss his latest book, Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal about How Markets Work. Further Reading: The Nobel Prize - Alvin E...

Last Wednesday, Foreign Policy CAN tweeted that "Canada condemns the ongoing violence in the West Bank..." So later that day, the Embassy of Israel in Canada responded with "Israel condemns the ongoing violence against Jews in Canada..." Which begs the question, just what exactly is Canada’s social media strategy? Does it even have one?  It also got us thinking about the responsibility both t...

Last year, we published an episode about all the tape that didn’t make it into one of our shows. Today is different… but similar. Here are three interviews we did that just never made it to air. And we’ll tell you why they never made it to air. Next month on Off The Record we are back to our call-in show format. On Thursday August 27, 2026 we will be taking your calls on a new question. Seasonal n...

Seven years in, we're looking at what might just be the longest and most involved media defamation trial in Canadian history: former Alberta United Conservative Party candidate Caylan Ford is suing PressProgress, the CBC, Toronto Star and several others, for $7.65 million. She says that they wrongly portrayed her as a white supremacist, they say that they were only quoting her…  Host: Jesse B...