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The Line

The Line

Auteur(s): Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson
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The Line is a Canadian magazine dedicated to covering local, national and international politics, news, current events and occasionally some obscure stories. Hosted by Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson.

© 2026 The Line
Politique
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  • Is Separatism Treason?
    Oct 20 2026

    In this episode of On The Line, host Jen Gerson speaks with Patrick Lennox, author of On Treason, a new book examining the moral and political consequences of betraying one's own country. Their conversation focuses on Alberta's separatist movement, its reported efforts to secure American recognition for a future independent state, and why Lennox believes the movement represents something more troubling than ordinary regional grievance politics.

    This episode is brought to you by BioCanRx. We've been partnering with federally-funded Canadian not-for-profit BioCanRx to learn how made-in-Canada immunotherapies offer new ways to beat cancer. This month we’re addressing common questions, like: is Canada behind on immunotherapy?

    Canadian researchers continue to be global leaders at discovery research. Where Canada lags behind is in bringing these discoveries from the lab to the patient. While many immunotherapies come to Canada for clinical trial or market authorization, few are based on Canadian research or developed in Canada, meaning we access them when their international sponsors choose, at whatever prices they want to charge –– provided Health Canada approves and the provinces decide to pay.

    Developing more Canadian discoveries into approved therapies in Canada would help reduce Canada’s dependence on other countries, enable our health systems to learn what it takes to deliver these novel therapies while collecting data to assess their value via early stage clinical trials, and provide patients with much-needed access to advanced therapies. A win-win-win scenario.

    BioCanRx continues to work with researchers and policymakers to deliver on this mission. Thanks to them for continuing to partner with The Line to share this information and visit BioCanRx.com to learn more.

    Lennox traces the political developments that brought Alberta to the brink of a separatist referendum, including Bill 54 and changes to the province's citizens' initiative rules. They discuss lower signature thresholds, corporate financing, and the role these changes have played in opening a path to a referendum. Lennox argues that the process reflects deliberate political engineering rather than a spontaneous expression of popular discontent.

    This episode is also brought to you by the Forest Products Association of Canada. Budget season in Ottawa is filled with asks for new programs, new tax measures and new investment. But for Canada’s forest products sector, the biggest opportunity for growth doesn’t require new spending — it requires smarter rules. Regulatory inefficiencies are costing the average Canadian mill an estimated one million dollars a year each. That’s money that could be reinvested in workers, communities, and modernization instead. The Forest Sector Transformation Task Force gave Ottawa a clear playbook. As the federal budget takes shape, the fastest way to unlock private investment is to remove the made-in-Canada barriers standing in the way. Learn more at FPAC.ca.

    Jen and Lennox also examine the role of unelected separatist organizers, questions of democratic legitimacy, and the possibility of foreign interference. At what point does advocating for independence cross the line into something more serious? And what happens when a domestic political movement seeks support from a foreign government whose interests may be fundamentally opposed to Canada's?

    This episode is also brought to you by Cameco. Building Canada’s energy future means creating jobs for Canadian workers. That’s why the AP1000 reactor is the right choice for Canada: it is already operating and ready to deliver the power we need. Choosing the AP1000 means a reactor built by Canadians, creating skilled jobs in construction, fabrication and the trades while keeping more investment and economic benefits here at home. If we are serious about creating Canadian jobs and strengthening our economy, the choice is clear. To learn more, visit ap1000.cameco.com.

    It's a conversation about Alberta separatism, sovereignty, democratic accountability, and why Lennox believes Canadians need to take the threat of treason seriously in an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment.

    Check out our main page at ReadTheLine.ca, and as always, like and subscribe.

