The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright, you curious, you courageous Herle Burly-ites … welcome to the pod!

On the heels of the NATO Summit in Washington, I want to do some real talk on Canada’s stated commitment and the Prime Minister’s comments at the Summit. In the context of an increasingly volatile world, 23 of 32 NATO Allies are currently meeting the 2% of GDP military investment threshold. Canada is not one of them.

But, by 2032, Trudeau says the government “hopes to reach the target”. By spending on new capabilities like submarines, which have yet to be costed or approved. So, what does this all mean, exactly? And how best should we be spending our 2%?

With me to have that discussion is Dr. David Perry, President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a non-partisan, independent think tank. He’s the author of multiple publications on defence budgeting, transformation and procurement, and a columnist for the Canadian Naval Review. His PhD in political science came from Carleton University and he’s an adjunct professor at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, as well as a research fellow of the Centre for the Study of Security and Development at Dalhousie University.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Greetings you loyal, you curious Herle Burly-ites!

We’ve got a “MP Alert” on the pod today!

The Honourable Marco Mendicino has graciously made some time for us.

Marco is the long serving — since 2015 — Member of Parliament from Eglinton/Lawrence in Toronto. He’s served in Cabinet as both the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship … and more recently, Minister of Public Safety. Before public life, he was a federal prosecutor for more than a decade.

And it’s both his personal experiences and his political experience in the latter cabinet portfolio – Public Safety – that’s going to inform the discussion we’re having today.

In the wake of last weekend’s Trump assassination attempt, I want to explore this visceral and growing issue of political violence. As well as dive into the broader issues of national security and public safety. 

What’s fueling the vitriol and behaviour?
How do we mitigate it?
What’s the government’s role and what’s the public’s role?

As I said, Marco has first-hand experience with all of it. So, who better to talk about it?

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites. Let’s get this pod underway.

In the realm of CVs that I’ve seen and determined are far more impressive than mine – that’s a helluva lot of CVs, by the way – today’s guest ranks way up there: Dan Gardner!

Don’t know Dan? Let me give you just a smattering of his accomplishments.  He’s a New York Times best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and freelance writer/editor. His latest book is “How Big Things Get Done”. Trained in history and law, Dan worked as a senior policy advisor to a Premier and Minister of Education, before turning to journalism in 1997. He’s been nominated for every major award in Canadian newspaper journalism – and won a bunch of them – and his books have been published in 26 countries and 20 languages. Dan’s also won awards from Amnesty International Canada, the John Howard Society, the Department of Justice, and other organizations. And his work also contributed to significant changes in Canadian public policy. So just a little bit impressive!

Today … I thought it would be interesting if Dan and I took a deep dive on one very broad question: “Elections in the modern era. What matters in them?”

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright, you Herle Burly-ites. A pretty cool show we’ve got for you today. We’re doing a bit of pod crossover, and here’s the reason:

Naheed Nenshi became leader of Alberta’s NDP, just 2 weeks ago. Not just by a large margin. Or an extra-large margin. Landslide may not even be a strong enough a word. Mr. Nenshi’s win was first ballot. 86% of the vote. More than 10 times that of the runner up. So we’re going to talk about how that happened.

And there’s few better to do that with than his campaign co-director … a man who also happens to be a co-creator, and 1/3 of “The Strategists” Podcast, Zain Velji. Hence, it’s a Canadian Political Pod crossover today, Herle Burly-ites!

Zain is the man behind Nenshi’s powerful political brand. He’s a vice-president and partner with Northweather, a strategy and marketing firm, focusing on charities, non-profits, causes, and advocacy. He helped lead Nenshi’s successful mayoral campaigns and he played a big part in the Alberta NDP campaigns in 2019 and 2023.

Zain is a regular political commentator with the CBC, his work has also appeared in the Toronto Star, and Globe and Mail and in 2019 was a panelist on CTV’s National federal election coverage. So, lots of bona fides there. Alberta and beyond.

We’re going to talk about it all today:

• Nenshi.
• Alberta Politics provincial and federal.
• And the federal scene more generally.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! An interesting topic on the pod today (one that really doesn’t get enough media coverage)… The Pursuit of Happiness.

Dr. Peter Nicholson is making his second appearance here on The Herle Burly and we’re talking about his specific observations on the 2024 World Happiness Report.

Peter has written a fantastic online piece on this for Air Quotes Media, and I encourage you to read it: https://www.airquotesmedia.com/quotes/2024-world-happiness-report-observations-2may2024

The report explores the nature and implications of a particular concept of “happiness” in a cross-nation context, which has clear implications for public policy thinking. A key finding from the 2024 report, we’ll dive into today: 

• People in the developing world are generally more optimistic about their future than people in the developed world.
• Younger people are happier in the developing world. Older people less happy.
• In the developed world, the opposite is true.

