The Herle Burly

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! Back in July, the Wall Street Journal ran a striking series on how Europe is quietly rethinking its arrangements with the world to counter a changing, increasingly predatory United States. And surprisingly, named Mark Carney as one of the leaders pushing Europe in that direction, pointing back to his Davos speech and his idea of "variable geometry" alliances replacing the old hub-and-spoke reliance on Washington. We want to explore these themes: what does it means for institutions like NATO and the G7 to become secondary to newer, looser alignments? How does the Western world meet the challenge of China going forward? And what does all of this mean for Canada's economy and its place in the world? To dig into it, we bring in two brilliant people today: Jennifer Welsh and Colin Robertson . Jennifer Welsh is a four-time guest of the pod, Rhodes Scholar, co-founder of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict. Currently, the Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. And making his first appearance, Colin Robertson . He served as a Canadian diplomat for over 30 years. He helped negotiate the original Canada/U.S. Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA. Currently, he’s a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and host of its Global Exchange podcast. They dig into why countries from Europe to Australia to South Korea are hedging their bets on America, what "variable geometry" actually looks like in practice, whether the G7 and G20 are still fit for the world we live in, and some genuinely concrete questions too. Like whether Canada should still buy the F-35, and why Mexico deserves to be treated as a real ally rather than a partner of convenience. A fascinating, wide-ranging conversation about what's replacing the old international order, and Canada's surprising role at the centre of it. Stay with us for the hour. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! This one's for anyone tired of the heat-with-no-light that passes for policy debate on Twitter. David brings together three super smart policy minds who understand government — spanning different ideologies and varying degrees of partisanship. It’s a rare, respectful, rational, 90-minute conversation about the predicament Canada finds itself in and what policy steps the country should take next in this trade war with the US. Tyler Meredith, Jennifer Robson, and Ginny Roth dig into whether Canada should still be racing back to the table with the Americans, or whether this is finally the moment to build real independence from that relationship. They debate what's actually achievable through internal free trade. Tyler makes the case the economic models behind it are, in his words, "bullshit" and why Canadian businesses have been sitting on their capital for the better part of a decade. They’ll also discuss what it means that the federal government has quietly become one of the country's biggest investors: building and owning pipelines, de-risking major projects, and increasingly deciding which sectors to grow. They dig into the politically thorny stuff too: interprovincial trade barriers nobody wants to touch, the tanker ban, First Nations consultation, and why "brain drain" needs to come back into the conversation. And they close on the immediate question of who's actually hurting right now: auto workers, steel workers, forestry towns … and whether EI, retraining, and liquidity supports are anywhere close to adequate for what's coming next. This is a substantive episode that spans real disagreement and real depth. Pour yourself a coffee and settle in with the panel: 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 & Phillips Policy Advisors. Jennifer has served 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. And Ginny has spent a life in politics, most recently as Directory of Comms for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative leadership campaign. She’s a sought after commentator across various media and a Partner at Crestview Strategy advising clients on public policy. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! David spent the weekend, like a lot of Canadians, trying to process the breakdown in Canada-US trade talks and the unusually sharp statement Mark Carney delivered to the country the day before. So he called in The Chiefs : three former chiefs of staff to some of Canada's most prominent political leaders. It gets pointed fast. Did the Americans overplay a genuinely greedy hand? Did Carney make the right call walking away? Was the government's credibility already damaged by how it handled the Gordie Howe Bridge file and did is show weakness the Americans noticed? There's a real disagreement over Danielle Smith's freelancing in Washington, whether the federal government has been too closed and secretive through the negotiations, and whether the actual documents from the talks should be released publicly. They also look ahead: what a genuine pivot away from US dependence would require, the risk to public finances if bond markets get skittish, how fast major projects could realistically move, and lastly, what all of this means for Pierre Poilievre now facing renewed questions about his leadership. A tough, sharp, no-holds-barred conversation between three pros of very different stripes who've all sat at the highest levels of government. Not to be missed. Enjoy the hour with: Ian Brodie – first Chief of Staff to Stephen Harper. Now, Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, and Senior Advisor at New West Public Affairs. Tim Murphy – former Chief of Staff to Paul Martin. Now, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at AECON. Brian Topp – former Chief of Staff to Rachel Notley in Alberta and Deputy Chief to Roy Romanow in Saskatchewan. Now, founding partner at GT&co. