CANADALAND

When Justin Trudeau stepped down earlier this month, it should have been the perfect opportunity for Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to swing the narrative. To seize control.

But they haven’t done any of that. What used to be Canada’s worker’s party seems like a shell of its former self. Why can’t they reach voters when everything is up in the air?

This week Noor sits down with columnist and critic Max Fawcett, and former NDP strategist Mélanie Richer to unpack Singh’s woes.

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Mélanie Richer, Max Fawcett

Background reading:

• The NDP is getting outflanked — again – National Observer
• Ginny Roth: The NDP don’t take themselves seriously, so why should we? – The Hub
• Is It Time for Singh to Go? – The Walrus
• Is Jagmeet Singh’s job at risk in the upcoming election? – iPolitics
• Singh says NDP still plan to vote to topple Liberals ‘at the earliest opportunity,’ regardless of leader – CTV News

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

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This week the government’s long-awaited report on foreign interference will drop. Will it tell us if Canada has a traitor problem?

Over the last two years there’s been a slew of headlines around allegedly compromised members of parliament, the machinations of nefarious foreign governments, scorched reputations, the muck has been raked and the mud slung. All of our major political parties have come under fire. And the source of that fire has run the gamut from the upper echelons of CSIS to TikTok bottom feeders. And after all that we still know surprisingly little. 

So will this week’s government report give us any answers? Are there traitors? Has there been treason?

Jesse sits down with Professor Wesley Wark to find out. Wark is a senior fellow at Centre for International Governance Innovation and a fellow with the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He served on the PM’s Advisory Council on National Security and he provided advice to the minister of public safety on national security legislation and policy.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checker), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Additional music by Audio Network

Further reading:

• https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/canadian-politicians-who-commit-treason-should-go-to-jail/article_3429f6b4-2441-11ef-817e-573af7605f34.html
• https://wesleywark.substack.com/p/a-pifi-wish-list
• https://globalnews.ca/tag/han-dong/
• https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/trudeau-says-he-has-list-of-conservatives-vulnerable-to-or-engaged-in-foreign-interference/

Sponsors: 

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If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

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Social media is a mess and the tech oligarchs are to blame. San Grewal of The Pointer joins to assess the damage caused when coders replace publishers. Plus, a boomer cell defends us from Trump and the Liberals axe their own tax. 

Check out our latest investigation, The Copernic Affair on the Canadaland Investigates feed. Follow The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts: https://canadaland.lnk.to/copernic-affair 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Check), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: San Grewal

Further reading: 

• Meta is ending fact-checking in the U.S. Could that affect the vote in Canada? | CBC News
• The End of Reality [Book] 
• Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States - Platformer  
• As border anxiety mounts, ads for smugglers in Canada helping migrants illegally cross into U.S. flourish on social media - The Globe and Mail 
• Canada's immigration department cutting roughly 3,300 jobs over 3 years | CBC News 
• Opinion | With Trump back in, Canadian boomers are in a fighting mood - Toronto Star

Sponsors:

oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free! 

BetterHelp:  Visit BetterHelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month.

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Trump’s inauguration lacked in tariffs, it made up for in egregious salutes. The Pointer’s San Grewal joins to critique the Canadian coverage of Trump’s negotiation tactics, and unpack Elon Musk’s dog-whistling antics. 

Our latest investigation, The Copernic Affair, launches today on the Canadaland Investigates feed. Follow The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts: https://canadaland.lnk.to/copernic-affair 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Check), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: San Grewal

Further reading: 

• Braid: Hopes raised for long pause in Trump tariffs, then brutally dashed
• Opinion: What if Trump’s tariffs are non-negotiable? - The Globe and Mail 
• Elon Musk responds to backlash over gesture at Donald Trump rally - BBC
• The Breakdown AB thread [Bluesky]
• Canada's immigration department cutting roughly 3,300 jobs over 3 years | CBC News  

Sponsors:

Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today.  Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer

BetterHelp:  Visit BetterHelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month.

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump’s back, but Canada is STILL divided on how to respond. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has gone rogue, Doug Ford just wants everyone to look at his cool new hat.

It’s an economic threat, but also threatens to pull our very identity apart. Are we just supposed to sit and wait? To break it down, Noor welcomes Wall Street Journal reporter Vipal Monga, and UBC lecturer Stewart Prest.

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Vipal Monga, Stewart Prest

Background reading:

• Canada’s fight with Trump isn’t just economic, it’s existential – The Conversation
• Canada Knows Trump Would Win a Trade Fight. It Is Preparing to Retaliate Anyway. – The Wall Street Journal
• Canada on Trump’s Proposed Union: Thanks, but Let’s Just Be Friends – The Wall Street Journal
• Canada Suddenly Has No Leader, and No Plan, for a Trump Trade Fight – The Wall Street Journal
• Alberta premier's Trump visit raises concerns she's flouting Team Canada approach – CBC News
• Canada ready to buy more American products to appease Trump's tariff threat, ambassador says – AP News

Sponsors: 

Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today at douglas.ca/canadaland

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Our latest investigation, The Copernic Affair, launches tomorrow on the Canadaland Investigates feed. Follow The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts: https://canadaland.lnk.to/copernic-affair 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1980 someone detonated a bomb outside a synagogue in Paris. Four people were killed. Suspicion immediately fell on French neo-nazi groups. But soon investigators turned their attention to groups from the Middle East. Then the case went cold. For decades.

