The paikin Podcast

John Baird, Canada’s former foreign minister, joins Steve to discuss the war in Iran, whether Canada should support it, PM Mark Carney’s evolution on reacting to this war, and if it could turn out like another Iraq or Libya. They then discuss the internal deliberations within the federal government when a war breaks out, how…

The Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss PM Carney’s initial support of American airstrikes on Iran, his recent comments about giving diplomacy a chance, how Canada was not consulted beforehand, whether this is an illegal war, whether the UN and international law matters anymore, and the viability of…

Ryan Hass joins Janice Stein to discuss the prospect of an American intervention in Iran, regime change, and the negotiations between America and Iran on the nuclear issue. They then look at how close China is to invading Taiwan, what China wants, how China sees its role in the new emerging world order, the rising…

Welcome to the first edition of The Paikin Podcast “Redline Debates.” Four years ago this month, a convoy of truckers essentially took over the nation’s capital, and beyond disrupting life there, it became a Rorschach test on how you felt about everything from vaccinations to parliamentary democracy.  Justin Ling from the Toronto Star and Candice…

Linda McQuaig joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss her book, “Cancelling Billionaires Before They Cancel Us: The Urgent Case for a Wealth Tax,” whether billionaires should exist, how current levels of inequality can lead to “revolution,” how Canada’s tax system needs to change, the politics…

As the Ukraine War nears its fourth anniversary, we devote a special edition of The Paikin Podcast to understand where things stand today, the toll four years of war has had on the Ukrainian people, and how much longer it can go on. The episode features a variety of different voices and interviews, including:

Stephen Marche, author of “The Next Civil War,” joins Janice Stein to discuss why America is a bigger threat to our freedom and democracy than China or Russia, why the West is feeling its betrayal turn into rage, and how Stephen thinks “we’re all Canadian now.” They also discuss the American midterms, to what extent…

Rob Ashton joins Steve to discuss his NDP leadership bid, why he thinks the NDP needs to return to its working-class roots, if the Conservative Party outflanked them, and what he offers as an NDP leader that the other candidates do not.  They then discuss housing, the level of unionization in Canada, Carney’s speech in…

Canadaland’s Jesse Brown joins Steve to discuss his investigative podcast series, “What is Happening Here,” how October 7th made his world “fall apart,” the rise in antisemitism in Canada, the “double standard” in how it’s covered, and the pushback and attacks his reporting on antisemitism has received. They also discuss the left’s antisemitism problem, how…

The Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss Pierre Poilievre’s leadership review, what 87.4% support means, the level of unity in the Conservative Party, and how Poilievre gave the “best speech of his life.” They then discuss if Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party can win a general election, if he’s…

Heather McPherson, NDP MP from Edmonton Strathcona, joins Steve to discuss her NDP leadership bid, why we still need the NDP even though 94% of Canadian voters rejected them in the last election, and how the party, in her view, has lost its way.  They then discuss climate change, whether the NDP is a pro-pipeline…

Christian Leuprecht joins Janice Stein to discuss Carney’s speech in Davos, how it was the “most consequential” international speech ever delivered by a Canadian prime minister, why we must move on from the rules-based international order, and why nostalgia is not a strategy. They also discuss middle power alliances, Canada’s foreign policy, “taking the world…

Historian Margaret MacMillan joins Steve to discuss the history we are living through, how it reminds her of the zero-sum period before the First World War, Trump’s claims over Greenland, his letter to the PM of Norway, how seriously Canada should take Trump’s 51st state rhetoric, and the history of American attempts to invade Canada….

