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…

King Charles delivered Canada’s throne speech, emphasizing sovereignty after U.S. annexation comments. Catherine Levesque breaks down his message, the Carney government’s priorities, and what’s ahead in the short spring session. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Postmedia

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…

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…

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government are charting a new course after a surprise election win, but his cabinet choices and decision not to table a budget have raised questions. National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin joins the show to discuss the key challenges ahead, Carney’s cabinet, and what the lack of a budget means for Canadi…

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…

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…

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…

Is Canada really getting it right? Tristin Hopper joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss his new book on where the country may be falling short—and what it means for the federal election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Postmedia

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…

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…

With election day nearing, party leaders gear up for debates. Chris Nardi joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how Carney and Poilievre differ, debate expectations, and the NDP's position. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Postmedia

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…

A Montreal Gazette investigation shows a program meant for Francophone cooperation has been funding tuition for non-French-speaking foreign students, while Quebec raises fees for out-of-province English students. Reporter Andy Riga discusses the program’s purpose, the students' origins, and its cost to taxpayers. Learn more about your ad choices. V…

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…

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…

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…

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…

A college in Tennessee is set to become the first historically Black institution to ice an NCAA Division 1 hockey team. Tennessee State University, which counts among its alum TV icon Oprah Winfrey and Olympian Wilma Rudolph, has more than a dozen players committed to the program, including a number of Canadians. National Post contributor Allen Abe…

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…

Fentanyl has become a dominant street drug in Canada, claiming thousands of lives. Recently, it has also been used by U.S. President Donald Trump to justify tariffs on Canadian exports. How did it get to this point? National Post reporter Tom Blackwell joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the factors behind fentanyl's rise, the growth of labs in Cana…

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…

Ontario PC leader Doug Ford is nearing a third term after calling a snap election. Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss how U.S. President Trump's threats, including tariffs, have overshadowed other issues in the campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

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…

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…

Canadian politicians, aiming to avoid a trade war amid U.S. tariff threats, have met with White House officials and appointed a 'fentanyl czar.' National Post's Catherine Levesque joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss these efforts and their potential impact on President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

For two decades, Afghan women had freedom. Then everything changed in an instant with the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021 amid the withdrawal of Western troops. Ehsanullah Amiri, the 2024 recipient of Postmedia’s Michelle Lang Fellowship, joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the conditions under which women now live in Afghanistan, what th…

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…

Canada's response to Trump’s trade war threats and the carve-out for Canadian energy has put Alberta’s oilpatch in the spotlight. While Alberta’s oil faced less impact from tariffs, the threat remains a major concern. Calgary Herald columnist Chris Varcoe joins Dave Breakenridge to discuss the potential impact on Alberta’s economy and key industrie…

Canada received a temporary reprieve from U.S. tariffs after committing to border security and drug policy changes. National Post reporter Stephanie Taylor joins the show to discuss the agreements and Canada’s new drug strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Postmedia

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…

Marie-Josée Hogue, head of the foreign interference inquiry, has delivered her final report, making sweeping recommendations for the federal government, while asserting that, despite allegations of some MPs possibly being foreign agents, there is no evidence of traitors in Ottawa, as discussed by National Post politics reporter Chris Nardi with Dav…

The question in Ontario politics is whether a trade war over Trump’s tariffs will boost Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives’ majority, as he calls a snap election, with Bryan Passifiume and Dave Breakenridge discussing Ford’s strategy and opposition reactions. Background reading:Premier Doug Ford confirms he’s calling snap Ontario election …

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…

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…

Is Donald Trump set to try to annex Canada? Or is he trolling us in the worst possible way. Truly only he knows at this point, but it has raised somewhat of a sovereignty crisis in this country. Carson Jerema, National Post’s comment editor, joins the show to discuss what Trump could be angling for, how our leaders have responded, and what the poli…