Best Fullcomment Podcasts (2025)

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BEST OF 2025: How a few rich dairy farmers are sabotaging Canada’s big, beautiful trading future 56:51

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2d ago56:51

56:51

Over the holidays, we’re looking back at some of the best episodes of 2025. As in July, Canada’s restricted dairy market was recently raised again by U.S. officials who say it stands in the way of ending disputes and settling trade deals. This summer, Brian spoke with Martha Hall Findlay about how Ottawa’s refusal to liberate our globally detested …

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Carney helps Chinese interference make a comeback 49:33

9d ago49:33

49:33

All the hostage-taking, election meddling and spy rings are being swept aside by a Liberal Prime Minister who, like the last one, seems only too eager to cozy up to China. That’s what Brian discusses with Charles Burton, former diplomat to China, who has a new book: The Beaver and the Dragon: How China Out-Manoeuvred Canada's Diplomacy, Security, a…

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Say hello to pro-pipeline First Nations in B.C. 39:06

16d ago39:06

39:06

Listen to the premier of B.C., or the CBC, or the Association of First Nations and you’d think that Indigenous groups on the West Coast are determined to stop a new oil pipeline from Alberta. As MP Ellis Ross, former chief councillor of the Haisla Nation near Kitimat, tells Brian, a lot of First Nations are open to the opportunity for resource deve…

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No Western country seriously wants Ukraine to win 44:07

23d ago44:07

44:07

The Trump administration has been lambasted for its proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war given its generosity to Moscow — yet Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he’s willing to build from it. As Matthew Bondy discusses with Brian, Kyiv has few options but to encourage America to step in and end the brutal, nearly four-year war, despite the d…

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Liberals are playing silly games with the military again 53:40

1M ago53:40

53:40

Canada’s reputation for politically driven flip-flopping over important military purchases is getting bad, especially given Ottawa’s plans to dramatically beef up our forces. But here we go again: the Liberals, after cancelling the purchase of the F-35 next-generation fighter jet, then reversing years later, are considering cancelling again to spit…

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Conservatives lived through this same party drama before and emerged victorious 51:12

1M ago51:12

51:12

The federal Conservatives were still licking their wounds from the Liberals’ recent minority election victory when they were rocked by a stunning and dispiriting floor-crossing. And they failed to stop the government from passing its budget by a razor-thin margin. That was 20 years ago, as Ian Brodie, former chief of staff to prime minister Stephen…

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Mark Carney shoots blanks, again 47:45

1M ago47:45

47:45

He promised a historic budget. He warned of big sacrifices. He said he had a vision. But what Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered was not much more than a big-spending, big-government Trudeau-style plan, with a bit less hostility to business and some long-overdue military funding, as Tasha Kheiriddin and Stuart Thomson, curators of Postmedia’s Pol…

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Cautionary tales from a refugee of NDP and Green party ecopolitics 48:53

2M ago48:53

48:53

From Elizabeth May’s permanent iron grip on the Green party; to Jagmeet Singh’s self-destructive Liberal alliance; and the sabotaging of NDP campaigns by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein’s “leap manifesto”: Mark Leiren-Young, a committed environmentalist, saw all of it from a front-row seat. He had worked to help elect the politicians he thought were comm…

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The epic trolling behind Trump’s ad-trashing trade tantrum 51:52

2M ago51:52

51:52

Did Republican icon Ronald Reagan detest tariffs or love them? For President Donald Trump and his fiercely loyal army of acolytes, the answer is whatever the president says. As Brian discusses with Postmedia political columnists Lorne Gunter and Chris Selley, there’s no reason to be surprised that Trump blew up trade talks over an ad being run by O…

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Why Carney is blowing trade talks with Trump 43:19

2M ago43:19

43:19

The elbows are down, the prime minister is backslapping President Donald Trump, but America’s tariffs just keep coming, and hurting Canada more. The ugly truth is that Ottawa’s been foundering in trade talks with the White House, as former diplomat to the U.S., Louise Blaise, and former trade minister Ed Fast discuss with Brian this week from the B…