Peter Donolo joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss Carney’s deal with China. They explore why Tony thinks it’s a terrible decision for Canada, the need to chart a new path away from America, China’s history of foreign influence in Canada, and the future of Canada’s…

Kory Teneycke, senior advisor to Premier Doug Ford, joins Steve to discuss the Premier, his “awful” first year in government, how he turned it around and won three straight majorities, the Greenbelt and Skills Development Fund controversies, and Ford’s earlier praise for Donald Trump.  They then discuss if Ford has any designs on federal politics,…

Janice Stein is joined by Jon R. Lindsay from Georgia Tech to discuss if the kidnapping of Maduro signals the death of the liberal international order, if Venezuela was an inside job, and if Trump has turned the world into a “den of thieves,” as the President Steinmeier of Germany said last week. They then…

The Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, his “big hairy audacious goals,” his response to Maduro’s kidnapping, the fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, and if a left wing populism could tap into the same anger and frustrations…

Jim Balsillie joins Steve to discuss how he thinks Canada is sabotaging its own economy, how we have consigned ourselves to being a low value-added petro state, why we are operating from an outdated playbook, and Canada’s productivity crisis. They then discuss a real made-in-Canada approach, why foreign investment is overrated, and how to create…

Former federal Liberal cabinet minister Sergio Marchi joins Steve to discuss his book, Pursuing a Public Life: How to Succeed in the Political Arena, the fragile state of our democracy, the rise of polarization and cynicism, his 30 years in politics as a city councillor, MP, cabinet minister, and ambassador, and how to survive and…

Ontario’s 20th Premier David Peterson joins Steve on stage at The Pearson Centre to look back on his early life, his father’s politics, and “why the more you have, the more you owe.” They also discuss any regrets he had as premier, the Human Rights Code, the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, the separatist…

Dan Dunsky joins Janice Stein to discuss why the news seems to be driving us crazy, how our brains are being hijacked, how digital media has created a “constitution of confusion,” the erosion of institutional trust, the collapse of the post-war liberal world order, and how exactly we can stay informed without going mad. 

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols joins Steve to discuss Trump’s “ghoulish” comments about Rob and Michele Reiner’s murders, if this is a new low for him, how he sees the Trump administration as a “confederacy of toddlers,” if Trump is losing his grip on the Republican Party, the growing rift within the GOP, the resentments Americans…

Tony Keller joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss his book “Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong,” the historical consensus on immigration, the rise in levels under Trudeau, the temporary foreign workers program, if the Canadian consensus on immigration has been broken,…

Bob Rae recently stepped down as Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations. He joins Steve to discuss his five years at the UN, how America has left “the democracy club,” the Orwellian world Canada is entering, and the danger and uncertainty of this geopolitical era. They also consider the Israel-Gaza war, Canada’s decision to recognize…

Paul Grod from the Ukrainian World Congress joins Janice Stein to discuss if there is an end in sight to the Ukraine War, the prospects of a peace deal, how Putin has become stronger since the war began, Trump’s national security plan, how the US has turned its back on Europe, Putin’s messianic vision for…

During the pandemic Cait Alexander was brutally assaulted and almost killed by her then partner. He was soon out on bail, continued to intimidate her, and was never convicted because it took too long to go to trial. She joins Steve to share her horrifying experience with intimate partner violence, why she thinks Canada needs…

The Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss Steven Guilbeault’s resignation from Carney’s cabinet, the pipeline MOU, how close we actually are to building a new pipeline, if the Carney Liberals are governing like conservatives, the new climate change consensus in Canadian politics, and if Canadians still care about…

Freddie Highmore and David Shore join Steve for a live taping of the podcast to discuss their ABC show The Good Doctor, its seven-season run, how to properly portray autism, why Shore did not want Shaun Murphy to be TV’s “autistic character” but a particular individual, getting the tiny details right, and the possibility of…

Economists Armine Yalnizyan and Kaylie Tiessen join Steve for a live taping at the CSA conference to discuss the budget, if it addresses the economic needs of Canadians, the growing threat to Canadian workers, upskilling, the service sector, the crisis in the “care” economy that comprises 36% of the GDP, the growth of private equity…

Hugh Laurie surprised David Shore, the creator of “House,” at the Forest City Film Festival in London, Ontario. Steve joined them on stage to discuss the creation of House more than two decades ago, its Canadian origins, the decision to cast Laurie, how they “hit it off fairly quickly,” if they ever argued about dialing…

Back in the dark days of the pandemic MP Mike Lake created a regular ZOOM hangout as an antidote to isolation, bringing together folks from all over the political spectrum. As we emerged from the pandemic, and our politics remained mired in division and polarization, he kept them going. Steve joined a recent Happy Hour,…

