This week saw the Liberal leadership race get out of the starting blocks (sort of), and the federal Liberals stumble on the issue of American tariffs and into some hot water over….ketchup? The Liberal's capital gains tax was once again in the news (for reasons that surprised many), and the Canadian Border Services Agency started using a surprising new term to describe the act of crossing into Canada at a non-official port of entry.
Given the tsunami of happenings this week, I asked veteran Conservative political strategist Sean Schell to join me in unpacking all these issues. I'm trying something new here: many of you wrote in to say you enjoyed the last week-in-review podcast format Sean and I recorded a couple of weeks ago. If you enjoy this one too, let me know, and I'll do it weekly during this Liberal-imposed suspension of Parliament.
This week, Sean and I discuss the curious case of Liberal leadership frontrunner Mark Carney's avoidance of the media. Carney could be Prime Minister in about six weeks but is unelected and has not yet released any policies. Why is he avoiding the media? Why is he sending out people like radical-left environmentalist Steven Guilbeault to speak on his behalf….about keeping the carbon tax? Many folks are pointing out that Mr. Carney's campaign team is the same people who ran Canada into the ground under Justin Trudeau - is he not answering questions because he wants to hide the fact he plans on continuing with Trudeau's disastrous status quo? I asked these questions during an impromptu media availability I held in Ottawa this week - we unpack that, too.
We also discuss the other Liberal frontrunner, former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. This week, Freeland announced a tough stance against…….one of her own signature policies: the capital gains tax increase. This was a truly despair-inducing moment in political absurdity. We also discuss her curious propensity to continue to employ the use of word salad in response to questions, even though she's been freed from the shackles of her former Trudeau Prime Minister's Office overlords. Like Carney, she's an establishment candidate too - proving through her campaign that she's on track to continue Trudeau's status quo.
We then get into the ongoing, extremely serious issue of the threat of American tariffs. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre issued a call for Parliament to resume so that Members of Parliament could pass measures which could address concerns the Americans have raised over border integrity. Instead, Justin Trudeau convened a (likely enormously expensive) retreat of an unelected group of people with ties to business and Liberal-friendly circles to do…..well, what seemed like not a whole heck of a lot. Trudeau did, however, find himself in a big mess over an unlikely topic: ketchup.
We also discuss many of the under-reported stories of the week that hit hard for many Canadians. Another food emergency was declared, this time in Kingston - whose current Member of Parliament is notorious Liberal shit-poster Mark Gerretsen. An RBC report dropped which stated, "48 per cent of those asked say they can no longer maintain their standard of living, while 48 per cent also say they believe they won't ever be able to get ahead financially." Another report came out with an alarming statistic that housing non-profits are increasingly helping Canadians who make over $100,000 but still can't afford to make ends meet.
Finally, we discuss the Canadian Border Services Agency - after nearly a decade of gaslighting - posting on X to describe the activity of entering Canada at a non-official entry point as "illegal." This comes under the threat of American tariffs over border security concerns, and after a decade of the Liberals facilitating illegal border crossings while using the woke euphemism "irregular." This is a peak example of how the Liberal's focus on woke language and virtue signalling had massive negative impacts for the country. Brutal.
All that and more is in the video above. Enjoy your morning coffee and have a listen.
~MRG