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How Qatar supports terrorists and still enjoys vast western influence 1:00:30

2M ago1:00:30

1:00:30

It’s a major backer of Hamas. It’s an ally of the United States. It has alienated Arab neighbours and spreads toxic propaganda through Al Jazeera but maintains relations with Israel. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the enigmatic Qatar has been a linchpin in negotiations over the war in Gaza. Brian talks to two guests about how this tiny, gas-rich emirate has t…

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The many deceptions of the Liberals’ gun ‘buyback’ 56:05

3M ago56:05

56:05

The public safety minister admitted his government’s sweeping plan to confiscate thousands of previously legal gun models with a “buyback” is badly flawed. But as Ian Runkle, a lawyer specializing in firearms law, tells Brian, it’s far more troubling than that. Ottawa plans to recreate a form of the hated gun registry that it abandoned long ago. An…

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It’s now thinkable that Carney and co. don’t want Israel to win 1:08:23

3M ago1:08:23

1:08:23

No military in history has been as careful as Israel to minimize civilian casualties in war. And no country has been criticized for it like Israel has — including by Canada. That’s the assessment of guests Richard Kemp and John Spencer, former military men and two of the highest authorities on urban warfare. They explain to Brian the groundbreaking…

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Carney’s high-flying promises come crashing back to earth 1:00:28

3M ago1:00:28

1:00:28

When he was elected, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a trade deal with President Donald Trump, a blaze of new major infrastructure projects and a return to affordable middle-class home ownership. Today, Canadian and American trade negotiating teams are barely speaking, the only prioritized projects recently announced were already in the works, …

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Think runaway immigration is being fixed? Think again 49:54

3M ago49:54

49:54

The Liberals claim they’ve stopped the flood of temporary workers, foreign students and other immigrants that blew up our housing crisis and devastated the youth job market. Michelle Rempel Garner, the Conservatives’ immigration critic, tells Brian that the reality is nothing close to what they say. Five-million people remain here on temporary visa…

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Don’t let police take away your right to self-defence 55:23

4M ago55:23

55:23

What can you do when someone attacks you or your family? After recent high-profile, violent home invasions, police have made it seem like you need to give up and not fight back. That’s wrong, as criminal lawyer Solomon Friedman tells Brian. Friedman explains how the power to defend yourself, your home and others, including killing an assailant if i…

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The rich, populist Republican radical who paved the way for Trump 54:09

4M ago54:09

54:09

The U.S. Republican party today isn’t what it used to be. But the evolution toward President Donald Trump’s MAGA-ism began decades ago when William F. Buckley launched a revolution on the American right. As Buckley’s official biographer Sam Tanenhaus tells Brian, the late conservative icon was a lot like Trump: a media-savvy wealthy elite who rebel…

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They crushed our rights for COVID. We still haven’t won them back 49:05

4M ago49:05

49:05

We all know governments used the pandemic as rationale for stripping away basic Charter rights, even if some think it was justified. John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, remains at the forefront in fighting to get them back. He has a new book out, Corrupted by Fear: How the Charter was betrayed and what Canadian…

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The man who saved Canada’s Conservatives from political irrelevance 51:10

4M ago51:10

51:10

Before Pierre Poilievre, before Brian Mulroney, there was one leader who made federal conservatives an electoral force to be reckoned with. Before John Diefenbaker, Canada had begun to resemble a Liberal one-party state. Bob Plamondon, author of the new book Freedom Fighter: John Diefenbaker's Battle for Canadian Liberties and Independence, talks w…

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Putin is fighting to stave off Russia’s looming collapse 52:29

5M ago52:29

52:29

A lot of people in the West misunderstand the motives of Russian president Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine. As Andrew Natsios, editor of the new book Russia Under Putin, tells Brian, we won’t understand the war unless we understand demographics. Russia’s population is cratering; the largest country by land mass is rapidly depopulating and…