David Moscrop joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss the federal budget, if they thought it might not pass, if this budget was truly “transformational,” how exactly this government can simultaneously “invest more” and “spend less,” the “energizer bunny” Minister François-Philippe Champagne, and the usual “Good…

Canada’s Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne joins Steve to discuss the budget, if it was truly “transformational,” if it was an “elbows up” budget, how to deal with Donald Trump, why they didn’t cut taxes on all new home purchases, if this budget favors older people at the expense of younger folks, why they didn’t…

Steve goes back to school. In this case to a Canadian Studies class at Harvard where he interviewed Justice Rosalie Abella about her early life, being born in a displaced persons camp in post-WWII Europe in 1946, how she knew at a very young age she wanted to be a lawyer, the difference between the…

Former MP and Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole joins Janice Stein to discuss the historically huge increase in military spending from last week’s budget, what we should focus spending it on, whether we should buy submarines or drones, why we need a Made-in-Canada approach, if we should take the 51st state rhetoric seriously, if we…

Avi Lewis joins Steve to discuss his NDP leadership bid, why he wants to be the leader of a party that 94% of Canadian voters rejected in the last election, the decline of the NDP since Jack Layton, how Trudeau passed the NDP on the left, if Jagmeet Singh was a good leader, and why…

Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson join Steve to discuss their new book, Breaking Point: The New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk, how the country is in the middle of the greatest political crisis it has ever faced, the rising anger young people feel about housing prices and gig jobs, Trudeau’s failures as a prime…

Trump’s 20-point peace plan includes disarming Hamas, an international stabilization force, and an apolitical Palestinian transitional government. Could it work? Hussein Ibish, contributor to The Atlantic, joins Janice Stein to discuss the state of the deal, why Hamas accepted it, how Netanyahu was forced into it, why Hamas never actually wanted to govern Gaza, if…

Some guests need no introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, Martin Short. Steve and Martin Short discuss what it’s like being a proud Canadian in America today, Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off the air, if there is increasingly a cost to be paid for making jokes about the wrong people in America, and Mark Carney’s “elbows up”…

“Pierre Poilievre is dismantling the principled, serious and credible Conservative Party,” wrote Dimitri Soudas, former director of communications and senior advisor under Stephen Harper. Are the knives out? The Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss Soudas’s piece, if Harper greenlit it, the growing rift in the Conservative Party,…

Canadians are just a few weeks away from learning what Prime Minister Mark Carney has in mind when it comes to defence spending. Will Canada ramp up its investments? Will we meet our NATO commitments? And what should we invest in? New American-made F-35 fighter planes? New ice breakers for the Arctic? Joining the Golden…

David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, joins the Everything Political panel with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement to discuss how Canadian voters are split between wanting a disruptor that will change things versus a reassuring and calming father figure and how that split played out in the last election. Then, a look…

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer joins Steve Paikin at a live podcast recording to discuss Canadian-American relations, ending the “tariff madness,” the rise of political violence, Trump’s claim “the radicals on the left are the problem,’ where the Democrats go from here, Ezra Klein’s concerns about “left wing pessimism,” and the possibility of the Detroit Tigers…

Conservative Party MP Shuv Majumdar joins Janice Stein to debate Canada’s decision to recognize the state of Palestine, what exactly this entails, and what happens next. Then, a look at Trump’s and Netanyahu’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. And, as the UN turns 80 years old, is it still relevant…

Journalist and author Justin Ling joins Steve to discuss his book “The 51st State Votes,” how Trump turned Canada’s 45th general election on its head, Pierre Poilievre’s “campaign malpractice,” whether Canada can survive as Trump’s economic punching bag, and how Mark Carney’s “elbows up” approach is going today. Then they consider Chrystia Freeland’s exit from…

On this episode of “Everything Political,” Steve Paikin and former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss the fallout from the Charlie Kirk assassination, the rise of political violence, free speech in America, Jimmy Kimmel, Chrystia Freeland’s exit from cabinet, and Carney’s trip to Mexico.

