Lots to cover on Episode 30 of the Rob Breakenridge Show

We start with the Prime Minister’s announcement in Edmonton Thursday of the first batch of projects in the national interest that will be advanced under the new Major Projects Office. We’ll hear what Mark Carney said about this first step, and what might come next - including, potentially, a new pipeline. We’ll also hear what a surprisingly optimistic Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had to say about the announcement and about her own meeting with the prime minister.

Also, we’ll take a closer look at the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, and whether it’s time to end the program in the face of surging unemployment and other problems in the immigration system. The Conservative Party is calling on the government to end the program - we’ll hear from Calgary-Nose Hill Conservative MP and shadow minister for Citizenship & Immigration Michelle Rempel Garner.

Plus, the latest on the horrible tragedy south of the border: the senseless murder of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk and the troubling trend of political violence in the United States.

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We kick off this episode of the Rob Breakenridge Show with breaking news Monday on the story that has dominated headlines in Alberta for the last week: the province’s school book ban. After a huge outcry, the Alberta government has overhauled it’s policy on explicit content to try and keep graphic images out of schools while allowing classic books to remain. We’ll have the details on the new policy and whether this will put the matter to rest.

Also, with Canada facing a worsening economic crisis, the federal government has some big decisions to make with its upcoming federal budget and major project announcements. But is the government looking in the right direction? Are they focused on addressing the true weaknesses in the Canadian economy? CD Howe Institute fellow-in-residence and former TD Bank Chief Economist Don Drummond isn’t so sure - he lays out his case for a real economic and fiscal plan.

Plus, renowned international human rights lawyer David Matas is worried that Canada is falling short in the global fight against antisemitism. He joins us for his perspective on why we’re seeing increased antisemitism and what more Canada could be doing.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

Welcome to Episode 28 of the Rob Breakenridge Show - Quite a week it’s been in Alberta

We begin by diving into the story that dominated the headlines in Alberta this week - and made plenty of headlines across Canada and beyond: the book ban that blew up in the Alberta government’s face. We’ll hear what the premier had to say about their plans to now revise the policy after the original version led to the Edmonton Public School Board banning over 200 books.

We’ll also get some reaction to this whole controversy as we’re joined by Joseph Jeffery, chair of Canadian School Libraries. We’ll also learn more about how schools, school boards, and governments typically deal with and resolve questions around controversial books or other content.

Plus, we’re joined by Noah Schwartz, assistant professor of political science at University of the Fraser Valley. He has focused much of his research on issues around Canadian gun policy and this country’s gun culture. His new book is called “Targeted: Citizenship, Advocacy, and Gun Control in Canada.”

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

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Welcome to Episode 27 of the Rob Breakenridge Show - plenty of ground to cover this week.

We start with the latest on Alberta’s sudden swing in fiscal fortunes. Last year’s surplus has turned into a sizeable - and growing - surplus for the current fiscal year.

In a striking departure from the Trudeau era, the Carney government suddenly seems quite open to - and bullish about - the idea of Canadian LNG exports to Europe. We’ll hear what the federal energy minister had to say following a visit to Germany.

Plenty of debate as discussion still about Canadian self-defence rights and what’s spelled out under the law following a high profile case in Ontario. We’ll get some further insight and perspective on the legal aspects to this question as we speak with lawyer and law prof Peter Sankoff.

Plus, the case for major reforms in Canadian funding and regulation of the arts, culture, and media. We’ll speak with Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Peter Menzies.

00:27 Intro & Welcome

1:35 Alberta's ballooning deficit

8:30 Ottawa suddenly bullish on Canadian LNG to Europe

18:32 Peter Sankoff interview

40:04 Peter Menzies interview

In this episode of the Rob Breakenridge Show, we speak with the author of a fascinating new book looking back and analyzing the historic and hugely significant 2025 federal election. Canadian journalist Justin Ling is the author of “The 51st State Votes,” which traces the circumstances that led to Justin Trudeau’s departure from the federal scene, Mark Carney’s ascension, the changing circumstances for Pierre Poilievre, and - most importantly - the return of Donald Trump and the sudden injection of “51st state” threats and belligerence toward Canada.

Meanwhile, a case in Ontario has thrust open a debate in Canada over self-defence rights and what limits exist for Canadians defending their property and families from intruders. Police have charged an alleged intruder AND the resident of the home that was broken into early Monday in Lindsay, Ontario. Some prominent political leaders have already weighed in- we’ll get into the details as we understand them at this point.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

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Plenty to cover in this episode of the Rob Breakenridge Show.

