The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos welcomes back Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• Quebec Liberal Party leader Pablo Rodriguez has expelled Marwah Rizqy from the party.
• Just one day after being named to the post, Marc Miller, who is now in charge of official languages, told reporters he was “fed up” with the debate over language in Quebec.
• The CAQ government is tackling high resale ticket prices. Bill 10 regulates ticket reselling and automatic subscription renewals.
• Police in Brantford, Ontario say they received multiple calls about a residence showing anti-Santa Claus signage during the city’s Santa Claus parade. 

Elias Makos is joined by Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

• Marc Miller has been brought into cabinet as a new Minister following Stephen Guilbeault's resignation.
• The RCMP is quietly grounding most of its drone fleet — not because they’re old, but because they’re Chinese. 
• There is yet another bad story for the Liberal Party of Quebec in the Journal de Montreal this morning.
• New York has become the first state to pass a law targeting "personalized pricing,"

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante & political analyst Karim Boulos.

Among the topics discussed were 

• 'No referendum. No corruption' – that’s the promise of a new print and social media ad campaign that the Quebec Conservative Party will start running this week
• With the help of Artificial Intelligence, the SPVM is watching you in real time
• The Liberals have struck a deal with the Bloc Québécois that would strip out a long-standing religious exemption
• According to documents gathered by La Presse, Ottawa wants to end remote work once and for all for its government workers, by the year 2027

Elias makos ends the week off with Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy, and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom.

• Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday.
• The agreement between Carney and Smith did come at a cost for the Prime Minister as Steven Guilbault resigned from his ministerial duties over the deal.
• Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette is defending the government’s Quebec Constitution bill. 
• Candidates for the NDP leadership “debated” in “French” last night.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 this morning were Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance & Lea Streliski, Best-selling author, comedian and columnist.

Among the topics discussed

• A Quebec judge has sparked controversy by allowing a man accused of criminal harassment in a domestic-violence case to remove his anti-proximity bracelet so he can spend the winter in Florida — despite allegations he’d already breached his release conditions
• Transit related violent crime across the country is on the rise in the past decade
• Prime Minister Mark Carney proclaimed over the weekend that Canada no longer has a foreign feminist policy
• Just in time for the holidays, Loto-Quebec has begun its first-ever collaboration with the wholesale giant, selling “$1,000 en folie” tickets

Elias Makos is joined by Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS.

• Quebec will cut the subsidy of religious schools who select children according to their faith. Moreover, the wearing of religious symbols will also be prohibited for future teachers and employees of private schools.
• The Quebec government provided its economic update yesterday and some relief is on its way. 
• A Quebec judge has sparked controversy by allowing a man accused of criminal harassment in a domestic-violence case to remove his anti-proximity bracelet so he can spend the winter in Florida — despite allegations he’d already breached his release conditions.
• The announcement by McGill to cut 25 varsity programs has caused many in the sporting world to denounce the move. 

Elias Makos is joined by Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• A new secularism bill will be tabled on Thursday at the National Assembly.
• Maybe Mark Carney cares afterall. Less than 48 hours after Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed a question about when he had last spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump with a flippant “Who cares?”, a federal government source has confirmed to CTV News that he is considering a trip to Washington next week.
• La Presse has announced that it has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. 
• Elon Musk says that work will become optional, and that this version of the future could be just 10-20 years away.

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Jimmy Zoubris, former special advisor to the Mayor, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia.

• Prime Minister Mark Carney is seemingly in no hurry to pick up trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
• U.S Vice-President JD Vance took to social media Friday to call out Canada’s political leadership and “immigration insanity,” blaming them for the stagnation of Canada’s economy.
• Marwah Rizqy gave her first comments since the beginning of the conflict between her and the Quebec Liberal Party. 
• Just when you thought Quebec politics couldn't get zanier, Quebec Solidaire decided it wanted to get in on the fun. 

Elias Makos caps off the week with political analyst Karim Boulos, and Lionel Perez, Former city councilor and former leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall.

• Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada will meet with Premier François Legault today. What should they talk about?
• Outremont is removing a bike lane for the winter.
• After not answering a formal notice to offer an explanation to why she fired her chief of staff, the saga between Marwah Rizqy and Genevieve Hinse could be heading to court.
• Turns out that voters in the Quebec Liberal leadership race being allegedly paid off with $100 bills may not be illegal.
• Montreal’s Sherbrooke Street West has been ranked fifth on Time Out magazine’s 2025 list of the world’s coolest streets.

Elias Makos is joined by Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church, and Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance.

• The former chief of staff for Marwah Rizqy, Genevieve Hinse, has filed a formal notice against her former boss. 
• Which demographic groups of young people have been particularly hard hit by the smartphone and social media era we live in?