The LeDrew Three Minute Interview

John Rapley, contributing columnist for The Globe and Mail, joins Stephen LeDrew to discuss one of the biggest economic questions surrounding artificial intelligence: is the AI boom actually a bubble?

Rapley argues that enormous amounts of money are flowing into AI infrastructure, data centres and technology companies, but the productivity gains needed to justify today’s valuations still haven’t clearly materialized.

He says AI is already useful in many everyday tasks and can improve individual productivity, but questions whether those gains are large enough across the broader economy to support the scale of investment now taking place.

The conversation also turns to data centres, credit, corporate losses and what could happen if the current AI investment boom slows sharply.

Rapley’s view is not that AI disappears. Quite the opposite. He argues that a bursting bubble could ultimately redirect money toward more practical and commercially useful applications of the technology.

LeDrew and Rapley also discuss another unexpected consequence of AI: as synthetic, created content and misinformation become more sophisticated, could trusted media organizations become more valuable again?

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TOPICS COVERED

• The AI investment boom
• Whether AI valuations are sustainable
• Productivity gains from artificial intelligence
• Data centre investment
• Credit and financing
• What happens if the bubble bursts
• AI mistakes and quality control
• Practical uses of AI
• Whether capital is being misallocated
• The future of AI startups
• Trust in news and legacy media
• Synthetic content and misinformation

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Catherine Swift joins Stephen LeDrew for a pointed discussion about political appointments, government spending and whether Canadians are demanding enough accountability from Ottawa.

The conversation begins with Diana Fox Carney, the Prime Minister’s wife, who he has named Canada’s Ocean Envoy and Chair of the 2027 Our Ocean Conference ! The Carney Government says the position is volunteer and unpaid and describes Fox Carney as an economist with experience in climate policy, business and non-profit organizations.

LeDrew and Swift nevertheless question the optics of appointing the Prime Minister’s spouse to a government role and argue that the decision deserves greater public and parliamentary scrutiny.

They also discuss recent federal spending on ocean protection. Ottawa announced more than $740 million over four years for a range of marine conservation, safety, Indigenous stewardship, habitat and ocean-science initiatives; that funding is broader than Fox Carney’s role or the conference itself.

The conversation then widens to healthcare benefits for asylum claimants, government spending and whether Canadians have become too accustomed to decisions that once would have produced much greater political controversy. The federal Interim Federal Health Program provides temporary coverage to eligible asylum claimants, including basic healthcare, prescriptions and some supplemental services that the average Canadian doesn’t receive! Since May 2026, co-payments apply to prescriptions and many supplemental benefits.

Topics Covered:

• Diana Fox Carney’s Ocean Envoy appointment
• Political appointments and perceptions of nepotism
• The role being volunteer and unpaid
• Federal ocean-protection spending
• Parliamentary scrutiny
• Government transparency
• Healthcare for asylum claimants
• Federal spending priorities
• Political double standards
• Why Swift says Canadians should demand more accountability

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Former Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri joins Stephen LeDrew to ask whether Canadians are becoming overwhelmed — and increasingly numb — to controversies surrounding government spending, transparency and accountability.

The conversation begins with the appointment of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s wife, Diana Fox Carney, as Canada’s volunteer Ocean Envoy and chair of the 2027 Our Ocean Conference, alongside Ottawa’s separate $82-million commitment to expand international ocean observation.

Ferreri and LeDrew also discuss the loss of tens of $Millions$ in Sustainable Development Technology Canada and a much larger problem: when Canadians are confronted with a constant stream of political stories, spending announcements and controversies, do they eventually stop paying attention?

Ferreri argues that information overload is contributing to political exhaustion, mistrust and apathy.

This is the first Three Minutes. Become a member to watch the full 10-minute conversation with Michelle Ferreri — including Carney’s popularity, media coverage, online regulation and why she believes Canadians need to start demanding measurable results from government.

Topics Covered:

• Government accountability
• Diana Fox Carney’s Ocean Envoy appointment
• Ottawa’s ocean-monitoring investment
• The SDTC controversy
• Political information overload
• Why voters become numb
• Trust in government
• Carney’s continued popularity
• Accountability versus personality

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In this Friday rant, Stephen LeDrew asks a question he does not ask very often: could Canada finally be starting to move in the right direction?