Then, in 2008, the RCMP arrested an Ottawa-based sociology professor. What follows is a twisting tale of extradition, years of interrogation, and ultimately a trial and conviction in absentia. But today the person at the heart of the story, Hassan Diab, is free and living in Canada despite being convicted of the bombing in France.

The case is back in the headlines with Elon Musk and Pierre Poilievre, among others, asking why a convicted terrorist is a free man walking the streets of Canada. Canadaland has spent a year and a half digging into the story of Hassan Diab. Today we bring you a preview of our new series: The Copernic Affair.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checker),` max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Guests: Dana Ballout, Alex Atack

Additional music by Audio Network

Sponsors: 

Squarespace: Check out https://squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Article: Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim this offer, visit https://article.com/canadaland and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

BetterHelp: Visit https://betterhelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Canada needs to get its sh*t together NOW.

Former Conservative MP James Moore joins to consider the response to Trump’s rhetoric, and the economic reality facing Canada in the coming months.  

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Check), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: James Moore

Further reading: 

• Canada as the 51st State? | TVO Today 
• Opinion | O Canada, Come Join Us - The New York Times 
• Here's how annexing Canada would change American politics - POLITICO 
• Stephen Harper has ‘a real problem’ with Donald Trump’s claims about Canada - Toronto Star
• Donald Trump’s ‘bombastic’ talk of annexing Canada is about forming economic union, Kevin O’Leary says - The Globe and Mail

Sponsors: 

Squarespace: Check out Squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. 

Douglas:  Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today.  Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amid an exodus in the Liberal Party, Mark Carney teases a leadership bid on the Daily Show, and Jesse ponders a future in politics. Former Conservative MP James Moore joins to break down the Liberal breakdown, and consider the unknown unknowns facing Canadian politics in 2025. 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Check), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: James Moore

Photo is A.I Generated

Further reading: 

• Federal Liberals to announce new leader on March 9 | CBC News 
• Yvonne Jones, Gudie Hutchings join national exodus of Liberals who won't run in next federal election | CBC News 
• Former Liberal cabinet minister Marco Mendicino not seeking re-election | CBC News
• Mark Carney - Canada Not Interested in Trump’s Offer & Liberal Leadership Prospects | The Daily Show [YouTube]
• Missing Black Boys in the GTA: Community Leaders Demand Action - The Brandon Gonez Show 
• The Hub 

Sponsors:

oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free!

Squarespace: Check out Squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

BetterHelp:  Visit BetterHelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month.

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Noor Azrieh and Sam Konnert for a discussion to bid farewell to key legislation that is likely to be lost due to Parliament's prorogation. From the Online Harms Act, to clean drinking water for First Nation communities, there’s a lot to mourn.

And, how could a new liberal leader possibly win back young men? We speak with Aiden Fox Ivey, who reached out after he heard our interview with a conservative bro.

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Aiden Fox Ivey, Taylor Owen, Chris Moonias

Background reading:

• With the House of Commons prorogued, some key Liberal legislation may not pass - CBC News
• Young Canadians now more politically conservative than their elders – National Post
• Poilievre’s Youth: Meet the young voters supporting the Conservatives – Global News
• Hasan Piker on how Trump seized online culture – CBC Podcasts, Frontburner

Sponsors: 

Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today at douglas.ca/canadaland

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Siri has a body. AI’s most familiar voice is not just a disembodied all-knowing benefactor of trivia, recipes, and everything else you can’t recall (or never knew) at any particular moment. According to Professor James Muldoon, author of Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI, “... AI has a material body and exists only through new chips, servers and cables being manufactured and added to the machine. And just like a physical body, AI's material structure needs constant nourishment through electricity to power its operations and water to cool its servers every time we ask ChatGPT a question or use an internet search engine. The machine lives and breathes through this digital infrastructure.”

The physical body that makes up AI is not just sucking up water and power. AI is also built on the backs of real people. Not just the air-conditioned Silicon Valley engineers you might be imagining.  AI relies on the work of hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers spread across the global south.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Written and Presented by Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Fact checking by max collins

Additional music by Tristan Capacchione and Audio Network

Further reading:

• What’s behind the AI boom? Exploited humans — The LA Times
• James Muldoon — Personal website
• Mark Graham — Oxford Internet Institute

Sponsors: 

Squarespace: Check out https://squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Article: Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim this offer, visit https://article.com/canadaland and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.