On Saturday, President Trump followed through with his promise of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and 10 percent on energy. We clapped back with our own.

But late yesterday, after a couple of calls between the two leaders, Trump relented after Trudeau said he outlined Canada’s $1.3 billion border plan and also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl. Trump said he’d pause for 30 days.

A trade war is bad, but some businesses might fare better than others. Our producers went out to see how they were reacting.

Host: Sam Konnert

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Jeff Kirstein, Adam Brierley, Kacee Vasudeva

Background reading:

• These industries would be hit hardest by Trump's 25 per cent tariffs - DiscoverHumboldt.com
• Trump has a 'good talk' with Trudeau — then calls again for Canada to become 51st state
• Mexico president says U.S. tariffs on her country delayed for 1 month
• Defence minister accelerates 2% NATO spending timeline to 2027 amid pressure from Trump

Photo credit: Presidencia de la República Mexicana via Flickr

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Today’s show is about a novel strategy for Canada to fight back against Trump’s Trade War.

Trump is set to slap tariffs on Canada starting Tuesday February 4. Trudeau swiftly answered that tit with tat. Prices go up and nearly everyone loses.

That’s how a trade war goes, two countries slap themselves in the face until one of them can’t take it anymore and cries uncle.

The whole thing is just so dumb.

So, is there any other way to fight back? Something smarter?

Novelist, essayist and activist Cory Doctorow has an idea: Canada must hit America back, not with a slap, but with a hack. Doctorow wants to pull billions of dollars out of the American economy and bring it back to Canada through the “right to repair.” He wants us to jailbreak everything from tractors and Teslas to Fortnite skins and Uber apps.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Guests: Cory Doctorow

Fact checking by max collins

Photo: Copyright Julia Galdo and Cody Cloud (JUCO), www.jucophoto.com/, Creative Commons Attribution

Further reading:

• Canada shouldn't retaliate with US tariffs — Pluralistic

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Emboldened by Trump, Poilievre denies the existence of trans people in an interview on CP24. Dale Smith joins to unpack why Poilievre is playing dumb on gender and the serious stakes for trans rights in Canada.

Plus, DeepSeek, Energy East, and Jesse responds to angry emails about BMI.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Noor Azrieh (Fact Checking), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Dale Smith

Further Reading on Our Website

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Doug Ford cashes in his “Captain Canada” chips. Following a US media blitz, Ford is asking for a new mandate from Ontarians to bolster his ability to negotiate with Trump. Dale Smith joins to explain why this narrative is nonsense.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Noor Azrieh (Fact Checking), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Dale Smith

Further reading:

• Doug Ford has gone on an unprecedented American media blitz. Here’s what is behind it - Toronto Star
• Doug Ford insists he’s not rushing with snap Feb. 27 Ontario election - Toronto Star
• ‘Hit Him Back Twice as Hard’: Canada’s No. 1 Populist Has a Risky Trump Strategy - Politico
• Opinion: Doug Ford calls for snap election before his record catches up - The Globe and Mail
• Opinion | Doug Ford is courting disaster with an early election - Toronto Star
• Michael Taube: Doug Ford rolls the dice - National Post
• Almost three-quarters of Canadian troops are overweight or obese: documents - Ottawa Citizen

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When Justin Trudeau stepped down earlier this month, it should have been the perfect opportunity for Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to swing the narrative. To seize control.

But they haven’t done any of that. What used to be Canada’s worker’s party seems like a shell of its former self. Why can’t they reach voters when everything is up in the air?

This week Noor sits down with columnist and critic Max Fawcett, and former NDP strategist Mélanie Richer to unpack Singh’s woes.

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Producer), Sam Konnert (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Mélanie Richer, Max Fawcett

Background reading:

• The NDP is getting outflanked — again – National Observer
• Ginny Roth: The NDP don’t take themselves seriously, so why should we? – The Hub
• Is It Time for Singh to Go? – The Walrus
• Is Jagmeet Singh’s job at risk in the upcoming election? – iPolitics
• Singh says NDP still plan to vote to topple Liberals ‘at the earliest opportunity,’ regardless of leader – CTV News

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This week the government’s long-awaited report on foreign interference will drop. Will it tell us if Canada has a traitor problem?

Over the last two years there’s been a slew of headlines around allegedly compromised members of parliament, the machinations of nefarious foreign governments, scorched reputations, the muck has been raked and the mud slung. All of our major political parties have come under fire. And the source of that fire has run the gamut from the upper echelons of CSIS to TikTok bottom feeders. And after all that we still know surprisingly little.

So will this week’s government report give us any answers? Are there traitors? Has there been treason?

Jesse sits down with Professor Wesley Wark to find out. Wark is a senior fellow at Centre for International Governance Innovation and a fellow with the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He served on the PM’s Advisory Council on National Security and he provided advice to the minister of public safety on national security legislation and policy.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Checker), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Additional music by Audio Network

Further reading:

• https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/canadian-politicians-who-commit-treason-should-go-to-jail/article_3429f6b4-2441-11ef-817e-573af7605f34.html
• https://wesleywark.substack.com/p/a-pifi-wish-list
• https://globalnews.ca/tag/han-dong/
• https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/trudeau-says-he-has-list-of-conservatives-vulnerable-to-or-engaged-in-foreign-interference/

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Social media is a mess and the tech oligarchs are to blame. San Grewal of The Pointer joins to assess the damage caused when coders replace publishers. Plus, a boomer cell defends us from Trump and the Liberals axe their own tax.

Check out our latest investigation, The Copernic Affair on the Canadaland Investigates feed. Follow The Copernic Affair wherever you get your podcasts: https://canadaland.lnk.to/copernic-affair

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Sam Konnert (Fact Check), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: San Grewal

Further reading:

• Meta is ending fact-checking in the U.S. Could that affect the vote in Canada? | CBC News
• The End of Reality [Book]
• Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States - Platformer
• As border anxiety mounts, ads for smugglers in Canada helping migrants illegally cross into U.S. flourish on social media - The Globe and Mail
• Canada's immigration department cutting roughly 3,300 jobs over 3 years | CBC News
• Opinion | With Trump back in, Canadian boomers are in a fighting mood - Toronto Star

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If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

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