Episodes
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How should people outside government be involved in shaping government policy? Who has the government's ear, and how do they decide which voices to listen to? Those are the questions Paul puts to this week's guests, Taylor Owen from McGillâs Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, and Rachel Samson from the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
This panel was organized by the Max Bell Foundation and the episode was recorded live at McGill University.
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k.d. lang reflects on her four decade-long musical career, which may have reached its end. âAll music tends towards silence and I have to honour the silence,â she tells Paul in an open and wide-ranging conversation in Calgary.
We originally released this episode in March, 2023.
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Episodes manquant?
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Today, we're sharing an episode from our friends at the podcast WONK, which Paul appeared on this week.
Paul talks to host Amanda Lang about some surprising shifts in the wake of the federal election, including an easing of the 'ever-deepening animosity' thatâs become a trademark of politics, evidence of a common understanding of what's good for Canada and why we should be grateful Trump isnât better at his job.
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Two top Liberal advisors and one Conservative MP look back at the election.
Andrew Bevan was the national campaign director for the Liberal Party. Gerald Butts was a senior advisor to the Carney campaign and formally acted as Justin Trudeau's principal secretary.
Scott Aitchison is the MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka.
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With less than a week left until election day, Paul calls up a few colleagues to talk about what weâve learned and what will come next. They also talk about how politicians have changed their relationship to the press. Our panel this week features political journalists Vassy Kapelos, HĂ©lĂšne Buzzetti and Steve Murphy. Season 3 of the Paul Wells Show is supported by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy.
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Someday we should probably sit down and have a talk about election platforms. Count this weekâs instalment of The Panel as a down payment on that conversation.
Platforms are weird: if you release yours on Easter Saturday, after the television debates are already over, and a month after the election campaign started, your body language doesnât say âKey piece of voter information.â But nobody dares not release one.
Anyway, weâve got Allison Gifford, Marci Surkes and Jason Lietaer to discuss the platforms, the debates, and the home stretch of this fascinating campaign.
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How concerned should we be about election interference online? Taylor Owen and his colleagues at the Media Ecosytem Observatory keep a close eye on who's trying to sway our elections, and whether or not they're succeeding. He joins Paul to discuss that work and share his wish list for the next governmentâs digital policy. Taylor Owen is the founding director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University. You can hear him every other Tuesday on his podcast Machines Like Us. In campaign news, Carney and Poilievre appeared on Quebec's biggest talk show this week. Now, they're getting ready for the debates. HĂ©lĂšne Buzzetti, political columnist for Coops de lâinformation, breaks down Montreal Week. Season 3 of the Paul Wells Show is supported by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy
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This week is mostly about Quebec. Sorry, people who get bugged by that. The Conservative and Liberal leaders were on Tout le monde en parle, the only talk show in either official language thatâs a must-attend for the Carneys and Poilievres of this world. On Wednesday theyâll be at the French-language leadersâ debate, followed by the Thursday English-language debate, both in Montreal. (The leaders of the emergency back-up parties will join them.) Mark Carney, at least, decided to stay in the Montreal area between TLMEP and Wednesday. Poilievre had Montreal events on Monday too. Our Panel also discusses Carneyâs habit of putting his campaign up on blocks so he can return to Ottawa and be prime ministerial every time Donald Trump does the sort of thing Donald Trump would do; and the tendency of both major-party leaders to go on quirky offbeat lifestyle podcasts where nobody ever asks a backup question or points out a contradiction. Mostly Iâm the one who wanted to talk about that last part. Our Panel, once again, is Conservative Jason Lietaer, New Democrat Allison Gifford, and Liberal Marci Surkes. And theyâre the best. Enjoy.
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We are living in "the age of coercion," says Michael Wernick. The former Clerk of the Privy Council talks about what the civil service (and the government) will be up against after the election.
Geoff Meggs, former Chief of Staff to B.C. Premier John Horgan , weighs in on drug policy on the campaign trail and the unique politics of British Columbia. You can hear more of Geoff Meggs on the Hotel Pacifico podcast.
And Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer in the Globe and Mail's Ottawa bureau, trades notes with Paul on the first few weeks of the election. Is Poilievre failing to respond to the moment? And how much can Carney separate himself from Trudeau's legacy?
Season 3 of the Paul Wells Show is supported by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy. -
Surely by now you've learned to mistrust an empty schedule. Time for my weekly campaign meeting with The Panel â Marci Surkes, Allison Gifford, Jason Lietaer â to discuss the strangest federal election in many years. On paper, itâs a quiet week. Donald Trumpâs Liberation Day tariff announcement was last week, the leadersâ debates are more than a week in the future. But while weâre still lousy at predicting surprises, I think weâre better than we used to be at realizing surprises are bound to happen. This weekâs instalment ends with bonus minority-government speculation. Whoâs got friends? Who can keep them? Will the NDP even control the balance of power?
