The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia. Speaking in Washington on Tuesday, the U.S. administration continued to make their case that allowing Iran to continue their reign of terror was not an option. Mark Carney finally spoke to journalists afte...

Elias Makos is joined by Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. The OQLF will begin a Bonjour-Hi verification blitz in the coming months. War...

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Trudie Mason, veteran newscaster at CJAD 800. U.S. President Donald Trump says operations in Iran could take"four weeks or less," and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country's strikes "will increase even more in the coming days." ...

On this Friday edition of the BIG 5, Elias is joined by political analyst Karim Boulos 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. Dozens of Montreal school staff have been let go, suspended or resigned following the province’s expanded secularism bill a...

Elias Makos is joined by Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard says just the thought of a referendum is costing the Quebec government $20 million a year.  Pier...

Elias Makos is joined by Trudie Mason, veteran Newscaster here at CJAD 800, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor. A new poll out from Pallas Data, Qc125 and L’actualité this morning shows a neck and neck race in Quebec, with the PQ having a mere three-point lead over the new-and-improved Charles Milliard Liberals.  The province is getting very clo...

Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. The Parti Quebecois added another seat for their party at the National Assembly y...

Elias Makos begins the week with 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. Canada finished with 21 medals including 5 gold medals. It's the lowest number of medals since the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lak...

Elias is joined on this Friday edition of the BIG 5 by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS and Lea Streliski, Best-selling author, comedian and columnist The White House says it’s about to pull back the curtain on one of the most enduring mysteries in history. President Donald Trump is promising to declassify government files related to UFOs — or what the Pentagon now calls U...

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, 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. Massive reaction and pushback to the story we told you about yesterday - the Quebecker who was awarded $500 after...

Elias Makos is joined by Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor. Radio-Canada reports this morning that Quebec's Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a hair salon to pay $500 to a non-binary person for only offering “men’s” and women’s” haircut options. Quebec solidaire, slumping in t...

Elias Makos is joined by Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church. The Gallant Commission report on the SAAQclic fiasco was revealed yesterday.  Journal de Montreal has the story of a Quebec man who had a vasectomy at age 22 so that his girlfriend wou...

Elias Makos is joined by Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom The Quebec Liberal Party has welcomed Charles Milliard as its new leader, signaling a fresh start after months of uncertainty and controversy. The Supreme Court of Canada has annulled the federa...

Elias Makos is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. Today is the deadline to apply to be leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, and it's all but official – with no opposition, C...

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Trudie Mason, veteran newscaster at CJAD 800. We’re finding out more about the suspect in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge B.C.  The independent investigation into the Quebec Liberal Party fiasco was unveiled yesterday.  With indications that the Swiss bid to host the 2038 W...

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster. 10 people are dead and 25 others are injured following a mass shooting inside a B.C high school yesterday afternoon. The SPVM released its 2025 results yesterday, and Police Chief Fady Dagher says the data is clear: Montreal is safe. The United States hockey squad wi...

Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to “not allow” a new bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Mi...

Elias Makos is joined by Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Political analyst Karim Boulos. What does it say about Canadian culture that our number one TV event is a U.S. sporting event for a league that doesn’t have teams in Canada? The Globe and Mail is reporting this morning that Prime Minister Mark Carney and Onta...

Elias Makos caps off the week with Lea Streliski, Best-selling author, comedian and columnist, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. The federal government announced the return of purchase rebates for electric vehicles. Starting next week, the SAQ will sell a limited selection of U.S. wines and spirits online and at Dép&oc...

Elias Makos is joined by Lionel Perez, Former city councilor and former leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor. Robin des Ruelles – Robin of the alleys – says they are responsible for the Tuesday mass theft of goods from a Rachelle-Bery store.  Faced with the soaring price of subscriptions...

Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church. Men can refuse service from women at the SAAQ. The surprising news came out of the public hearings on Bill 9, the government’s effort to double down on secularism in Quebec. And sp...

Elias Makos is joined by Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 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 mayor of Montreal posted a video last night...

Elias Makos starts the week of with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Gabriel Retta, special advisor to the current mayor. Just about two weeks ago, we learned that the SAQ would start delivering booze with Uber Eats. Faced with a rise in shoplifting, the SAQ has increased its in-store surveillance spending to $1.7 million...

Elias Makos caps the week off with Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose steep tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft. The Business Council of Canada is questioning Prime Minister Mark Carney’s strategy on...

Elias makos 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. The trains don’t run. And they were down again this morning. Oh, and the elevators don’t work. Should we get a REM refund? In Trois-Rivieres, the police have launched a voluntary campaign to get citizens...