CANADALAND

Floor crossers, falling polling numbers, and grumblings in the Conservative orbit. Pierre Poilievre sure looks shaky right now, but will it really make a difference in his upcoming leadership review? Rahim Mohamed of the National Post joins San Grewal to explain why Poilievre isn’t done just yet. 

Host: San Grewal

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking) tom sayers (Audio Ed...

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi is flexing the US’s military seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker as the Trump administration deploys warships — and even nuclear submarines — off Venezuela’s coast. The White House says it’s about drugs, but it also signals a broader shift laid out in the new US National Security Strategy. So far, the Canadian government has been pretty quiet about what our closest ally is doing in Venezuela,...

The mystery of who drugged the cast and crew of the blockbuster Titanic is Hollywood lore. In 1996 James Cameron shot part of Titanic in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, when someone dumped PCP into the clam chowder the team was sharing on the last night of shooting. Over 50 people ended up in hospital. 

There was a police investigation but the case was never solved. Over the decades theories as to who and why have sprouted. These r...

The politics of Canada’s proposed hate crime law, Bill C-9. 

In order to pass the Combatting Hate Act, the Liberals are teaming up with the Bloc Quebecois and removing the exemption for religious texts in existing hate speech laws. The Conservatives  aren’t happy about it. 

But do we need to update our hate crime laws in the first place? 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie L...

In 2022, artist Hua Yong died while kayaking off the Sunshine Coast in BC. A former Chinese agent alleges it was a murder. 

Radio-Canada tells the story of how China continues to target dissidents living in Canada. 

Plus, India joins the battle for the Arctic and a new low for freelance writing rates. 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Lucie Laumonier (Associate producer and Fact Checking...

As Premier François Legault plunges in the polls, he’s panic-legislating: turbo-charging secularism laws, unveiling a “made-in-Quebec” constitution, and reigniting old identity battles that haven’t burned this hot in decades.

Then we head west, where B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad resigned after a spectacular caucus revolt. Sam asks him directly: why did his own MLAs want him gone, who he blames, and whether he regrets any...

 The CBC is broken: how should it be fixed? Defund the whole thing? Refund the whole thing? Double down on digital? Stop chasing digital relevance?

The list goes on and on. You've heard them all. But for a moment, forget about funding or even political bias. Just ask: why does the CBC exist? 

What is its underlying ideology? Not its political ideology, but its philosophy for why we need it. Does it have one? Does it need...

A story in The Local reveals how AI writing is infiltrating newsrooms, flooding inboxes, and snagging bylines in major outlets. 

Is the rise of the AI journalist inevitable or is it already here? 

Jay Caspian Kang of the New Yorker joins to consider if a chatbot could write his column.

This episode uses generative AI for the following purposes: Episode tile art 

Host: James Nicholson

Credits: Jules Bugiel ...

Every year for the past 11 or so years, Canadaland has run a crowdfunding campaign in the fall. We finished up this year’s campaign in late November, and so we wanted to hear from you, about what we should do with all of your hard earned money. After all, Jesse Brown has said that “We work for you.”

You filled up the lines for two hours and let Sam know all of your ideas. Here are the highlights.

Host: Sam Konnert

Credits: Tri...

It’s been one year since Trump started threatening Canada’s economy and our sovereignty. But with all this story’s twists and turns, have Canadians grown complacent about what’s at stake?

Producer James Nicholson steps into the host’s chair to make a bold case that Canada isn’t just in a tariff war. We’re in a cold war. And we need to start acting like it.

American writer and podcaster Jay Caspian Kang weighs in.

Host:...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been pressuring Prime Minister Mark Carney for months on a new pipeline to the BC coast, and after a new MOU, she’s closer than ever. Host Noor Azrieh unpacks this deal with The Hub’s Falice Chin.

Plus, a mini cabinet shuffle. And reporter Sam Konnert takes us behind the velvet rope of the Hill’s E-list “exclusive” event.

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert...

One of the world’s biggest online gaming sites, Roblox, is in the courts. The cases involve the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor, online harassment, and business practices that lead to addiction.

That last charge, involving addiction, is connected to an aspect of online gaming that’s passing mostly under the radar. The “gamblification” of games for children. It’s a charge that’s been levelled at not just Roblox but a numbe...

Canada is pulling back from progressive policies, but were we ever really committed to them in the first place? 

Whether it’s the reversal on DEI from BMO, RBC, and Shopify or Carney’s shift away from a feminist foreign policy, Canada is quietly pivoting from Trudeau-era progressive policies. 

Plus, concerns over Quebec’s proposed constitution and the Blue Jays get aggressive in Japan.

Host: San Grewal

Credits: Ja...

A cocaine lawyer, a crime blog, and a $15 million reward. 

Eight more Canadians are arrested and a sensational new indictment from Operation Giant Slalom puts the Ryan Wedding case back in the headlines around the world.

But how is Ryan Wedding’s background shaping the coverage? 

Host: San Grewal

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Jules Bugiel (Associate Producer and Fact Checking) Caleb Thompson (Mixing and...

The federal NDP leadership race is officially on. Five candidates want the job, and each of them thinks they know how to rescue a party that's been drifting into irrelevance. In this special episode, Noor sits down with all five contenders (Tony McQuail, Rob Ashton, Avi Lewis, Heather McPherson, and Tanille Johnston) for an unfiltered, no-notes conversation about who they are, and how they plan on winning.

Episode art by max col...

In October, seven OBGYNs at a Kamloops, B.C. hospital signed a letter of resignation. Those seven were the only OBGYNs in the city.

We’re used to bad headlines about Canada’s healthcare system. Lack of family doctors, emergency room wait times, delayed procedures, but this was different. Mass resignation threatening an entire branch of treatment for the whole city. 

The letter of resignation is effectively a protest, a w...

Is Canada’s A.I. champion eating the news?

Canada is betting big on Cohere, but a lawsuit alleges that the company’s flagship LLM is bypassing paywalls and hallucinating content. 

What happens to the news industry  if A.I. continues to run amok?   

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Jules Bugiel (Associate Producer and Fact Checking) Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical...

It’s crowdfunding month here at Canadaland! Sign up today and receive a FREE Canadaland merch pack. Become a supporter at canadaland.com/join today.

To donate funding so we can complete this series, email jesse@canadaland.com

Police statistics say that a Jew in Canada is now 9 times more likely to be the victim of a hate crime than a Jew in the United States. Others dispute this data, and say antizionism is being conflated wi...

CSIS Director Daniel Rogers steps out of the shadows. 

For the first time in the history of CSIS, Canada’s top spy holds a press conference. His talking points included youth radicalization, Arctic security, and data sovereignty. But why is he talking now?   

This episode uses generative AI for the following purposes: several instances of voice cloning of host Jesse Brown to use "they" and "them" pronouns ...