The Big Five Podcast

Elias Makos is joined by Trudie Mason, veteran Newscaster at CJAD 800, and 
Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, columnist for the Hill Times in Ottawa and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

• Add Elon Musk to the list of very important people trolling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau online
• Just in – Donald Trump is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Do you agree?
• In response to Donald Trump's tariff threats, François Legault says there should be an immediate renegotiation of the Canada-US free trade agreement. While Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggests cutting energy exports to the US as a retaliatory measure

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.

• Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller is accusing François Legault of singling out Muslims 
• Speaking at an Equal Voice Foundation event, Trudeau lamented the defeat of Kamala Harris, saying it was an attack on women’s progress
• Justin Trudeau is set to appear on a special episode of Hot Ones Quebec this Thursday

Elias Makos is joined by Christina Chough, Spanish teacher and Chair of the modern languages department at Dawson College, and Political analyst Karim Boulos.

• incoming President Donald Trump trolled PM Trudeau in a social media post, saying "It was a pleasure to have dinner with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada." The open mockery came hours after Trudeau spoke at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, and took a not-so-thinly-veiled shot at Trump and the voters that supported him
• The top story in The Globe and Mail this morning is raising eyebrows in Ottawa. It details growing tension between the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland over astronomical spending pushed by the PMO
• Over 60 Quebec CEGEPs professors warn against the rise of dogmatic thinking, which challenges values like secularism, equality, and scientific reasoning

Elias Makos starts the week with Akil Alleyne, Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program, and Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor.

• Premier François Legault’s end-of-session press conference included the news that the government would look at banning prayer in public
• Legault spoke with Donald Trump about the border and tariffs, and Elon Musk about international trade and electric vehicles
• New poll numbers from Abacus shows that Donald Trump is more popular than Justin Trudeau in Canada

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

• Today is the 35th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre, where 14 women were killed. Ahead of this anniversary - the Liberal government announced they would add hundreds of firearms to its list of banned guns
• While we like to look down at our American neighbors on crime, and a new study does reaffirm that Canada still has much lower murder rate than the U.S. - we actually have higher violent crime and property crime rates.
• The Saint-Maxime High School in Laval is under investigation by the Laval School Service Center for alleged breaches of Quebec's secularism law

Elias Makos is joined by Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS.

• Should Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister be replaced? Despite a glamorous profile in The New York Times on Wednesday, there is mounting criticism against Melanie Joly
• Quebec is expanding the range of surgeries available in private clinics at no cost to patients
• Loto-Québec plans to expand its network of mini-casinos across Quebec

Elias Makos is joined by Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the PR and content firm TNKR Media and host of the Inspiring Business Hour - Saturdays at noon on CJAD 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 on The Big 5.

• The United States wants to annex us and its incoming president is trolling us with memes.
• Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé has introduced a bill requiring new doctors trained in the province to work in Quebec’s public health system for five years.
• Unpaid healthcare bills in Quebec's public health system have more than doubled in five years, reaching $82 million in 2023.

Elias Makos is joined by Jimmy Zoubris, Special Advisor to the Mayor and Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance on The Big 5.

• The Trudeau government has launched a $250,000 international online ad campaign to deter fraudulent asylum claims.
• More details coming out of the Friday night dinner at Mar-a-Lago between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump.
• A recent Pallas survey reveals that 52% of Quebecers believe Premier François Legault should resign rather than seek a third term.

Elias begins the week with Christina Chough, Chair of the modern languages department at Dawson College and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia. 

• U.S. President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, on gun and tax charges, reversing prior commitments not to intervene in his son's legal cases. 

• The Quebec government announced it will not align its provincial sales tax with Ottawa's temporary GST holiday during the holiday season

• Ensemble Montréal has postponed its leadership race due to a lack of candidates ahead of the November 2025 municipal elections.

Elias Makos caps off the week with Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the PR and content firm TNKR Media and host of the Inspiring Business Hour Saturdays at noon on CJAD, and Neil Drabkin, federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government.

• Justin Trudeau’s two-month GST holiday bill, promising tax relief on select consumer goods over the holidays passed in the House of Commons yesterday
• After nearly two weeks, there is no sign that the nationwide Canada Post strike will end anytime soon
• As Australia becomes the first country to ban social media for children under 16, Quebec is exploring a similar move
• Quebec Premier François Legault says he’s happy with Ottawa’s response to Donald Trump’s threat of a 25% tariff on Canadian goods