LeDrew remains deeply critical of the federal government, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, government spending, bureaucracy and what he sees as continuing problems with accountability.

But this rant is also about something bigger.

After years of political division, a worsening drug crisis, battles over Canadian history and identity, frustration with immigration policy and a growing sense that the country had lost some of its social cohesion,

LeDrew says he is beginning to hear something different from Canadians.

People want accountability. They want responsible government. They want their communities to work. And they want to feel proud of Canada again.

LeDrew points to municipal candidates, provincial leaders, MPs and ordinary Canadians who are increasingly demanding better government and stronger communities.

Canada cannot simply turn the clock back. The country has changed.

But LeDrew argues that it can move forward with more responsibility, more accountability and a renewed sense that Canadians still have something worth rebuilding together.

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TOPICS COVERED

• Whether Canada is starting to turn a corner
• The legacy of the Trudeau years
• Government accountability
• The federal heat-pump rebate program
• Canada’s drug crisis
• Immigration policy
• Restoring social cohesion
• Municipal and provincial leadership
• Pride in Canadian identity
• Rebuilding trust in government
• Responsibility and civic participation

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Economist and Globe and Mail columnist John Rapley joins Stephen LeDrew to ask why the war involving the United States and Iran is still dragging on months after it began.

Rapley argues that Washington entered the conflict with powerful military capabilities but without a sufficiently clear political endgame.

The United States and its allies have inflicted substantial damage on Iran’s military infrastructure, while Iran has suffered enormous economic pressure. Yet the government in Tehran remains in power and continues to pose a regional threat.

Rapley argues that this illustrates an important difference between tactics and strategy: winning individual battles does not necessarily tell you how to end a war.

The conversation also turns to Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, the reluctance of American allies to become more deeply involved, and the role of China and Russia, which have their own strategic reasons for preventing Iran from simply falling into Washington’s orbit.

The fundamental question is simple: what outcome is the United States actually trying to achieve — and how does it get there?

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TOPICS COVERED

• The continuing U.S.-Iran conflict
• Why Iran’s government has not collapsed
• Military tactics versus political strategy
• Whether Washington had a clear endgame
• The Strait of Hormuz
• Iran’s military and economic damage
• Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam
• Why American allies are reluctant to join
• China and Russia’s interests in Iran
• Regime change versus containment
• What it takes to actually end a war

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Lawyer, columnist and Save Our History founder Mark Johnson joins Stephen LeDrew to discuss his campaign to make candidates take a public position on the future of Sir John A. Macdonald statues removed from public spaces.

Johnson says Save Our History has contacted candidates asking a straightforward question: should Macdonald statues be returned to public view, or should they remain in storage?

For Johnson, the argument goes far beyond statues. He sees the issue as part of a larger debate over how Canadians understand their history, whether the country should take pride in its founders while acknowledging their failings, and how much influence unelected institutions should have over public memory.

Save Our History describes itself as a non-partisan grassroots movement dedicated to preserving Canadian historical statues and school names. The organization is currently campaigning for the restoration of Macdonald statues in several Ontario communities.

LeDrew and Johnson also discuss education, colonialism, Canadian identity and whether candidates should be forced to tell voters exactly where they stand on controversial historical questions.

Topics Covered:

• Sir John A. Macdonald statues
• Putting candidates on the record
• Statues currently held in storage
• Municipal politics and historical memory
• Pride versus criticism of Canadian history
• How politicians handle controversial historical figures
• School boards and Canadian history
• Colonialism and national identity
• Immigration and integration
• Whether Canada should restore removed monuments

Save Our History: https://www.saveourhistory.ca/

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In this Friday rant, Stephen LeDrew takes aim at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s governing ability - arguing that Canadians are hearing plenty from the Prime Minister on the international stage while getting too little debate, accountability and explanation at home.

LeDrew points to Carney’s recent New York Times interview, where the Prime Minister discussed preparing for the remote possibility of U.S. military action against Canada. LeDrew argues that a more politically experienced prime minister might have used the question to emphasize the deep economic, cultural and security relationship between Canada and the United States.

The rant then turns to Carney’s leadership at home. LeDrew questions whether too much power is concentrated in the PMO, whether cabinet ministers have any power and authority, and whether major announcements are creating measurable results.