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Mark Carney falls right into a Hamas trap 48:04

5M ago48:04

48:04

For two years, Hamas has used the suffering of Palestinians to manipulate global opinion. As Brian discusses with this week’s guests, it worked: The Hamas-engineered hunger crisis in Gaza has prompted Canada, with France and the U.K., to recognize a Palestinian state based on unenforceable conditions like democratic elections and Hamas relinquishin…

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Canada’s justice system is bringing itself into disrepute 49:43

5M ago49:43

49:43

One-day sentences for aiding and abetting the Islamic State terror group, a few short years for murder, but possibly more if you’re an anti-vaccine trucker: these stories and loads of others from recent Canadian court cases seem to be undermining the public’s faith in our justice system. Brian chats with Postmedia columnists Jamie Sarkonak and Chri…

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How Canadian fentanyl smuggling to the U.S. really works and who’s behind it 45:52

5M ago45:52

45:52

Between President Donald Trump claiming there’s a flood of fentanyl from Canada to the U.S., and people here insisting there’s almost none, the truth is elusive. A new American report gets to the bottom of what’s really going on, and its author, Jonathan Caulkins, talks to Brian about what he found. Specializing in crime systems, the professor from…

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We have no idea what our federal leaders stand for anymore 55:27

5M ago55:27

55:27

We’ve lost sight of where Prime Minister Mark Carney is pointing his elbows as U.S. President Donald Trump keeps smacking Canada with more economic threats. Brian talks this week about Carney’s erratic political shapeshifting with Conservative adviser Ginny Roth and veteran Liberal adviser Warren Kinsella, and asks: Is our new prime minister emergi…

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How a few rich dairy farmers are sabotaging Canada’s big, beautiful trading future 55:43

6M ago55:43

55:43

For a moment it seemed all Canadians understood that, facing President Donald Trump’s tariff war, we had to make our economy as resilient and competitive as possible. As Martha Hall Findlay discusses with Brian, there was finally talk of ending Ottawa’s war on oil and gas, building infrastructure and boosting productivity. The government even yanke…

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Iran’s ‘mafia’ regime won’t be giving up that easily 42:11

6M ago42:11

42:11

Make no mistake: the blows that Israel and America delivered to the Islamic tyrants in Tehran were in many ways crippling. As Kaveh Shahrooz, an Iranian-born Mideast analyst and human rights activist, tells Brian this week, the devastating targeted assassinations of nuclear scientists and military leaders indicate Israel has infiltrated the regime …

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How Canada got on the wrong side in the war against Iran 52:33

6M ago52:33

52:33

As the Islamic Republic’s missiles rain down on the Jewish state, and with massive U.S. attacks against Iran’s nuclear sites ratcheting up the war, Brian talks to two Canadians living under fire as they frantically duck in and out of bomb shelters. Postmedia columnist Adam Zivo has been stuck in Israel, unable to get out, while former Canadian amba…

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What cops ‘covered up’ about the Nova Scotia massacre 51:58

6M ago51:58

51:58

There are many lingering questions about the two-day killing spree by Gabriel Wortman that killed 22 people in 2020 in Nova Scotia, even after a joint federal/provincial commission wrapped up its inquiry. Investigative journalist Paul Palango joins Brian to discuss why he thinks all signs point to RCMP covering up that Wortman was working undercove…

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Canada’s on the brink of trade peace with Trump 41:09

7M ago41:09

41:09

Don’t call it a done deal until it’s done, but America’s ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, tells Brian this week that negotiations between Ottawa and President Donald Trump’s administration are making progress. He explains why he believes things are moving quickly in the right direction to settle the trade war between our two countries. Hoekstra…

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Carney projects calm but he’s facing serious trouble 54:38