We kick things off with the latest on talks about Ukraine’s future and efforts to reach some sort of peace agreement. Following the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska Friday, Ukraine’s president and other European leaders were in Washington Monday for a meeting with the US President. We spoke with Canadian writer and columnist Adam Zivo, who is currently in Ukraine, to his thoughts on the mood there as well as the worrying signs in the Alaska summit versus the somewhat more optimistic signs coming out of Monday’s meeting.

(*TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Air Canada and the union representing flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement) Also, the latest on the strike by flight attendants at Air Canada, which has caused travel chaos just as the summer season is winding down. We’ll hear what the union president had to say, as well as comments from the prime minister Monday morning.

Plus, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre passed his byelection test Monday in the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot. We’ll have further details on how the voting played out and what it means moving forward.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

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Plenty to get into on this episode of the Rob Breakenridge Show:

We kick things off with a conversation with Kris Sims, Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. We look at why the Alberta government would have suddenly taken public expense receipts off the government website, plus get an overview of the CTFs latest Gas Tax Honesty Report.

We’re then joined by Scott Crockatt, VP of Communications and External Affairs at the Business Council of Alberta. The BCA has commissioned new polling that shows the bold economic proposals laid out in their “A Strong Canada, A Good Life” campaign have significant and widespread support. Of course, we’re all still waiting on the federal government to delivered on their promised bold economic action.

Plus, an update on a few stories we’ve been following: the legal wrangling over a proposed referendum question on Alberta separation, Pierre Poilievre’s big byelection test, and the debate over whether Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have gone too far in banning people from forests as part of their wildfire prevention strategy.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

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Welcome to another edition of the Rob Breakenridge Show - here’s what we have for you in this episode:

We’ll delve into the debate over public safety vs. individual liberties and the question of whether Nova Scotia has gone too far in its wildfire prevention measures. That province has instituted a complete ban on entering the woods, subject to a fine of $25,000. The Canadian Constitution Foundation has raised concern over the policy and is pushing back - we’ll hear from CCF counsel Josh Dehaas.

Plus, we’ll examine the precarious position Ukraine finds itself in ahead of the meeting later this week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine’s president is not invited to the meeting, even though it could prove to be very consequential for Ukraine’s borders, its sovereignty, and its future. We’ll have analysis from Aurel Braun, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the University of Toronto and also a Research Associate of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

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In this episode of Rob Breakenridge Show:

It’s been just over a year since the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) was completed and commenced operations. Now, a new analysis from Alberta Central finds that the project has more than delivered on its potential by increasing export capacity, generating significant economic benefits. We’ll take a closer look at the report as we speak with Alberta Central chief economist Charles St-Arnaud.

Meanwhile, labor uncertainty at Canada Post as unionized employees have rejected the latest offer from the company. But we can’t overlook the fact that this is losing significant - and growing - amounts of money every single year, while in many ways becoming a lot less relevant to most Canadians. There's an interesting and timely new report out this week from the Montreal Economic Institute laying out a path to privatization. We'll speak with Vincent Geloso, senior economist with the Montreal Economic Institute, and co-author of the report.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

Welcome to this episode of the Rob Breakenridge Show

We kick things off with a conversation with former Alberta MLA and deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. His group Forever Canadian has the green light from Elections Alberta to begin collecting signatures on their referendum petition, aimed at beating the separatists to the punch.

This week also brought us a major foreign policy shift for Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that Canada will follow the lead of France and the UK and officially recognize a Palestinian state. We’ll be joined by Stacey Leavitt Wright, she is CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

Plus, new data shows a massive backlog of airline passenger complaints at the Canadian Transportation Agency. We’ll hear from Dr. Gabor Lukacs, founder and president of Air Passenger Rights.

Don’t forget, you can follow our work and subscribe here at our Substack page (robbreakenridge.ca), which is where the podcast is hosted. You can also listen and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms. Check out our YouTube channel, as well.

00:00 Intro and Welcome

00:37 Alberta separation petitions & referendums update

02:52 Thomas Lukaszuk interview

28:01 Canada's Israel-Palestine Policy Shift

32:03 Stacey Leavitt-Wright interview

39:11 Canada-US trade update

44:17 Gabor Lukacs interview

1:01:00 Wrap-up