Carney projects calm but he’s facing serious trouble
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 the first week of Mark Carney’s re-elected government. Now, the easy part is over. Despite promises to cut spending, new estimates show bureaucracy out of control. President Trump has revived his “51st state” ultimatum, using missile defence as a cudgel. And provincial premiers are circling with demands in advance of a first ministers’ meeting. The panel runs through all the hard stuff for Carney that’s just getting started. (Recorded May 30, 2025)
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56:38
Making our streets unsafe for Jews is part of the plan
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, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation, tells Brian why he thinks the West has been successfully taken over by people who hate our society, heritage and values. He explains how they’ve weaponized the fight against Islamophobia to return us to an era where antisemitism is systemic. And they’ve made it fashionable again to persecute Jews as the scapegoat for all the world’s ills. (Recorded May 8, 2025)
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47:00
Mark Carney has already started seriously harming the economy
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. The Liberal government’s decision to avoid tabling a budget makes it seem like there actually is no plan, Lee says. Meanwhile, comments from Carney’s cabinet that they’re wavering on a new oil export pipeline suggest that the country will be just as unwelcoming to resource development as the last one. Now, it’s looking like the man elected to reverse Canada’s long-running decline might just instead make it worse. (Recorded May 16, 2025)
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59:21
It’s not just Alberta flirting with western separatism now
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 become. Manning explains that the separatist sentiment isn’t just in Alberta but spread across much of the West and even parts of the North. And all three warn that the threat needs to be taken seriously. They also consider the opportunity Prime Minister Mark Carney has with a fresh mandate to begin repairing the fractures if he’s genuinely willing to. But if he isn't, the nation is in serious danger. (Recorded May 9, 2025)
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49:37
Poilievre built a new Conservative party. He’ll need to build another
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 to beat the Liberals — which means building bridges with moderate conservatives he’s shunned. That likely includes people in the laptop class, like those in Carleton who voted him out of his long-held seat, and provincial Tories (even the antagonistic Doug Ford). The panel also considers who’ll lead the NDP now; why President Donald Trump’s warming to Mark Carney; and whether Carney will ever get warm with the West. (Recorded May 2, 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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