Full Comment is Canada’s podcast for compelling interviews, controversial opinions and fascinating discussions. Hosted by Brian Lilley. Published by Postmedia, ...
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 federal Liberal government snuck in the carbon tax and managed to convince everyone (even Conservatives!) that it was popular, effective and affordable — until a new Tory leader, Pierre Poilievre, exposed the lie. Now Carney wants a tougher business carbon tax claiming it’s necessary not for the environment, but for trade. And again, Terrazzano says, Liberals are hiding the truth about what it will really cost us all. (Recorded March 20, 2025)
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46:09
Liberals can win with Trump’s foreign interference
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 just added more with some cabinet picks — none of it may matter, they say. Climate-regulatory alarmism like Trudeau on steroids? Weak French? Soft on crime? Cosy with China? Carney can skate past all of it by calling an election soon, as long as Trump keeps threatening us and Liberals keep persuading voters Carney’s the right man to handle him. (Recorded March 14, 2025)
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53:42
Trump seems ready to settle this trade war
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 he gets the impression the Trump administration wants out of this Canadian trade war. But that doesn’t mean we’ll get back the free-trade world we had. So, he advises, Canada had better adapt to the dramatically changed economic and geopolitical reality and get a prime minister who can build our economy despite Trump (and Mark Carney isn’t it). (Recorded March 6, 2025)
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52:10
How Canada turned itself into a fentanyl playground
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 dissenter from the entrenched harm-reduction dogma of addiction treatment. Smith discusses with Brian how the fentanyl situation became so cataclysmic in Canada that our burgeoning drug exports are now aggravating Washington. Smith also explains how the Alberta model of enforced treatment, while getting serious about drug crime, is proof that the crisis can be turned around if governments are finally willing to take it seriously. (Recorded February 27, 2025)
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47:28
Why Doug Ford keeps steamrolling his Ontario election critics
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 columnists Chris Selley and Lorrie Goldstein, Ford’s tough-talking tariff campaign has only boosted his popularity. One reason they suggest Ford is winning could be that Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie and NDP Leader Marit Stiles can’t understand what voters see in the guy. But they also weigh whether voters have simply lost faith in idealistic politicians promising they can fix things, anymore. (Recorded February 21, 2025)
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Full Comment is Canada’s podcast for compelling interviews, controversial opinions and fascinating discussions. Hosted by Brian Lilley. Published by Postmedia, new episodes are released each Monday.
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