A survey released today by Maru Public Opinion indicates that a majority (54%) of Canadians believe the Canadian economy is on the Wrong Track—exactly where it was last month at this time but slightly better than it was two months ago when more (57%) held this pessimistic view. This compares with a minority (46%) who today believe the Canadian economy is moving in the Right Direction.

GUEST: John Wright, Executive Vice President of Maru Public Opinion

The Bill Kelly Show Podcast:

Ever since the Liberals were crushed in the 2018 provincial election — and, actually, for a few years before that, too — the party has languished in the polls. Yes, Kathleen Wynne won an unexpected majority government in 2014, but it didn’t take long for the honeymoon to end. Skyrocketing electricity prices, fatigue with the Liberal brand after 15 years in power, and the usual scandals that cling to governments like barnacles all combined to relegate the Liberals to the basement of popularity. And that’s where they’ve stayed — until now.

The combination of the Liberals doing some things right and the Progressive Conservatives doing a whole lot of things wrong has put the red team back in the game. After three straight years of the PCs being Ontarians’ most popular choice, recent events have shaken up the state of play.

The latest Innovative Research Group survey has the Liberals at 30 per cent support, the governing Tories at 26 per cent, and the official opposition New Democrats at 23 per cent.

GUEST: Steve Paikin, Host of ‘The Agenda’ on TVO

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The spotlight on Ontario’s long-term care sector must not be allowed to dim again, observers said the day after the release of a scathing report outlining the province’s neglect of the facilities in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reflections from public health experts and relatives of seniors who died in virus-ravaged facilities poured in after the Ontario Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission called for an overhaul of the sector. It laid out its recommendations in its final report, delivered to the government on Friday night.

The blistering, 322-page document said the province was ill-prepared to face COVID-19 despite lessons it should have learned from the SARS epidemic.

Nearly 4,000 long-term care residents and 11 staff have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit.

GUEST: Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, Co-Founder of Doctors for Justice in Long-Term Care, Professor at Ontario Tech University

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U.S. President Joe Biden has only been in office for about 100 days but “Bidenomics” has already become a word in the United States, at least according to Wikipedia.

And after the president’s speech to Congress this week, it’s well on its way to becoming an actual concept — one that Canada needs to keep a close eye on.

Biden’s wide-ranging speech framed his vision for political unity, vaccines and foreign policy, but the bulk of it was trumpeting and detailing his economic plan for post-pandemic prosperity.

Cash transfers for families, investment in green growth, a focus on repairing the social safety net in the wake of COVID-19 — they’re the main ingredients of Biden’s economic recipe, and if they sound familiar to Canadians, it’s because they’re also the main components of Canada’s fiscal policy these days.

Gone is the zeal to cut taxes, cut red tape, and keep government involvement in the economy to a bare minimum. Bidenomics is all about using government tools and money to right the wrongs of the pandemic, reduce inequality and fire up American companies at home and abroad.

GUEST: Elliot Tepper, Emeritus Professor of Political science, Carleton University

It's time for Tech Talk with Adam Oldfield!

Topics Include: Rogers scam, Drones, Social Media influencers & more. 

The number of COVID-19 cases in India are approaching 19-million.

India on Friday posted yet another record daily rise in coronavirus cases as hospitals across the country ran out of beds and oxygen.

A United States military plane brought the first emergency supplies as part of a huge international aid operation to help the country battle its devastating surge.

GUEST: Dr. Athena Madan, Assistant Professor in the School of Humanitarian Studies at Royal Roads University