Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

Premiers in BC, Manitoba, and Ontario are calling out Alberta's Danielle Smith. The Americans can't believe Canadians aren't buying their booze. And legendary NHL playoff performer Claude Lemieux is dead by suicide days after carrying the torch at a Habs home game. We get into it all with Emmy Award-winning talk show legend Senator Charles Adler (6:30) in our feature interview presented by Mercede...

Prominent Alberta business, political, and community leaders may not agree on everything - but they agree on the most important thing - and that's Alberta's future in Canada. "Lead Not Leave" co-founders Peggy Garrity, Travis Toews, and Ken Boessenkool present the evidence for a stronger Alberta IN Canada in our feature interview (6:00) presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West.  THIS EPISODE IS PR...

It may be too late to stamp out separatist sentiment in Alberta, but we don't have to fan the flames. Guest host Supriya Dwivedi hashes it out with strategist Zain Velji, commentator Rachel Gilmore, and Lead Not Leave co-founder Jen Gerson in feature interviews presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West. MBEW: https://www.mercedes-benz-edmontonwest.ca/ THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY HANSEN DISTILLERY....

Canada is at a "strategic crossroads" as an energy superpower, says Dr. David Knight Legg. The former principal advisor to Premier Jason Kenney argues Canada is perfectly positioned to meet Chinese demand. We discuss investment implications of Alberta separation talk in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West.  THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY RapidEX FINANCIAL. THE CRYPTO WORLD...

Premiers in B.C. and Ontario are calling out their colleague in Alberta for her "bad behaviour". This, as Western premiers gather in Kananaskis for their annual meeting on trade, the economy, energy security, defence and nation-building projects. Supriya Dwivedi digs into public statements from David Eby and Doug Ford in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West (4:00). THIS E...

"The hypocrisy would be hilarious if it wasn't so embarrassing." It's an All-Referendum Edition of The Flamethrower, as Real Talkers Crystal, Wayne, Robert, Kyle, Sean, Randy, and Joan sound off. FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com WHEN YOU VISIT THE DQs IN PALISADES, NAMAO, NEWCASTLE, WESTMOUNT, or BASELINE ROAD, BE SURE TO TELL 'EM REAL TALK SENT YOU! REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE R...

"Referendumb and Referendumber" is how Real Talker "Noob" describes Premier Danielle Smith's plan to ask Albertans whether or not they want to be asked about the province's future in Canada. That's right - on October 19th, Albertans will vote on a referendum question asking if Alberta should hold a referendum on separating from Canada. To try to make sense of it all, we reconvene our Real Talk Gro...

Fireworks at the Alberta Legislature as the UCP sends out a press release announcing a committee decision on an independence referendum...before the vote's even been held. The debacle (intentional or otherwise) has Opposition critics and everyday Albertans crying foul. NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi was in the room as the drama unfolded. She takes us behind the scenes in our feature interview (4...

Arlene Dickinson is one of Canada's best-known entrepreneurs and investors, widely recognized from her 15-year run on Dragon's Den. Born in South Africa and raised in Calgary, Dickinson isn't shy about defending the country she loves. She brings her trademark candour on Alberta separation, Premier Danielle Smith, and U.S. President Donald Trump in our feature interview (3:45) presented by Mercedes...

Could Danielle Smith be the one to kill a new pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast? Max Fawcett says by jumping to appeal a court ruling against a separatist petition, Alberta's premier risks alienating key stakeholders - Coastal First Nations. We dig into key elements of the Alberta-Ottawa energy agreement, announced the Friday before May Long Weekend, in our feature interview (14:00) presente...

In this episode of Worker Agenda, AFL President Gil McGowan and Secretary Treasurer Cori Longo break down the growing momentum behind Alberta’s May 29 Province-Wide Day of Protest, as workers and community members prepare to push back against what they call the Smith government’s increasingly radical and undemocratic agenda. From concerns over government-led referendum questions and rising separat...

We've been SLAMMED with emails re: the court ruling against the separatist petition and the Alberta data breach. Real Talkers Reg in Calgary, Dom in Calgary, Peaches in Alberta Beach, K-Park, Anne, Jeff, Alex, JJ Needs a Nap, and Michael sound off in The Flamethrower proudly presented by the DQs in Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park! FIRE UP YOUR FLAMETHROWER: talk@ryanjespersen.com WHEN YOU VIS...

