The Big Five Podcast

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor and Montreal journalist and broadcaster Sue Smith. Among the topics discussed A new poll from Leger for Postmedia shows the Liberals in majority territory François Legault may not be leaving the National Assembly as quickly as expected One Montreal engineering school has decided beef is off the menu — literally — in the name of climate change According to the results of a survey done by Radio-Canada, 60% of students in Quebec use AI regularly, ranging from several times a month to several times a day  

Raphaël Melançon, Quebec political analyst and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Andrew Caddell, columnist and president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, discuss a reported Trump-Carney phone call and claims about walked-back Davos remarks. They also tackle a Montreal school secretary demanding French emails and the political fallout of a CAQ leadership contest. Short, punchy takes on politics, language rules, and party dynamics.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Trudie Mason, Veteran Newscaster here at CJAD 800 and Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante. Among the topics discussed were U.S. President Donald Trump revived one of his most pointed insults toward Canada on Saturday, calling Prime Minister Mark Carney “governor” and threatening to slam the country with a 100 per cent tariff over its growing ties with China Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to announce a GST credit increase this morning Turns out if you get arrested while climbing the Jacques-Cartier bridge, you can get away with it by claiming you're a climate activist. The trial for the two men who climbed the structure back in October of 2024 was cancelled officially back in December By now you’ve all heard of the TV show “Heated Rivalry,” which has already become a cult hit around the world. The author of the book series the show is based on, Canadian novelist Rachel Reid, says that she’s been on a five-year waiting list to see a specialist for Parkinson’s disease. But now that she has acquired fame, she’s getting an appointment in two weeks. Is this how Canadian healthcare works?  

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were political analyst Karim Boulos and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom. Among the subjects discussed were  The saga between Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S President Donald Trump continued yesterday. The day started off with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum was “political noise” and criticized Canada’s recent deal with China. Perhaps one of the reasons we’re in this continuing quagmire is that Mark Carney and Donald Trump, despite their big speeches, did not meet at Davos. Instead, the PM returned to Canada before Trump’s arrival. Yesterday, ahead of the government’s weekend cabinet retreat in Quebec City, Carney delivered a “national address” calling on national unity. Yesterday on the program, we spoke to Patriotic Millionaires Canada, a group that argues that this country should tax the ultra-rich even more.  Canadian tourism to Las Vegas is down between 25 and 50 percent. In an attempt to attract more Canadians, three downtown Las Vegas hotels have begun accepting the Canadian dollar at par with the American dollar in an effort to spur Canuck travel. 

Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government, and Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance. A framework deal over the future of the Arctic has been agreed upon between U.S President Donald Trump and NATO.  Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Canadians to boycott Chinese-made vehicles in the wake of a federal trade deal that will allow them into the country. Canada has quietly hit the reset button on TikTok — and the timing is raising eyebrows.  The federal government has drawn up a plan to ban social media for children under the age of 14. 

Elias Makos welcomes back 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.  Mark Carney was reunited with his people yesterday, and it showed. A confident Canadian Prime Minister delivered a speech in front of the faithful assembled at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Mark Carney has left Davos and Donald Trump has arrived, and we track his speech in real time We are getting an update on what the plans could be for the high-speed rail between Toronto and Quebec City. 

Elias Makos is joined by Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, 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. The Globe and Mail reports that the Canadian Armed Forces have quietly run a hypothetical scenario most people would never expect — a U.S. military invasion of Canada, and how this country might respond. What do you think of Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace?" Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada won’t pay the reported one-billion-dollar U.S. entry fee to take part in the organization. Op-Ed in La Presse from the heads of Oxfam-Quebec and the non-profit Patriotic Millionaires Canada says that this country needs to tax the ultra-rich more.  The Federal Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that the use of the Emergencies Act during the Freedom Convoy four years ago was unreasonable. 

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster. Canada is weighing a plan to send a small contingent of troops to Greenland for military exercises with NATO allies Mark Carney took a trip to Qatar this weekend and announced that the Middle Eastern country has committed to “significant strategic investments” for Canada’s major building projects. A new federal poll from Abacus Data has the Liberals and Conservatives tied at 40 percent if an election were held today.  The Catholic Church in the Saint-Marie neighbourhood has filed a lawsuit against the City of Montreal, saying the city won’t allow it to demolish a church that’s turned into a safety hazard. 

Joining Elias on The Big Five were Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Among the topics discussed were The Liberal government has reached a deal with China allowing 49 thousands chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market Two potential candidates in the CAQrace are already receiving backing from several people. Energy and Economy Minister Christine Fréchette has received support from Cybersecurity and Digital Technology Minister Gilles Bélanger There have been three femicides in Quebec since the start of the year - and recent developments in two of the cases are getting attention

Caroline Codsi, a champion for gender parity and governance reforms, teams up with Lea Streliski, a bestselling author and comedian, to dissect the political landscape of Quebec. They reflect on François Legault's tenure, weighing his initial pandemic leadership against diminishing public services and confrontational politics. The duo also explores the potential successors for Legault in the CAQ and discusses Canada’s evolving relationship with China. Finally, they debate the implications of the SAQ's new home delivery service for alcohol, considering public health concerns.