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Our election coverage continues! Stephen Gordon, economics professor at University of Laval, evaluates the economic policy weâve seen on the campaign trail so far, from tax cuts to housing plans. Author Mark Bourrie talks about his new book, Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre. CTV host and chief political correspondent Vassy Kapelos trades notes with Paul on the campaign so far.
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The election campaign heads into its second week, and everything feels brand new. The Liberal campaign plane finally has the Liberal logo on it. Mark Carney has a candidate he should probably drop. Pierre Poilievre is having a very hard time moving the debate from the issue he canât win on to an issue he might win on. And Jagmeet Singh would just like to be noticed.
Weâve got Allison Gifford, Marci Surkes and Jason Lietaer to break it down for you.
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This is an elections podcast now. Each week throughout the election, we'll bring you a variety of smart commentators to keep you upto speed.
This week, former Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod talks about her old riding of Nepean, where Mark Carney is running, with Pierre Poilievre running just next door. MacLeod has also worked with Poilievre, and weighs in on his leadership.
And HĂ©lĂšne Buzzetti, political columnist for les Coops de lâinformation, talks about the political landscape in Quebec. Can Carney overcome his weak French and lack of familiarity with Quebecers? And can the Conservatives gain ground in the province?
Season 3 of the Paul Wells Show is supported by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy
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Campaign Week 1, featuring an assist from Danielle Smith The original Conservative on our Panel, the great Garry Keller, won his nomination battle in NipissingâTimiskaming. Now heâs off trying to get elected to Parliament. (Note to readers who worry that this corner might be endorsing somebody: Please vote for whoever you want!) So, in a move reminiscent of Season 2 of Bewitched, weâve got a new Darrin: Say hi to Jason Lietaer, the veteran of Harper-era campaign tours who is now President of Enterprise Canada. Weâve got a lot to talk about, because this is the first of five (or six) weekly Panels as we follow the election campaign. Joining Jason are our Panel veterans, Allison Gifford of Clear Strategy and Marci Surkes of Compass Rose. On the menu: ballot-question framing, campaign performance, and Alberta premier Danielle Smithâs decision to tell Breitbart News that Pierre Poilievre would get along much better with Donald Trump.
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This week, weâre replaying one of our favourite interviews.
What can history tell us about the world we live in? Paul is joined by acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan, author of books including Paris: 1919, Nixon in China and Historyâs People. They discuss some of the major events shaping the world today, including the war in Ukraine, the fallout of Brexit, Xi Jinpingâs regime in China, and where Canada fits in to it all. This episode was recorded live at the University of Torontoâs Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. It was first broadcast on February 1st, 2023. Season 3 of the Paul Wells Show is supported by McGill University's Max Bell School of Public Policy -
Former Defence Minister and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has been horrified by what heâs been seeing from the new Trump administration. He got so mad that he ended a lengthy Twitter hiatus to sound off about it. He joins Paul to share his views on Trumpâs takeover of America conservatism, Trumpâs relationship with Ukraine, and what Canada should do about U.S. aggression.
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Paul breaks down some of the major challenges facing higher education in Canada, including a lack of political will to invest in the sector. He is then joined by a panel of insiders for their takes on what to do about it. How are they handling this moment? What does the future look like? And how can universities make the case for their relevance in a changing world? The panelists are: Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University Maud Cohen, President of Polytechnique MontrĂ©al Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) at McGill University Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill Universityâs Max Bell School of Public Policy.
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Writer, professor and cousin-of-Paul Ira Wells was concerned about the rise of censorship coming from both sides of the political spectrum. So he wrote a book about it, diving into the history of people trying to control what you read.
That book is called On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy. He talks to Paul about the personal incident that sent him down this path, how the censors justify their actions, new threats to books in the digital age, and much more.
Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill Universityâs Max Bell School of Public Policy.
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Mark Norman believes an attack from the U.S. in not hypothetical. Itâs already happening. And Canadaâs lacking a strategy to respond. He first laid out his argument in an opinion piece for the National Post titled âCanadaâs relationship with the U.S. canât be saved.â He joins Paul to explain why he thinks we need to change our national mindset towards the U.S. Mark Norman is the former Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and Vice Chief of the Defense Staff of Canada. Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill Universityâs Max Bell School of Public Policy.
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The Conservative leader is planning a big rally in Ottawa this weekend. It follows a sustained slide in the polls. Can he change his message for a world of Donald Trump and Mark Carney? Does he even want to? Our Panel â Garry Keller, Allison Gifford, Marci Surkes â discusses all of this and more.
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