The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Political analyst Karim Boulos.

• Canada is in discussions to join the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defence program, according to the Prime Minister’s Office
• The Plante administration will be testing an urban innovation in the neighbourhood east of the Jacques-Cartier bridge that turns residential areas into giant cul-de-sacs
• Quebec’s culture minister Mathieu Lacombe is set to table a new bill which will require major streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify to boost visibility of francophone content

Elias Makos kicks off the week with Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

• Canada Post has received a strike notice from the union representing 55,000 postal workers, who plan to walk off the job starting Friday, amid ongoing collective agreement talks
• New polling from Leger reveals that a majority of Quebecers want an end to the province’s carbon pricing scheme and think that a pipeline for Alberta’s oil coming through Quebec would be a good idea
• Police in Kingston, Ontario are using drones to catch distracted drivers using their smartphones behind the wheel
• Up at Bordeaux prison it seems that prisoners have managed to illegally access cell phones

Dan Delmar, in for 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 Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor on The Big  5.

• Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed that his government will present a full federal budget this fall.
• Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre criticized the Quebec Liberal Party's leadership race
• Will apps like TikTok and Youtube one day soon impact hockey watching? 

Elias Makos caps the week off with Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

• Elections Canada confirmed that five ballots arrived late in Quebec’s Terrebonne riding due to an envelope with an incorrect postal code
• Quebec Premier François Legault says he’s open to new pipeline projects in light of Donald Trump’s tariff threats
• Despite saying he’ll lead the CAQ into the 2026 election, François Legault may be weighing whether to step down
• The “Original Sin,” which describes the behind-the-scenes mental and physical decline of Joe Biden

Elias Makos is joined by Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies, and Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

• Does the Prime Minister need to reign in his troops?
• Most Quebecers believe the province should reduce its record $14 billion deficit by taxing the wealthy, not by cutting public services
• Anthony's piece in the National Post on major changes in the UK on immigration

Elias Makos welcomes back Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster.

• Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his cabinet yesterday. And the names and roles announced have turned quite a few heads. 
• Bloc Québécois candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné is weighing her options after a judicial recount saw her lose the Terrebonne riding by just one vote to Liberal Tatiana Auguste
• A new poll shows that Quebecers may be ready for something new… The CAQ has dropped to third place in voter intentions with just 20% support
• A devastating government report shows that the healthcare network's payroll modernization project costs have already risen from $202 million to $430 million

Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Akil Alleyne, reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program.

• When Prime Minister Mark Carney unveils his cabinet this morning, more than half of its members will be fresh faces, CTV News has confirmed
• Add another layer to the Terrebonne byelection story. A judicial recount gave the Liberals the win in the riding by just one vote over the weekend. But now, Elections Canada is confirming that an envelope provided to a voter by Elections Canada to vote by mail had the wrong postal code
• Quebec’s Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry is urging students to help identify those behind a stream of hateful, racist, and violent messages posted on a Discord channel used by Quebec medical school applicants
• Should we take graffiti more seriously?

Elias Makos kicks off the week with Gabriel Retta, is a Montrealer active in politics and government service at all three levels for the last 20 years and currently serving as Chief of Staff to the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor.

• The future of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Montreal is uncertain as negotiations between the promoter (Octane, owned by Bell) and funding partners have stalled
• Montreal mayoral candidate Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who once served as federal parliamentary secretary for housing, is under scrutiny for illegally demanding a $2,850 security deposit and $175 cleaning fee from tenants both forbidden under Quebec’s Civil Code
• A group chat for over 1,400 aspiring medical students in Quebec - and some would say that number represents almost all the aspiring med students in the province - was taken over by anti-semitic, homophobic, misogynistic, and racist vitriol

Elias Makos ends the week with Sue Smith, a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

• Yesterday in a historic and some say unexpected move, an American cardinal named Robert Francis Prevost, originally from Chicago has been elected pope
• A report in La Press this week that some new seniors’ homes were costing the Quebec government as much as $1.8 million dollars a unit, the Minister for Health and for Seniors
• The Quebec student cellphone ban walkout (strike?) is supposedly happening today

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS.

• A viral TikTok video is urging Quebec high school students to skip class this Friday in protest of a new government directive banning cellphones
• The Legault government is set to introduce a controversial bill aimed at making Quebec doctors more accountable for improving access to medical services
• Do we need to do more to restrict porn access, like the 20 U.S. states that require government ID verification, in this country?
• Clothing brand Garage is facing backlash over sexually suggestive products, including a t-shirt with the phrase “This top looks better wet.”
• Podcaster Joe Rogan says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre declined an invitation to appear on his podcast