The Line Podcast

Hello, people of The Line . We recorded early again this week, as Jen is taking another trip — what a jetsetter! — so forgive us if anything wild happens between the recording date (May 23rd) and the publication date, the 24th.  Speaking of dates! We're only two weeks away from our event in Edmonton and tickets are starting to move fast as we get close. There are still some left, though, so we hop...

Hello, people of  The Line ! And a very happy long weekend to you all! Hail Queen Victoria! A few quick notes and then we'll get right into the latest episode of  The Line Podcast . We are not publishing a written dispatch this weekend ; as you'll see right at the start of the podcast, Jen is travelling. And Matt needs a few days off! So this podcast is gonna have to tide all you fantastic people...

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on May 10, 2024, the Line editors start with some goings-on in the GTA, after aspiring CPC candidate (and former National Post columnist) Sabrina Maddeaux this week announced that she was suspending her effort to win the nomination in a 905 riding because of what she alleges was inappropriate interference in the campaign by party officials. Jen...

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on May 3, 2024, Matt Gurney tells Jen Gerson about his visit to the encampment that has sprung up at the University of Toronto. He spends some time describing the scene, but then also goes into detail about what he saw there that he does find disturbing. The two also talk about their past experience covering other encampments, and Matt makes his...

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on April 26, 2024, your intrepid Line editors start by announcing their upcoming event in Edmonton . The official announcement went out on Thursday, but in case you missed it, we hope you can join us in Edmonton for conversation about future-proofing Canada. Jen and Matt will both be there in Alberta’s capital, along with our great panel of expe...

In this first-ever live recording of The Line Podcast , Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson took over Calgary’s The Plaza Theatre on April 19, 2024 to talk about the Liberals' penultimate budget, a document filled with class angst, intergenerational resentment, and bad ideas for pension plans. Then they talk about when a doctor's note is not adequate to prevent a public shaming for allegedly scoring $20 mi...

The Line has often spoken of the deteriorating global security situation, and what Canada must do to prepare. Much of our focus has been on defence and economics. But what about humanitarian projects? What is happening to the world's aid organizations, and the hundreds of millions of desperate people that rely on them, as conflicts rage and crises deepen across the globe? Line editor Matt Gurney h...

General Wayne Eyre served for decades in the Canadian Army, including as its commander, before being promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff in 2021. During his time as Canada's top soldier, he has overseen not only a series of challenges inside the Canadian military, but also a rapid deterioration in the geopolitical environment. The world is a more dangerous place, and Gen. Eyre has been unusuall...

How are Canada's conservatives feeling right now? Pretty good, it turns out. In this episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on April 12, 2024, Matt Gurney finds Jen Gerson in Ottawa, in the media room at the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference. (And be warned, listeners and viewers, because Jen is in the field, there's some background noise in this episode, especially when some people pro...

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on First Contact Day (April 5), 2024, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss Matt's column on former CPC leader Erin O'Toole's testimony before the Foreign Interference Commission, and a pretty nasty and revealing swipe that the PM made against O'Toole afterward. They also get into a much broader discussion about China's deep reach into many element...

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on March 29, 2024 — and happy Easter, everyone! — the dynamic Line  editing duo first start by indulging Matt in some pure speculation. He has a hunch that after months of getting their butts kicked, the Liberals, specifically Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, might be starting to find their fight again. It's too soon to say for sure, but they'll b...

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather has been one of the most outspoken supporters of Israel on the Liberal bench. Last week's NDP motion — roundly supported by his Liberal peers — has Housefather engaging in some serious soul searching about his future with the party. Will he cross the floor? Is he representative of a deeper political realignment? Why does he think the motion was "anti-Isreal"? Housefa...

Well, hello there, fans of The Line Podcast . Matt and Jen had almost too much to talk about this week, especially because breaking (and sad) news from Kensington Palace landed as they were recording. They'll get into that nearer the end, but they start with a discussion about Matt's column this week , in which he explains why he was wrong about Pierre Poilievre's electoral chances. The conversati...