If you don’t know Peter, he’s a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia. He’s a polymath who has served in numerous posts in government, business, science and higher education. His long public service career included positions as Head of Policy in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada and the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist with Finance Canada. Peter is currently the Chair of the Board of the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices.

Join us as we explore why money is a necessary but insufficient component of happiness, and a lot more, with Peter Nicholson, one of the most curious people I know.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

We’re going to get right to it. A deep dive into Ontario Politics and Queen’s Park. The stories and the players. With us to do that, two journalists who know the scene better than most: Steve Paikin and Jessica Smith Cross.

Steve is making his third appearance on the pod. Journalist, author, documentary producer and anchor of TVO’s flagship current affairs program, the Agenda.

Jessica is making her second appearance. And with that, has attained official “friend of The Herle Burly” status. She’s helped launch the excellent TheTrillium.ca and serves as its Editor-in-Chief. Prior to the Trillium, she was Editor-in-Chief of iPolitics and Queen’ Park Briefing.

Join us to discuss Ontario and the start of the next election!

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Greetings, Herle Burly-ites! And a happy, pre-rum and coke weekend to you loyal pod listeners. We’ve assembled our #PolicyPanel again to give us their thoughts on what has easily been the most contentious piece from the recent budget: the capital gains tax debate.

Tyler Meredith, Ken Boessenkool, and Dr. Jennifer Robson are here to talk about those goddamned – or those absolutely spot on (depending on your point of view) – Capital Gains tax measures.

Tyler is the former Head of Fiscal and Economic Policy for Prime Minister Trudeau and Ministers of Finance, Chrystia Freeland and Bill Morneau. Today, he’s a Founding Partner at Meredith/Boessenkool Policy Advisors.

Ken is the other, more conservative half of that founding partnership. He’s one of Canada’s leading policy strategists, having worked for Prime Minister Harper, Premier Klein, and Christy Clark among others. And he’s a research fellow at the CD Howe Institute.

Jennifer has been in senior roles in policy development and research with the Federal Government. She’s now Program Director and Associate Professor of Political Management at Carleton University. Her research centres on the intersection of household finances and the design and implementation of social policy.

So who better to dive into this topic and tax policy more generally? The answer is nobody. Nobody, godammit!

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

We’re joined by two fine writers today, each of whom just launched books dealing with the same subject matter: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his rise and his rule.

Stephen Maher has been writing about Canadian politics since 1989 as a columnist and reporter for Postmedia, iPolitics, and Maclean’s. He’s a multi-award-winner, and his latest book is called: “The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau.”

Paul Wells has, for years, been one of one of Canada’s great political journalists. Formerly at Maclean’s, the National Post and The Gazette, he now publishes his own widely read subscription newsletter, paulwells.substack.com. His book is: “Justin Trudeau on the Ropes: Governing in Troubled Times.”

As you might expect, we’ll talk about what compelled them both to write about Trudeau and contrast their respective takes.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Our guest today is a long-time friend of the pod, back for his third appearance, Andrew MacDougall!

Andrew is the former Director of Communications for Prime Minister Harper. Now he lives in London, England where he’s a Director at Trafalgar Strategy, and writes about politics and current affairs, and appears frequently on TV, in all the best journalistic places. That includes his most recent piece in The Star on the snap, soggy election call by UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.

Today we’re going to talk about what this election is about and the issues confronting the United Kingdom. And the overlap and lessons for he Canadian political scene. With more on Poilievre, Trudeau, and Singh.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

This pod is a real treat for all you data nerds. With us today is pollster, data scientist, former Herle protégé and proud daughter of Humboldt, Saskatchewan … Kyla Ronellenfitsch!

I mean, what can I tell you about Kyla the overachiever? She started her career with me at the Gandalf Group – I think she was about 11 years old at the time – and ended up leading the research for the Ontario Liberal Party during the 2018 election. Tough gig, that one. Kyla’s been dividing her time between Canada and the U.S, for the past few years. In 2021, she founded her own full-service polling firm, Relay Strategies, based in Ottawa. She also consults with Change Research out of San Francisco, on thought leadership and product development. Kyla holds a Master of Science in Analytics from the University of Chicago, and Master of Political Management from Carleton. And she’s the first alumnus of that latter program to return as an instructor.

Today we’ll be taking a data deep dive into a fresh qual and quant study (1) from Kyla. She’s explored attitudes about Trudeau as Prime Minister. Just exactly how bad is it out there for him? What do people think of Poilievre? What difference might a change in Liberal leadership make and what would people be looking for in any new Liberal leader?

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

(1) https://relaywithkyla.beehiiv.com/p/welcome-1st-relay-kyla-ronellenfitsch