    #OnTheLine #PatrickLennox #OnTreason #AlbertaSeparatism #AlbertaPolitics #CanadaPolitics #Bill54 #ForeignInterference #CanadianSovereignty #Federalism #JenGerson

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    51 min
  • Carney tours Alberta ... will the west vote out?
    Oct 16 2026
    In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, Jen Gerson is joined by Andrew Potter to discuss Alberta's looming separation referendum, Canada's increasingly complicated relationship with American politics, and whether Pierre Poilievre has any realistic plan to get the Conservatives back in the game.This episode is brought to you by BioCanRx. We’ve been partnering with federally-funded Canadian not-for-profit BioCanRx to learn how made-in-Canada immunotherapies offer new ways to beat cancer. This month we’re addressing common questions, like: are there better ways to manufacture therapies?A groundbreaking approach that streamlines new therapy production is “closed system manufacturing,” in which a product is made within a single, automated platform without exposing it to the surrounding environment. When properly implemented, this can reduce costs compared to manual production in a clean room and increase patient access –– while still meeting Health Canada’s safety and quality requirements. BioCanRx-funded researchers have already used closed system manufacturing to create therapies for more than 100 clinical trial patients. Last week, BioCanRx convened a meeting at Health Canada that brought together regulators, policymakers, industry and stakeholders to discuss regulatory alignments that could enable many more organizations to deploy these systems. They are now producing a report that will help Canadian decision-makers unlock the promise of advanced therapies for patients across Canada.Thanks to BioCanRx for continuing to partner with The Line to share this information. Visit BioCanRx.com to learn more.First up, Prime Minister Mark Carney makes his final push in Alberta ahead of the referendum. Is Carney genuinely committed to repairing Alberta's relationship with Confederation, or is this just another political exercise? Jen and Andrew discuss what the Liberals could actually do to address Western grievances and make Canada work better, preferably without reopening the Constitution. There are reforms worth considering, but are Canada's political leaders prepared to make them?This episode is also brought to you by Cameco. Building Canada’s energy future means creating jobs for Canadian workers. That’s why the AP1000 reactor is the right choice for Canada: it is already operating and ready to deliver the power we need. Choosing the AP1000 means a reactor built by Canadians, creating skilled jobs in construction, fabrication and the trades while keeping more investment and economic benefits here at home. If we are serious about creating Canadian jobs and strengthening our economy, the choice is clear. To learn more, visit ap1000.cameco.com.Next, U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has warned Canadians to stay out of American elections. Your hosts consider whether he's got a point, whether he's being spectacularly hypocritical, or whether both things can be true. Should Canadians learn to use their indoor voices when discussing American politics? Or does staying quiet simply reinforce a double standard in which Washington gets to interfere wherever it likes while everyone else is expected to meekly accept their status as a vassal state? Jen and Andrew discuss where legitimate advocacy ends and foreign interference begins, and how Canada can defend its interests without making every disagreement a partisan or regional fight.This episode is also brought to you by Fractional Execs Canada. Need help with a serious business problem? As Canadian businesses grow they often require expert help to solve key business challenges. Fractional Execs Canada have assembled a team of experienced strategists, implementers, sales and marketing operators that can help transform your business into a growth engine. They match you with the right person, or team to move your business forward at a pace your business can manage.Talk to Fractional Execs Canada and discover a better, more collaborative way to take your business and your ‘busyness’ in a better direction. Canadian expertise to support the growth of Canadian businesses. Build your business with those that know how.Find them Fractional-Execs.ca.Finally, Pierre Poilievre has a plan for a tariff-free North American auto pact. Would he like some unicorns and aliens to go with it? Jen and Andrew examine the Conservative leader's proposal and the political reality confronting his party. Is there a plausible path back to relevance for the Conservatives? Can they regain momentum and become, at the very least, a functional opposition? Your hosts have some thoughts.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast.#TheLinePodcast #AlbertaReferendum #MarkCarney #PierrePoilievre #CanadianPolitics #AlbertaPolitics #CanadaUSRelations #PeteHoekstra #WesternAlienation #ConservativeParty