In this episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on March 15th, 2024, Jen explains to Matt at surprising length the latest culture war flashpoint, based around “people with vaginas.” Having to contemplate this drives Matt into wishing that he was a majestic sea creature, simply living a peaceful life below the waves. They also discuss donuts. From there, they move onto how police in Canada seem dete...

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast , recorded on March 8, 2024, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss the Durham byelection results, which Matt doesn't think matter ... but that he does find interesting (and he suspects they'll be of interest over at Liberal Party HQ, too). The intrepid editors also gab about state-capacity issues in Canada, and the blunt comments made by Bill Blair about the...

In this week's The Line Podcast , recorded on March 1, 2024, Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney discuss evil, death and growing old. All cheerful stuff. First they offer quick thoughts and condolences on the passing of former prime minister Brian Mulroney. Then they delve into the Liberals' proposed Online Harms Act, and conclude that while most of it is reasonable and does attempt to deal with legitimate...

Oh yes, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre — ostensible defender of limited government and freedom — is coming for your goon caves. (Google it, if you have to, but not at work.) More specifically, the CPC leader is supporting bill S-210, which seeks to age-gate porn, blocking access by minors. Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney clash on the issue; both agree that this makes for terrible, albeit emotiona...

Hey, what’s this? Another podcast? What gives? Never fear, Line listeners — Gurney and Gerson will be back to their usual tricks on Friday. But we’ve been meaning to roll out an additional podcast for a while — less back-and-forth banter, more us just straight-up interviewing someone with genuine expertise in something that’s hot in the news. We were going to roll this out in a more formal way in...

This week's The Line Podcast , recorded on Feb. 16, 2014, sees Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson talk about federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault's bizarre statement promising no new federal funding for big new road projects. And, yes, we know that roads fall under provincial and municipal jurisdiction — as does housing, energy policy, health care, and a host of other issues in which the feds do...

We start talking about the big interview this week, agree it could have had value, but then wonder if the American provocateur still wishes he’d done it. We doubt it, but The Line 's Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney talk about the goomba anyway. Then the pair discuss Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sticking to his guns by once again opposing a free trade deal with Ukraine on some dubious carbon tax...

This week in The Line Podcast , your Line editors are forced to talk about trans issues, which they absolutely hate doing, thanks to a series of proposals made by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Smith could have simply done as Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are doing, and that would have been meat for her socially conservative base. But she went further. The proposals will certainly be popular, bu...

This week in The Line Podcast , Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson chat about Tucker Carlson's visit to Alberta — or as Liberals put it, the visit of a homophobic hate monger whose presence evokes the threat of violence by MAGA far-right Conservatives. We deem all of this stupid, and expect more stupidity. So much more. Then they chat about Durham Conservative Candidate Jamil Jivani, and what Prime Minist...

We're back! After a refreshing holiday, The Line Podcast 's Jen Gerson and Matt Gurney are together again to discuss the state of play in Canadian politics. Have the Liberals under Justin Trudeau bottomed out? Why can't they seem to secure a comeback — Gerson thinks she knows: it's because everybody's broke, and the Liberals are fixated on electric vehicles, plastic bags, and carbon taxes.  The Li...

In this week's The Line Podcast , Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson discuss the UN ceasefire vote, and compare it to the previous request for ceasefire with conditions, and the Liberal government's insistence that the UN ceasefire vote wasn't a vote for Hamas because, really, what even is a ceasefire anyway? Canadian representative to the UN Bob Rae knew what was up when he issued his vote and then said,...

In this week's The Line Podcast , Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson talk about Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek's bizarre decision to publicly abstain from a civic menorah lighting ceremony because a poster advertising the event said it would be about "unity, supporting Israel, and Jewish Pride." Could her decision have been handled any more incompetently? No! Then G2 whine about Pierre Poilievre's penchant fo...