For decades Brian Stewart was Canada’s eyes on the world – from Nicaragua and the Gulf War to his reporting on the Ethiopian famine which led to international action and the creation of the Live Aid concerts. He joins Steve to discuss his four decades of reporting in warzones, why he “thrived on working in…

Michael Ignatieff joins Janice Stein to discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk, if it could lead to increased political violence and even civil war, the rise of authoritarianism worldwide, the state of democracy in Canada, and if we are prepared for an unstable and chaotic America.

Barry Avrich’s October 7th documentary, The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, was disinvited from TIFF, then reinstated – and just won the festival’s People’s Choice Documentary Award. Avrich joins Steve to discuss what exactly happened, why it was pulled, how he doesn’t think he made a political film about the war in Gaza, the…

Author JDM Stewart joins Steve to discuss his book “The Prime Ministers,” how to teach kids history, reconciling the past with the present, and if the pendulum is swinging the other way on the “history wars.” And from Macdonald to Laurier to Carney we get into the prime ministers who were transformational, merely “transactional,” and…

On this episode of “Everything Political,” Steve Paikin and former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement remember Ken Dryden’s political career and how he wasn’t in Parliament “to play politics.” Then, a look at Carney’s cabinet retreat and the Ontario government’s plan to get rid of school trustees. Special guest Jill Promoli, a trustee…

Is it authoritarianism yet? Jeffrey Kopstein thinks we should be asking another question about America. He joins Steve and Janice Stein to discuss his book “The Assault on the State,” if Trump is turning America into a “family business,” the global shift from the rule of law to the rule of men, how Trump and…

Interim leader of the NDP Don Davies joins the Everything Political panel to discuss the NDP’s worst election in its entire history, if they should dismantle the party, if they leaned too heavily into identity politics, how the NDP needs to “reclaim their roots,” and where they go from here. Davies is joined by Everything…

After Trump’s meetings with Putin and Zelensky, is the Ukraine war any closer to peace? Is Putin serious about ending the war – and accepting security guarantees for Ukraine? Or is he playing a longer game? Steve is joined by Janice Stein and a special guest to discuss the state of the Ukraine war, land…

On this episode of “Everything Political,” former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement break down Poilievre’s upcoming byelection in Alberta, if he can bounce back from a historic election loss, his campaign manager Jenni Byrne’s decision to step down, and if PM Carney’s push to build big things in Canada again is stumbling out…

If American democracy ends, what happens to Canada? Stephen Marche joins this episode of World on Edge with Janice Stein to discuss the threat America poses to Canadian sovereignty, if we are prepared for Trump’s new world order, how we can learn from Ukraine and Finland, and how we can defend ourselves both economically and…

On episode two of “Everything Political,” Steve and former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement discuss PM Carney’s decision to recognize Palestine as a state at the U.N. General Assembly in September, the politics behind this historic decision, Canada-U.S. trade tensions, if a deal with Trump is shaping up, and what’s next for Justin…

Is the world community starting to see Israel as a pariah state? Is there a consensus forming that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza? Or ethnic cleansing? Steve talks with Janice Stein about the on-going war in Gaza and this moment for Israel.

In the debut episode of “World on Edge,” Steve talks with Janice Stein about why she thinks the world is a more dangerous place than during the Cold War and even the Cuban Missile Crisis, if Israel has become a pariah state, if China will invade Taiwan, the on-going war in Ukraine, and the rising…

In the debut episode of Everything Political, Tony Clement, Martha Hall Findlay, and Steve Paikin discuss Danielle Smith and Alberta’s “Brexit Moment,” the premiers meeting in Huntsville and their continuing response to Trump’s tariff threats and Prime Minister Carney’s performance nearly three months since the federal election.

In the debut episode of The Paikin Podcast, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith sits down with Steve Paikin to discuss Alberta’s sovereignty act, if this could be Alberta’s “Brexit moment,” Doug Ford and his Ontario brand of conservatism, getting “Jason Kenneyed,” meeting with Trump at Mar–a-Lago, how to play Trump’s ego, the future of conservatism and…