7M ago54:38

54:38

With the King opening Parliament, and a disciplined agenda, the prime minister modelled a poised and assured break from his unserious predecessor while sending a message to the world about Canadian sovereignty. That’s the verdict of Postmedia’s politics columnist John Ivison and parliamentary bureau chief Stuart Thomson, who join Brian to discuss t…

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Making our streets unsafe for Jews is part of the plan 45:00

7M ago45:00

45:00

Jews get arrested in Toronto for standing up to Hamas cheerleaders; Judaic students hide their identity while public school teachers extol Islam; progressives, along with media and politicians, compare Israel to Nazis and cast Palestinians as blameless martyrs. These are among the reasons Brendan O’Neill, author of After the Pogrom: 7 October, Isra…

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Mark Carney has already started seriously harming the economy 57:21

7M ago57:21

57:21

He won last month’s election for the Liberals promising he had a plan to protect Canada’s economy from the predations of the American president. But since returning to Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney has sent alarming signals to business and scaring off badly needed capital investment, as economist and professor Ian Lee tells Brian this week. Th…

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It’s not just Alberta flirting with western separatism now 47:37

8M ago47:37

47:37

Torn at for nine years by the divisive Trudeau Liberals, Canadian unity is seriously frayed, with Alberta now preparing for a possible secession referendum. In this episode, Brian talks with Reform Party founder Preston Manning, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and longtime Liberal pollster Dan Arnold to get a sense of how dire the situation has bec…

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Poilievre built a new Conservative party. He’ll need to build another 56:12

8M ago56:12

56:12

The big election surprise was that Conservatives can do so well and still lose. Leader Pierre Poilievre created a new Tory coalition, sweeping up working-class NDPers and anti-establishment People’s Party voters, as Brian discusses with Tasha Kheiriddin and Stuart Thomson from Postmedia’s Political Hack newsletter. But Poilievre now needs even more…

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The Conservatives’ post-election power struggle has begun 47:19

8M ago47:19

47:19

Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party, with the campaign’s momentum and tightening polls, could yet declare victory in the federal election. But the party infighting that started early in the campaign already has some sniffing around a potential leadership change, as the Political Hack newsletter’s Tasha Kheiriddin and Stuart Thomson discuss with B…

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Say hello to the new Liberal-NDP alliance 53:57

8M ago53:57

53:57

If there’s anyone other than U.S. President Donald Trump who can take credit for helping the Liberals try to hang onto power, it’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. After years protecting the Liberal government from falling in the House, Singh spent last week’s debates inexplicably assisting Liberal Leader Mark Carney, as Brian discusses with Tasha Kheirid…

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Bonus episode: Pierre Poilievre gets personal 41:36

8M ago41:36

41:36

In a rare, casual interview Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre talks to Brian about what it’s been like campaigning for an election with his wife and kids, what he thinks about people saying he’s too “angry,” and what he does to stay in shape during the race. He also discusses what he makes of provincial conservatives in Ontario publicly criticiz…

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Mark Carney’s brittle image is cracking 54:32

8M ago54:32

54:32

The latest questions about his support from China and his corporate tax dodging have had Mark Carney stumbling and snapping at reporters, even suspending his campaign to seek refuge in the image-friendly prime minister’s office. But the bigger question is whether he can avoid fumbling his front-runner status in the last two weeks of the campaign, a…

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The Conservative gains the Liberal-led polls could be missing 57:58

9M ago57:58

57:58

Things are happening in the election campaigns behind the headlines that may reveal a different version of what’s showing up in the polls. Stuart Thomson and Tasha Kheiriddin, the team behind Political Hack, Postmedia’s politics insider newsletter, join Brian to talk about some of the challenges inside Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s campaign, which S…

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Conservatives are caught in a perfect electoral storm, but aren’t blown away yet 51:41

9M ago51:41

51:41

In any other election the kind of poll numbers Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are putting up would be cause for celebration. And their campaign so far has been perfectly executed, as Stuart Thomson and Tasha Kheiriddin from Postmedia’s Political Hack newsletter discuss with Brian this week. Meanwhile Liberal Leader Mark Carney has stumbled and un…

