The Breach Show

Almost two weeks into the Canadian federal election, Mark Carney’s Liberals have consolidated their lead—but a Conservative victory shouldn’t be ruled out just yet. Desmond Cole and Martin Lukacs discuss Carneymania and the quiet strength of the Conservatives, and get up to speed with campaign promises on housing, energy, and taxes. _________________________________________________________________...

A recent Housing Justice Convergence in Montreal brought together organizers, policy experts, funders, and housing advocacy groups from across Canada.  For this episode, we’re rebroadcasting the keynote panel, facilitated by The Breach’s Dru Oja Jay.  Featuring housing activists Chiara Padovani and John Clarke, and economist Ricardo Tranjan, the panel explores what it takes to build a winning hous...

A recent court ruling found the RCMP breached land defender Molly Wickham’s Charter rights—but still upheld her criminal conviction for blocking the CGL pipeline. Wickham sits down with Desmond Cole to discuss Canada’s colonial courts, police violence, and what she’s learned from a decade of land defense. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more p...

Mark Carney is selling himself as a pragmatic outsider who can rescue the Liberals—and maybe even beat the Conservatives. But behind the polished image and steady-hand rhetoric is the same old agenda: cuts, pipelines, and corporate giveaways. Journalist David Moscrop joins host Donya Ziaee to break down how Carney is rebranding failed ideas as fresh solutions—and who stands to benefit. Read Moscro...

With Ontario facing a snap election, we take a deep dive into more than six years of austerity and free market fundamentalism under Doug Ford.  Desmond Cole is joined by Bryan Evans, co-editor of Against the People: How Ford Nation is Dismantling Ontario , to break down the Ford playbook and unpack the damage done. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to h...

As Trump’s tariff threats loom, trade expert Stuart Trew talks to host Donya Ziaee about what Canadian workers should be prepared for, how the corporate elite are exploiting the crisis, and how the Left can seize on the moment to push for more progressive change. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining mem...

El Jones speaks to Martin Lukacs about her recent trip to the occupied West Bank, where her delegation visited with scholars, journalists, artists, and communities engaged in non-violent resistance to Israeli apartheid. Writing by Budour Hassan here . _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining member at ⁠http...

Desmond Cole and Martin Lukacs reflect on Justin Trudeau’s almost decade in power, from the initial psychic relief of Conservative Stephen Harper’s ousting to the grim accumulation of symbolic Liberal postures and assists to Canada’s corporate elite. Plus, what Justin deserves real credit for. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like...

In the wake of Chrystia Freeland’s explosive departure from the Liberal cabinet, Martin Lukacs and El Jones discuss the establishment media’s infatuation with Ottawa’s palace intrigue and what the future for a hobbled Trudeau government might look like. Plus, we answer listener questions just in time for the holidays. _________________________________________________________________________ Want t...

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish recently generated headlines when she stepped down from her local police services board, calling the city’s escalating police budget “out of control.” Desmond Cole visits her office to discuss her resignation and the alternatives to policing. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a s...

It was a big week for the military-industrial complex in Canada, with the west’s war-making establishment convening in Halifax for the annual International Security Forum (then hopping over to Montreal for a NATO summit).  El Jones fills Martin Lukacs in on her attempts to report on the Security Forum, where the hand towels were plush, the security uptight, and the drumbeat for increased Canadian...

Independent journalist Duncan Kinney of Progress Report was charged with mischief for allegedly spraypainting two monuments dedicated to Nazis and their collaborators—a charge he says the Edmonton Police have used to surveil and silence him. Kinney sits down with Desmond Cole to discuss his case.  To donate to Kinney's legal fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/duncan-kinney-legal-defense-fund ___...

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, sits down with Desmond Cole to discuss Canada’s ‘crystal clear’ complicity in the Israeli destruction of Gaza and the ‘hope that remains in this darkness.’ _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining member at ⁠h...

As Americans hit the polls next Tuesday, El Jones and Martin Lukacs hash out the U.S. election campaign, the folly of pandering to the right, neoliberal identity politics, the implications for Palestine, the threat of Trump, and their respective halloween costumes. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining m...

With a potential Pierre Poilievre Conservative government on the horizon, Martin Lukacs, Anjali Appadurai, Syed Hussan, Judy Rebick, and Laura Walton discuss how to organize in the face of a surging right. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining member at ⁠https://breachmedia.ca/support-us/ ⁠ An hour of yo...

El Jones and Martin Lukacs discuss the worst and weirdest examples of the crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement in Canada over the past year—and how to understand why it has been so severe and widespread. Plus: why the elite are worried about Canadians identifying as “settlers.” _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?...

El Jones and Martin Lukacs dissect a viral confrontation NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had with far-right wing protesters on Parliament Hill—and unlike everyone else, they’re not cheering. Plus: the crisis management firm that defends the “rich and guilty.” _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining member at ⁠htt...

Tenant rights organizer Chiara Padovani joins The Breach Show to discuss how a Canadian mega landlord is using algorithmic software as it massively hikes rents. The software maker is being sued by the U.S. government for allegedly enabling landlords to collude to artificially inflate rental prices. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts...

Organizer Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change joins The Breach Show to talk about the uptick in immigrant bashing, the bipartisan project to exploit migrant labour, a Liberal backtrack on a historic plan to give status to undocumented people—and why anti-racism is the only way to stop all workers from getting divided and ruled . __________________________________________________...

Canadian doctors Yipeng Ge and Ben Thomson join The Breach’s Brishti Basu to discuss what they witnessed during humanitarian trips to Gaza. Soon after returning, they got surprise emails: international lawyers wanted their testimony to build a war crimes case against Israel. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a su...

Professor Jemima Pierre dissects Canada’s participation in a 20-year debacle of military occupations and failed elections in Haiti. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining member at ⁠https://breachmedia.ca/support-us/ ⁠ An hour of your wages each month will fuel independent and progressive journalism, free...

The pharmacare bill is a breakthrough—and while it doesn’t cover enough medications, it gets the universal public framework right. Dr. Nav Persaud joins Donya Ziaee to discuss how corporate interests fought it bitterly—and will try to derail its expansion. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Become a sustaining member at...

This week, Emma Paling sits down with Alex Cosh of The Maple to discuss his exclusive story on Canada’s weapons exports to Israel.  As Cosh explains, it’s not just Liberal doublespeak that makes it hard to nail down the details of Canada’s weapons exports. Canada’s system has structural features that make it impossible to know exactly how many goods made here end up in the hands of the Israeli mil...

Trans activist Celeste Trianon sits down with Katia Lo Innes to discuss Alberta’s new anti-trans policies. Danielle Smith’s new gender identity bill is the most extreme anti-trans law that has been proposed in Canada. It bans puberty blockers for children under the age of 15 and outright bars trans girls and women from sports. Trianon breaks down how we got here, why these policies are becoming mo...

The Canadian government's response to the ICJ ruling on Israel's genocide in Gaza exposes its "egregious double standards" towards the Palestinians. International law expert Mark Kersten joins Martin Lukacs to dissect the historic decision from the UN’s top court. _________________________________________________________________________ Want to hear more podcasts like this?  Beco...