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! Back on the show for a third time... Trevor Tombe : a truth-telling economist who's never afraid to take a view that's five or six canoe lengths out of the mainstream. Trevor's a professor of economics at the University of Calgary and director of Fiscal and Economic Policy at its School of Public Policy, and he's spent the summer on a major study into the fiscal and economic implications of Alberta separation. This episode covers a lot of ground. Trevor lays out the case against retaliating on Trump's tariffs. Arguing Canada simply doesn't have the economic size to change American behaviour the way China can, and that retaliation risks looking like Canada abandoning its own commitment to free trade. He also walks through his research showing Canada's economy hasn't just slowed, it's been permanently knocked onto a lower growth trajectory — a $60-billion-a-year hit. There's a sharp defence of resource extraction as Canada's genuine economic strength rather than something to be embarrassed about, a candid take on when and why government should take on more risk in major projects, and a clear-eyed warning about the US fiscal situation and what it means for Canadian borrowing costs. And we close with the numbers on why an independent Alberta would be worse off, not better. Trade friction, capital flight, and lost access to the rest of the country's labour force chief among them. A dense, wide-ranging hour with one of Canada's sharpest economic minds. Stay with us. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! David's old friend Frank Graves , founder and president of EKOS Research and known online as the unmistakable "Voice of Franky" on Twitter, is never shy about speaking his mind. But unlike most loud voices online, Frank brings the data to back it up. He was the first pollster to flag a Liberal resurgence back in early 2025, when everyone else had written the party off. We all know how that turned out. Now EKOS has fresh numbers showing the Liberals at 45%, the Conservatives down 14 points since the election to 27%, and the NDP climbing to 17%. David and Frank dig underneath those topline numbers, and it's a wide-ranging one conversation. Frank explains why what's left of the Conservative coalition is increasingly defined by disinformation and alienation rather than ordinary political disagreement, and how he actually measures that. He walks through the sharp generational divide in the numbers, with under-35 Canadians deeply pessimistic about their futures and drifting toward the NDP's brand of progressive populism, while support for the Liberals climbs steadily with age. Together they take a detour into Quebec, where Frank's data suggests the Trump threat has actually strengthened attachment to Canada rather than fuelled separatism, a dynamic he contrasts with the more worrying numbers coming out of the Alberta referendum debate. And in the back half, Frank goes deep on something he's increasingly alarmed about: how AI-generated "slopaganda" and fraudulent respondents are quietly corrupting online polling panels themselves, and why he thinks the industry badly needs regulation before trust in the numbers fully evaporate. A fascinating, wide-ranging hour with one of the sharpest minds in Canadian polling. Stay with us for the hour. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! Today's episode takes on one big, hairy question: what's actually happening to the Canadian standard of living? To help sort it out, we have one of our all-time favourite economists – or as Maclean's calls her – "the caring person's economist." Armine Yalnizyan is here! She's a brilliant policy thinker, one of the leading voices on Canada's economy who coined the term "she-cession" to describe the pandemic's toll on women, and she's currently an Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, deep into a report on private equity's growing footprint in Canadian care services. Armine walks us through why GDP per capita is a lousy way to measure how Canadians are actually doing, why the wealth gap between the top 40% and bottom 40% is now the widest Statistics Canada has ever recorded, and why she thinks the care economy (childcare, eldercare, healthcare) is the biggest lever Canada isn't pulling. She has a warning for Canada that private equity moving into care services could mean Canadians paying more and getting less, the same way it's played out in veterinary clinics, and lays out some zero-cost policy fixes the Carney government could adopt tomorrow if it wanted to protect the sector. And Armine has some pointed words for Shopify's Tobi Lütke, who mused online recently in support of idea to give the wealthy more votes than the poor. She’s not exactly convinced society's richest are the deep thinkers they're sometimes made out to be. A sharp, wide-ranging conversation about who's actually benefiting from the growth in the Canadian economy right now, and who's being left behind. Stay with us for the hour. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! There's drama afoot within the conservative movement in Canada. Fights about what the party stands for and where it's going. It's all over Twitter and it's openly spilling into the pod-verse, national media airwaves, opinions in print, and into the hallways of Parliament. If you're a friend of Air Quotes Media, you know it has been talked about over at Curse of Politics. Today we talk with one of the most thoughtful voices on the topic: Ben Woodfinden . Ben is an academic, a thinker about Conservative politics, worked for Pierre Poilievre in the run-up to and during the 2025 election, and has been active in this debate for the last couple of weeks. He doesn't think Poilievre has to leave for the Conservatives to be successful, but he does think they need to broaden their message. He shares his view that the Party needs to adopt a more patriotic position about Canada and demonstrate more love for Canada, including fiercer opposition to what Trump represents. At the same time, he thinks the Conservative Party of Canada's appeal to young people and its disruptive, anti-establishment energy is genuinely onto something and shouldn't be thrown away in the process. A smart, candid conversation about where conservatism in Canada goes from here. Stay with us. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! Last week The Wall Street Journal published a backstory on what Mark Carney's been doing in Europe. Building alliances, stiffening spines against Trump, searching for sovereignty out of rupture, calls from one of his personal cell phones. It didn't contain exclusively new information, but it was fascinating detail in an American publication that prompted another question: How do journalists cover Mark Carney's government and what's actually different about this prime minister? Prime Minister Carney is an internationalist with a following in Europe and the US. He's a known quantity to economic journalists everywhere. His government gives the impression of frenetic pace. He's managing the most difficult American administration in living memory. That's not a normal beat. To help figure out what it's actually like to cover Mark Carney day to day, we've got three of the best journalists in the business: Paul Wells , publisher of his own brilliant and widely read newsletter, https://paulwells.substack.com; Janyce McGregor, senior reporter at CBC News Network and a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery; and Mackenzie Gray , national reporter with global news covering Parliament Hill. It was a genuinely revealing conversation. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! Today on the show, somebody who bears the proud designation of most appearances on the pod. We call her the economist explainer-in-chief, but more officially, she's the senior vice president and chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada: Frances Donald! This one's got range. Frances walks us through the contradiction of retirees sitting on record wealth while showing up in the bottom income bracket, why productivity has become Canada's most tired yet most important word, and what actually happens if CUSMA falls apart. Spoiler, it's a story that’s a regional nightmare, and how data talk of Canada as a whole misses the story of those various regional economies and various demographic economies, where Canadians are experiencing things very, very differently from each other. And buckle up for a genuinely wild story about a trucking exec who's already quietly quit Canada and moved his whole operation to Texas. Finally, Frances leaves us with an economic metaphor: Canada is an out of shape guy who needs to lose 100 pounds. Settle in for an hour with Frances Donald. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! Artificial intelligence (AI) is here, and it is integrating itself in society in rapid ways. Some boast AI has the power to transform our economy and produce growth rates we once knew in Canada. Others hype soon-to-come breakthroughs in science and medicine as a result of AI. These are exciting advancements … should potential meet reality. People on the other hand – workers, students, voters – feel AI might put them out of a job. AI’s impact on how we organize ourselves as a society, and how we maintain cohesion in a world of massive power-hungry data centres and even more massive wealth concentration, is nothing short of enormous if not frightening … just consult with James Cameron and remember what Skynet was all about. So to talk about it all we’re joined by the minister tasked with managing “AI for All” – Canada’s new national artificial intelligence strategy. Join us for a discussion with Evan Solomon, Canada’s first Minister of AI. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

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! It’s been a little over a year since the last federal election in Canada and this past week the House of Commons rose for the summer. It’s hard to argue it’s been anything but a good year for Carney Liberals. But that was last year. So, what does the Carney government need to do differently in year two? On Alberta separatism, what’s the message and who should be the messenger? On CUSMA, what are the implications to a non-renewal? And how should the government think about the Fall Budget over the summer? To answer those questions we're joined by The Chiefs! Three former Chiefs of Staff to some of Canada’s most accomplished heads of government: Ian Brodie – first Chief of Staff to Stephen Harper. Now, Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, and Senior Advisor at New West Public Affairs. Tim Murphy – former Chief of Staff to Paul Martin. Now, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at AECON. Brian Topp – former Chief of Staff to Rachel Notley in Alberta and Deputy Chief to Roy Romanow in Saskatchewan. Now, founding partner at GT&co. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , and Anthropic . Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! 20-some years ago, the PC Party of Canada disappeared federally, and over time was replaced by the modern Conservative Party of Canada. This episode is about exploring Canadian conservative political thought, the state of conservatism and the state of the Conservative parties in Canada today, and whether the Conservative Party of Canada can build a big tent winning coalition. Our guests today share their views about the current leadership of the Conservative Party, the current direction of the Conservative Party, the role of populism in the Conservative Party, the lack of a role for Quebec in the Conservative Party, and more. With us: Jason Kenney . He spent over 25 years in elected office. Federal MP and cabinet minister under Stephen Harper. Then 18th Premier of Alberta. He's now a senior advisor at Bennett Jones and a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. Kory Teneycke . Curse of Politics panelist. Founder of Rubicon Strategies. And a longtime conservative strategist who served as Stephen Harper's director of communications and has run Doug Ford's campaigns in Ontario. And, and Fred DeLorey . Recent guest on Curse of Politics. Chair and chief strategy officer at North Star Public Affairs. He was the national campaign manager for the Conservative Party in the 2021 election, and earlier served as director of field operations for Doug Ford and director of political operations for Stephen Harper. It's as good a banter about politics as you'll find. So join us for our conversation about the state of conservatism in Canada. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , and Anthropic . Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites ! It’s been a year of economic anxiety and trade upheaval in Canada with our largest trading partner applying tariffs, making threats, and taking a far more adversarial stance, in advance of the upcoming CUSMA negotiation. We’re experiencing an economy with a very low growth rate, an affordability crisis, and industry disruption in steel, autos, and aluminum. I was particularly curious to get a fulsome and thoughtful Conservative take on the Carney approach, so we’re joined by Adam Chambers , Conservative MP and Trade Critic , and Vice-Chair of the House Standing Committee on International Trade. Adam acknowledged the realities of dealing with a difficult American government, but that a deal that could advantage the Canadian economy might still be possible. We discuss his view that Canada’s fiscal position is a reckless one that puts the country in long-term jeopardy, and much more. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , and Anthropic . Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! There was a resignation in Ottawa last week that struck a louder chord than most. High profile Liberal caucus member, and former Cabinet Minister, Steven Guilbeault announced will be leaving politics over the summer. Best known for his time as Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Mr. Guilbeault has been nothing if not candid about his beliefs about climate change and the policy actions he undertook as a member of the Trudeau Liberals to address it. The Carney government’s approach has differed greatly, of course, with most of those policies having now been eliminated, reversed, or weakened considerably. Today we approach the podcast as an exit interview, and we hope you’ll join us for this frank discussion. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , and Anthropic . Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! Here’s a question for you: Can anything pierce the political armour of Ontario Premier Doug Ford? Recently, pollsters have showed tightening numbers in the wake of Ford controversies like buying and then selling a private jet over the course of 72 hours. Selling off Ontario Place so it could be clear cut and turned it into a spa. And just this week, Ford’s government unilaterally took over the Toronto Island lands and designated Billy Bishop Airport as a “special economic zone” . All of this as the Ontario NDP try to find their footing and the Ontario Liberal Party is gearing up for a leadership race. So ... just how vulnerable is Doug Ford? Or isn’t he? That’s the question I put to my guest today, pollster David Coletto . He’s the Founder, Chair and CEO of Abacus Data. And the prolific writer of the excellent “InFocus” newsletter on Substack. His latest wave of tracking suggests the PCs have regained their lost ground. And Ford’s personal image has rebounded. How is this man a political rubber ball, rolling on largely unimpeded as things just seem to bounce off him? We’ll dig into it. And the state of play in Ontario politics. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , and the Public Service Alliance of Canada . Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! We’re over a year into a new government and nobody could possibly argue there hasn’t been a significant recalibration in the way Canada thinks about climate policy and environmental regulation. The public policy balance between the environment, pipelines, and project-building has shifted from what it was, say, back in 2018. So has the public’s perception, by the way. Recent polling shows that Canadians now prioritize economic growth over environmental protection. All of this is what we’ll explore today. From multiple angles. In 3 different individual conversations. First up ... Aaron Wherry, senior writer at the CBC ... to set the table on the issues between Ottawa and Alberta. Then … Rick Smith , President of the Canadian Climate Institute , for his perspective. We talk about emissions reduction, what’s happening to the industrial carbon price, the clean energy economy and more. Finally … Andrew Leach, energy and environmental economist and professor at the University of Alberta, to explore the energy sector, particularly oil. The economic impact vs. opportunity cost of pipelines, and the tension between market forces and climate policy. