On The Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast Poking the Bear - the Reagan Anti-tariff Ad and Ottawa’s Silence
Oct 30, 2025
01:04:45
October 29, 2025
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests: Kathleen Wynne, John Wright, Keith Leslie
Featured Interview: Neil Hetherington, CEO, Daily Bread Food Bank
In this wide-ranging roundtable, Dave Trafford is joined by former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, pollster John Wright, and journalist Keith Leslie to unpack a week of political turbulence—from Premier Doug Ford’s Reagan-themed U.S. trade ad and the resulting tariff tantrum from Washington, to the Ontario government’s omnibus legislation blitz at Queen’s Park.
The panel explores how Ford’s “Captain Canada” messaging has inflamed an already volatile Canada–U.S. trade climate and whether Ottawa and Queen’s Park are working from the same playbook. Wynne argues for federal-provincial coordination; Wright warns about “freelancing premiers”; and Leslie questions the political wisdom of running ads that “poke the bear” during the World Series.
Later, the discussion turns to Ontario’s new omnibus bills—from scrapping speed cameras to raising political donation limits—provoking questions about transparency, committee work, and the government’s appetite for real debate.
In the second half, Dave sits down with Neil Hetherington of the Daily Bread Food Bank to dissect this year’s Who’s Hungry report: food-bank visits in Toronto have hit 4.1 million, a 340 percent increase since 2019, with one in ten Torontonians relying on food banks. The panel weighs policy failures, stagnant wages, and corporate responsibility amid record profits.
They close by reflecting on poverty as an economic indicator and the political will required to address it—while predicting that both trade tensions and food insecurity will worsen before they improve.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction – Dave sets the agenda: trade, tariffs, legislation, and hunger
02:00 – Ford’s U.S. ad and the tariff fallout
09:45 – Ottawa’s silence and the coordination gap
20:00 – Inside Queen’s Park: Omnibus politics and missed debate
37:00 – Neil Hetherington on Toronto’s hunger crisis
53:00 – Policy, poverty, and political accountability
You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)
Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X
And you can leave us a voice comment here!
For more information go to Dave's website.
Host: Dave Trafford
Guests: Kathleen Wynne, John Wright, Keith Leslie
Featured Interview: Neil Hetherington, CEO, Daily Bread Food Bank
In this wide-ranging roundtable, Dave Trafford is joined by former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, pollster John Wright, and journalist Keith Leslie to unpack a week of political turbulence—from Premier Doug Ford’s Reagan-themed U.S. trade ad and the resulting tariff tantrum from Washington, to the Ontario government’s omnibus legislation blitz at Queen’s Park.
The panel explores how Ford’s “Captain Canada” messaging has inflamed an already volatile Canada–U.S. trade climate and whether Ottawa and Queen’s Park are working from the same playbook. Wynne argues for federal-provincial coordination; Wright warns about “freelancing premiers”; and Leslie questions the political wisdom of running ads that “poke the bear” during the World Series.
Later, the discussion turns to Ontario’s new omnibus bills—from scrapping speed cameras to raising political donation limits—provoking questions about transparency, committee work, and the government’s appetite for real debate.
In the second half, Dave sits down with Neil Hetherington of the Daily Bread Food Bank to dissect this year’s Who’s Hungry report: food-bank visits in Toronto have hit 4.1 million, a 340 percent increase since 2019, with one in ten Torontonians relying on food banks. The panel weighs policy failures, stagnant wages, and corporate responsibility amid record profits.
They close by reflecting on poverty as an economic indicator and the political will required to address it—while predicting that both trade tensions and food insecurity will worsen before they improve.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction – Dave sets the agenda: trade, tariffs, legislation, and hunger
02:00 – Ford’s U.S. ad and the tariff fallout
09:45 – Ottawa’s silence and the coordination gap
20:00 – Inside Queen’s Park: Omnibus politics and missed debate
37:00 – Neil Hetherington on Toronto’s hunger crisis
53:00 – Policy, poverty, and political accountability
You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!)
Follow Dave on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X
And you can leave us a voice comment here!
For more information go to Dave's website.