From pipelines and “Buy Canadian” procurement, to closer ties with Europe and another potential increase in immigration, LeDrew argues that Canadians deserve more than announcements.

They deserve debate, Parliament and accountability.

And if Canada is going to fundamentally change its economic and international relationships, Canadians should have a much bigger role in that conversation.

Canada belongs to Canadians - not the Ottawa Elite.

TOPICS COVERED

• Carney’s New York Times interview
• The possibility of U.S. military action
• Canada-U.S. relations
• Carney’s international media strategy
• The power of the PMO
• Cabinet and parliamentary accountability
• Major project announcements
• Buy Canadian procurement
• Canada’s proposed closer relationship with Europe
• Immigration and population growth
• Whether government announcements are producing results
• Why Canadians need more political debate

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Economist and small-business advocate Catherine Swift joins Stephen LeDrew to discuss the latest trouble facing Canada’s steel industry after Stelco announced layoffs affecting up to 500 workers.

While Stelco has cited U.S. tariffs, weakened demand and import pressures, Swift argues that Canadians also need to look at global steel overcapacity and competition from heavily subsidized Chinese production.

LeDrew and Swift discuss whether Canada’s trade protections are strong enough, why cheap imports can put domestic manufacturers under enormous pressure and whether Ottawa is too quick to blame Donald Trump for economic problems that have deeper causes.

Swift’s argument: Canada cannot protect jobs simply by pointing at Washington. It also has to examine its own trade, industrial and economic policies.

This is the first Three Minutes. Become a member to watch the full 10-minute conversation with Catherine Swift on small business, Canada’s slowing economy, productivity, the dollar and why she believes domestic policy is doing serious damage.

• Topics Covered:
• Stelco layoffs
• Canada’s steel industry
• Chinese steel competition
• U.S. tariffs
• Global steel overcapacity
• Trade protections
• Canadian manufacturing
• Whether Ottawa is blaming Trump too much

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Former Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri joins Stephen LeDrew to discuss Parliament, government accountability and whether too much political power has become concentrated around Prime Minister Mark Carney and the PMO.

The conversation begins with Carney’s recent interview with the New York Times, in which he said Canada may eventually resume a “controlled increase” in population as the government prepares its next immigration levels plan.

LeDrew and Ferreri ask why Canadians learn about significant government intentions through speeches and foreign media rather than through sustained debate in Parliament.

Ferreri also draws on her experience as an MP to criticize Question Period and argue that parliamentary committees can provide much more meaningful scrutiny — through witnesses, testimony and detailed examination of government policy.

That matters even more with the Liberals currently holding 174 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons, giving the government a narrow majority.

The broader question: if Canadians want better government, where should the real accountability come from — Parliament, committees, the media or voters themselves?

Topics Covered:

• Carney’s New York Times interview
• Immigration and government communication
• Power inside the PMO
• Parliament and political accountability
• Why Question Period frustrates voters
• The importance of parliamentary committees
• Majority government and scrutiny
• How MPs hold ministers accountable
• Trust in political journalism
• Voters’ responsibility to seek information

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Mark Milke, President of the Aristotle Foundation, joins Stephen LeDrew to ask whether Canadians are really disengaged from politics — or whether the political system gives them too few opportunities to participate.

Milke argues that ordinary Canadians cannot be expected to become experts on every issue when they are busy working, raising families and living their lives. The deeper problem, he says, is that citizens generally get one meaningful opportunity to influence government every few years.

The conversation turns to Switzerland, where voters regularly participate in referendums on major public-policy questions, and to the United States, where competing branches of government can provide additional checks on power.

Milke argues that Canada’s system concentrates too much authority in party leaders and the Prime Minister’s Office, particularly under majority governments.

His proposed solution: citizen-initiated referendums, recall mechanisms and more opportunities for Canadians to inject themselves directly into the political process.

Topics Covered:

• Why Canadians disengage from politics
• Voting once every few years
• Power concentrated in the PMO
• Why MPs rarely challenge party leaders
• Citizen-initiated referendums
• Switzerland’s direct-democracy model
• Recall legislation
• Checks and balances in the United States
• Majority governments and accountability
• Giving citizens more direct political power

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