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , Saab Canada , and the Public Service Alliance of Canada . Greetings you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! If you’re any kind of regular listener to the Air Quotes Media Pod universe, you know a powerful political eruption is happening in B.C., as a result of a ruling of the B.C. Supreme Court. The Cowichan Decision, in combination with the existing DRIPA legislation, has been covered in depth by our sister pod, Hotel Pacifico. Why should a politico in the rest of Canada care? Because I think this is the biggest legal question, not just in British Columbia, but all of Canada right now: Can a court declare Indigenous title over privately held land? If so, do you own your house after 30 years of mortgage payments? Does industry invest in new nation building projects on land they don’t even know is theirs? The politics of this thing are sinking Premier Eby in British Columbia. Poilievre raised it as a cudgel in Q.P. Prime Minister Carney responded that private property rights are fundamental in Canada and that his government will always defend them. They are appealing the decision of the B.C. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the issue goes to the heart of reconciliation agenda in this country. Harming perceptions and long fought for advances. With us to discuss ALL OF IT are the hosts of Hotel Pacifico and 2 of the best political strategists I know ... Mike McDonald & Geoff Meggs . Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

Recorded live at the Empire Club on May 6, 2026. The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , Saab Canada , and the Public Service Alliance of Canada . Greetings you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! It’s been about a week and a half since the federal government tabled their Spring Economic Statement, “Canada Strong for All: United in a Time of Uncertainty.” Today we sit in discussion with Canada's Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne to reflect on our serious economic challenges, and yet, why he thinks Canada is a lighthouse in an uncertain world. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , Saab Canada , and the Public Service Alliance of Canada . Greetings you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! So, there is little doubt we are living in a time of massive change. A dislocation – perhaps temporary, perhaps not – between long time trading partners. New stressors on our economy forcing new economic alliances. A voting public with very real pocketbook issues looking at government line-item spending – a private jet, for instance – like never before. A minority parliament suddenly transformed into a majority. How do you successfully GOVERN your way through it all? That’s what we explore on the pod today. And we’ve got just the people to do it with. The Chiefs are here! Three former Chiefs of Staff to some of Canada’s most accomplished heads of government: Ian Brodie – first Chief of Staff to Stephen Harper. Now, Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, and Senior Advisor at New West Public Affairs. Tim Murphy – former Chief of Staff to Paul Martin. Now, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Affairs Officer at AECON. Brian Topp – former Chief of Staff to Rachel Notley in Alberta and Deputy Chief to Roy Romanow in Saskatchewan. Now, founding partner at GT&co. We talked about the Spring Economic Statement. Including the mostly confusing launch of the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The state of the Canada/U.S. file. The new Carney majority. And the arteriosclerosis of old governments that would lead them to the door of a private jet showroom. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS , as well as CN Rail , Saab Canada , and the Public Service Alliance of Canada . Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! The way we’re thinking about defence in Canada is not the same as it was 5 years ago. 1 year ago. Or even 6 months ago. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have dramatically demonstrated the impact of new technologies. And in February, the Carney government committed more than 80 billion NEW dollars over 5 years to rebuild and rearm our forces. 340 billion in total. It’s more than defence spending. It’s a whole new defence industrial strategy. I want to know: How do we spend that money? What kind of defence capacity do we build? Who and what are we defending ourselves against? How have war innovations changed thinking about what we produce, or procure? What will our North look like in 10 years? This is just some of what I covered with our guest, David Perry , today. Including ... shockingly ... his opinion that we should be buying American jets! And my debate with him on that. David is making his 2nd appearance with us on the pod. He’s the President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a non-partisan, independent think tank. Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes , Spotify , or your favourite podcast app. Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube . The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.