This is a really big deal. As we record this episode, Ottawa and Alberta are closing in on an agreement that will see industrial carbon pricing rise more gradually (reportedly to $130 a tonne by 2040 instead of $170 by 2030). Industry says certainty matters. Investors say pricing matters. And politically? The timing is impossible to ignore. With separatist sentiment simmering and talk of a referen...

Alberta judge Shaina Leonard delivers a blow to the separatist movement, ruling petition organizers failed to consult First Nations whose treaty rights would be directly impacted by Alberta leaving Canada. Premier Danielle Smith immediately vows to appeal, suggesting the ruling is "undemocratic". Jespo leads off with a few thoughts (including the political calculus behind Smith's statement), and w...

Canada needs housing for 2050, not 1950. That's the message from more than 300 mayors and councillors with the Elbows Up for Climate coalition. What does building for 2050 actually mean? What does it cost? Are government and industry players both on board? We ask former Toronto mayor David Miller and Jasper mayor Richard Ireland in our feature interview (11:00) presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton...

Alleged data leaker David Parker is refusing to cooperate with Elections Alberta's investigation into the voter list breach. Furthermore, the Take Back Alberta and Centurion Project founder is rejecting a cease and desist letter from Alberta's chief electoral officer. What the hell? In our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West, we talk to three of the nearly 40 Alberta academi...

The head of CSIS, Canada's intelligence agency, says the upcoming Alberta referendum is "rife for disinformation and foreign interference". Are we equipped as a nation to address that? Supriya Dwivedi lays out what it all means in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West (4:30).  THIS EPISODE IS PRESENTED BY RapidEX FINANCIAL. THE CRYPTO WORLD MOVES FAST, BUT YOUR TRUST IN AN...

Real Talkers are FIRED UP as separatists exploit election laws to obtain and publicize Alberta’s voters list, exposing the personal information of nearly three million people. Gillian, Robert, Janice, Alberta Maverick, Jason, Marie, Scott, Brendan, Josef, Crystal and Kimm take centre stage in this edition of The Flamethrower proudly presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park. FIR...

Elections Alberta issues nearly 600 cease and desist letters to individuals who accessed Alberta's electors list without authorization. The fallout is intensifying scrutiny on actors linked to Alberta separatist circles and how voter data is being used nefariously. We get into the story (46:00) with an all-star panel of award-winning journalists - Amber Bracken, Jana Pruden, and Danielle Paradis -...

Brace yourself. Deputy Chief (Ret'd) Neil LeMay, a longtime RCMP major crimes investigator, shares hard truths (3:00) about the implications of a separatist group leaking Alberta's voters list, and the likelihood of an RCMP investigation producing anything substantial. This is an episode you'll want to stick with from start to finish. Feature interviews on Real Talk are presented by Mercedes-Benz...

Just when you thought the Alberta voter data leak story couldn't get any crazier, we find out the UCP president and a senior staffer are connected to the story, and the group in question - the Centurion Project - publicly doxxed former Alberta premier Jason Kenney. We hit the story head-on with National Post's Rahim Mohamed (10:30) in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West....

A massive data breach exposing the personal information of nearly three million Alberta voters is now fuelling political chaos, finger-pointing, and serious questions about public trust. Journalist Jen Gerson (7:00) argues the scandal has fundamentally undermined both Elections Alberta and the legitimacy of any push toward a separation referendum. She joins us in our feature interview presented by...

Millions of Albertans have been betrayed by bad actors fighting for separation. A major data breach involving Alberta’s voter registry is raising serious questions about privacy, security, and political extremism. Reports suggest a separatist group may have accessed and distributed sensitive personal information, potentially putting thousands of Albertans at risk. How did this happen, who’s respon...

Jim's gonna need some time to get over the Oilers' round one loss to Anaheim; Russ is piiiiiiiissed about Alberta separatists releasing confidential voter info; KP isn't sold on Mark Carney's new sovereign wealth fund; Debbie in Nova Scotia says we missed a biggie in our gerrymandering coverage; Dr. Harry says the UCP made an "unconscionable" decision on photo radar; and Laura's all for rebranding...

Mikael Colville-Andersen has worked in more than 100 cities around the world, "putting the 'f*ck you' back into urbanism". The Fort McMurray-born Copenhagen resident explains the f-bomb and brings fascinating insights on city design in times of crisis in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West (33:00).  But first... 6:00 | Minister Eleanor Olszewski talks major projects and...