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We’re still being deceived about the carbon tax 44:09

9M ago44:09

44:09

It’s finally dead… or is it? New Liberal Leader Mark Carney reduced the carbon-tax rate to zero before calling an election, but as Franco Terrazzano tells Brian, there are still questions about what Canadians will pay. Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, is author of the new book Axing the Tax. He discusses how the f…

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Liberals can win with Trump’s foreign interference 51:42

9M ago51:42

51:42

Canada’s crucial relationship with the U.S. is in its worst crisis ever. And Mark Carney’s first urgent trip as prime minister is … to Europe. Brian talks with John Ivison and Lorne Gunter this week to assess Carney’s first curious moves as the newly selected Liberal leader. But while Carney’s already saddled with loads of negative baggage — and ju…

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Trump seems ready to settle this trade war 50:10

10M ago50:10

50:10

Shock and awe followed by erratic moves is how Donald Trump is used to negotiating, as historian, businessman and Postmedia columnist Conrad Black (who occasionally speaks with the president) tells Brian this week. Trump is determined to end the era of other countries picking America’s pocket in myriad ways and is using tariffs to do it. Black says…

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How Canada turned itself into a fentanyl playground 45:28

10M ago45:28

45:28

If you want a thriving fentanyl trade in your country, attracting heavily armed cartels, super labs, and a large and growing market of users subsidized by the government and unimpeded by law enforcement, just do everything Canada’s been doing. So says Marshall Smith, former chief of staff to the Alberta premier, a former addict, and a prominent dis…

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Why Doug Ford keeps steamrolling his Ontario election critics 55:29

10M ago55:29

55:29

They said his calling an early provincial election was hubris, and yet Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford may win an even bigger majority on Feb. 27. They scoffed when he claimed a vote was needed to fight U.S. tariffs, but that turned out to be all Ontarians were thinking about. And, as Brian discusses this week with Postmedia’s Ontario col…

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Here in Washington, the Trump vs. Canada reality isn’t what we think 44:35

10M ago44:35

44:35

The premiers blitzing the U.S. capital wasn’t the pointless fiasco reports made it out to be, and President Trump’s plan for Canada may not really about tariffs or fentanyl. In this special episode, Brian reports from the ground in Washington, D.C. where he interviews Canadian provincial and business leaders who were there and hears about their act…

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Why Trump isn’t just joking about taking over Canada anymore 29:43

11M ago29:43

29:43

It might seem unbelievable, but some Americans, including President Donald Trump, really think it’s possible that Canada, or parts of it, might join the U.S.A. Joel Pollak, California-based editor for Breitbart News and author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, tells Brian that the president’s unexpected, confrontational tar…

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Trump has already changed everything in the Middle East 55:22

11M ago55:22

55:22

It’s the deal no one thought they wanted and one the Biden administration couldn’t get done. Then Donald Trump showed up, sending his envoy Steve Witkoff to force it through. Soon, the hostages starting coming home, in their tortured bodies, telling their unspeakable stories. As Vivian Bercovici tells Brian from Israel, where she was formerly Canad…

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The reason Trump plans to crush Canada that our politicians just don’t get 51:56

11M ago51:56

51:56

It’s not just about tariffs. If you examine what the America First advisers around Trump really think, you’ll understand their determination to undertake a sweeping overhaul of the global economic system — and why they’re starting with Canada. Brian’s guests this week, trade researcher Carlo Dade, from the Canada West Foundation, and Ian Lee, publi…

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The dirty fight shaping up between Carney and Freeland 52:30

11M ago52:30

52:30

Was a photo of Mark Carney with Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend leaked by Chrystia Freeland’s team? Who sent the Rolls Royce to Carney’s campaign launch event? Is Karina Gould’s candidacy just a strategy to undermine Freeland? Brian talks with Liberal strategists Sharan Kaur, who worked inside the Trudeau government, and Kieran McMurchy, consultant at…