Full Comment

There’s no such thing as “associate membership” in the European Union and nobody knows what it means, but Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposal for it has proven to be a dazzling distraction as he flounders in a trade war with the U.S. Brian talks this week with Anand Menon, an EU studies specialist based in England, and Carlo Dade, international policy director at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. Menon details the formidable challenges and hazards of Canada trying to displace North American trade with Europe, and why it probably won’t happen, although he says there is room for improved co-operation. And while Carney’s idea is dubious and of questionable benefit, Dade explains why he thinks we might not have much choice but to try it. (Recorded September 17, 2026)

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It’s a tough time to be a federal Tory. The polls are demoralizing. Some MPs are quitting and some are going rogue. And the worse things get for Canada, the more voters seem to support the Liberals. As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre prepares for a caucus retreat this week, Brian spoke with Ian Brodie, former chief of staff to Stephen Harper, and Ginny Roth, who helped run Poilievre’s leadership campaign. They offer their ideas on how Poilievre can reposition himself in this weird, new era of jingoistic anti-American nationalism that Prime Minister Mark Carney has boosted into a winning brand. And, just as importantly, how he can reinvigorate his party and reassert the control he once commanded over his caucus — before his problems get bigger. (Recorded September 10, 2026)
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Postmedia’s Political Hack team Tasha Kheiriddin and Stuart Thomson join Brian to assess the political spin contest over the collapse of U.S.-Canada trade talks. Despite economic damage, they discuss why neither side has an incentive to make a deal. Prime Minister Mark Carney just crushed three byelections, securing his majority and grinding down the Conservatives — and there are several more coming up. And they explain how President Donald Trump’s strategy is to use the trade war as an excuse to deflect voter discontent in the upcoming congressional midterms, while continuing to divide Canadians. The only question for both is how long they can politically gain from the pain of closed businesses and job losses until voters won’t stand for it anymore. (Recorded September 4, 2026)
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Things that divide us cannot possibly unite us. That much would seem obvious, but as Étienne-Alexandre Beauregard tells Brian, society has for decades now prioritized hyper-individualism and promoted multiculturalism over communitarianism. And that has been eroding western civilization. Beauregard discusses his new book, Anti-Civilization: The Collapse of Society and the Case for the Common Good. He explains how the desocialization of younger generations and the fetishization of immigration, among other things, are leading to a backlash from people who crave a more collective meaning and identity. And surprisingly, it’s generation Z that seems most determined to rescue us from our decline. (Recorded August 19, 2026)
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Trust in legacy journalism is plummeting, and after years working inside the CBC, Tara Henley has a good idea why. The author of the new book, The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity, discusses with Brian how broad-mindedness in newsrooms was ruined by the emergence of an urban and elite class of group-thinking journalists combined with a revenue crisis that discouraged the risk of nonconformist perspectives. Making things worse, Henley argues, is that government subsidies have corrupted market signals that could force badly needed discipline on media owners. But the answer isn’t internet outlets that are even more one-sided, she explains: media need to relearn the tools they once used to keep themselves more honest. (Recorded July 10, 2026)
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