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    1 h et 13 min
  • Carney's crises — Quebec, Alberta, Trump ... which one will blow up in his lap?
    Oct 13 2026
    In today’s episode of On The Line, Gregory Jack, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Ipsos Canada, joins Matt Gurney to discuss the growing list of challenges facing Prime Minister Mark Carney — and, for a change, almost none of them have anything to do with Donald Trump or the United States.This episode is brought to you by BioCanRx. We've been partnering with federally-funded Canadian not-for-profit BioCanRx to learn how made-in-Canada immunotherapies offer new ways to beat cancer. This month we’re addressing common questions, like: are there better ways to manufacture therapies?A groundbreaking approach that streamlines new therapy production is "closed system manufacturing," in which a product is made within a single, automated platform without exposing it to the surrounding environment. When properly implemented, this can reduce costs compared to manual production in a clean room and increase patient access –– while still meeting Health Canada’s safety and quality requirements. BioCanRx-funded researchers have already used closed system manufacturing to create therapies for more than 100 clinical trial patients. Last week, BioCanRx convened a meeting at Health Canada that brought together regulators, policymakers, industry and stakeholders to discuss regulatory alignments that could enable many more organizations to deploy these systems. They are now producing a report that will help Canadian decision-makers unlock the promise of advanced therapies for patients across Canada.Thanks to BioCanRx for continuing to partner with The Line to share this information. Visit BioCanRx.com to learn more.First up: problems in the provinces. Quebec has just elected a separatist government. Carney remains very popular in Quebec, considerably more popular than separation itself, but how will that relationship work? Matt and Greg discuss how Carney and Quebec’s incoming separatist premier might find ways to work together — and where the obvious political fault lines lie.Meanwhile, the situation in Alberta is moving in the opposite direction, with support for separatism apparently falling rapidly and Danielle Smith facing political trouble of her own. Carney is popular there, too, giving him political capital to spend. But should he spend it? And if so, on what?This episode is also brought to you by the Forest Products Association of Canada. Budget season in Ottawa is filled with asks for new programs, new tax measures and new investment. But for Canada’s forest products sector, the biggest opportunity for growth doesn’t require new spending — it requires smarter rules. Regulatory inefficiencies are costing the average Canadian mill an estimated one million dollars a year each. That’s money that could be reinvested in workers, communities, and modernization instead. The Forest Sector Transformation Task Force gave Ottawa a clear playbook. As the federal budget takes shape, the fastest way to unlock private investment is to remove the made-in-Canada barriers standing in the way. Learn more at FPAC.ca.Matt and Greg then turn to the Carney government itself. A recent Globe and Mail article offered an interesting criticism of how the government is operating. Matt read it somewhat differently: as an essentially accurate description of what Carney is doing, but also of why the political and economic legacy left by Justin Trudeau may have given him little choice. Greg offers his take on what Carney is trying to accomplish and how well it is working.Finally: healthcare. Matt and Greg have both written about it recently, and they’re struck by how Canada’s longest-running public-policy debate has somehow faded from political view. Canadians continue to tell pollsters that healthcare is one of their most important concerns. So why aren’t political leaders talking about it? Is there a plan — or have they simply given up?This episode is also brought to you by Cameco. Building Canada’s energy future means creating jobs for Canadian workers. That’s why the AP1000 reactor is the right choice for Canada: it is already operating and ready to deliver the power we need. Choosing the AP1000 means a reactor built by Canadians, creating skilled jobs in construction, fabrication and the trades while keeping more investment and economic benefits here at home. If we are serious about creating Canadian jobs and strengthening our economy, the choice is clear. To learn more, visit ap1000.cameco.com.Check out our main page at ReadTheLine.ca. Like and subscribe! And we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. #OnTheLine #CanadaPolitics #MarkCarney #GregoryJack #Ipsos #QuebecPolitics #AlbertaPolitics #CanadianHealthcare #QuebecSeparatism #AlbertaSeparatism #Federalism #MattGurney
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    1 h et 14 min
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