Playbook Canada

Pierre Poilievre skips the governor general's installation and heads to Calgary with a new pitch: project hope, not project fear. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric break down his bid to talk Alberta separatists out of leaving, and what it means for a Conservative leader who spent years calling Canada broken. Plus, Justin Trudeau works a red carpet with Katy Perry, and Mark Carney heads to his ancestral home of County Mayo ahead of next week’s G7 summit.

A special edition of Playbook Canada: Google chief economist Fabien Curto Millet was in Toronto for Tech Week, and he sat down for a conversation that ran well past our usual 200 seconds. He makes the economic case for AI as the one force that could pull Canada out of two decades of sluggish productivity and offset the drag of an aging population. But he warns that Canada and the U.S. sit at the back of the global queue on the ratio of anxiety to enthusiasm. He argues AI is barely a factor in youth unemployment when the real driver is a soft labour market, why encouragement from employers is what moves hesitant workers to start using AI, and reveals that for all the overlap in their training, he has never met fellow economist Mark Carney. And finally, the chess game he wants with Mark Carney.

Little irritants are piling up ahead of the July 1 USMCA deadline: a suspended defense board, revived potato tensions, mushrooms duties and renewed attacks on the Online Streaming Act. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric unpack the friction. POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy joins to discuss her interview with Chrystia Freeland in Europe, including a Mark Carney nickname and a “lubricious” dinner from their Kyiv days. Plus, Steve Outhouse replaces Ian Todd as Pierre Poilievre’s chief of staff, and former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole sits down for a 200-second interview.

U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra pulls back the curtain on why Canada-U.S. trade talks fell apart in October: Danielle Smith keynotes the Canada Strong and Free conference in Ottawa, and the separatism question walks in with her: The childcare agreements that helped define the Trudeau era are coming up for renewal. Carney keeps citing them. Now he has to fund them.

On this special edition, Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric speak with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne ahead of the release of his Spring Economic Update. They press him on how the government plans to attract investment in a time of global uncertainty, and find out how it is balancing fiscal prudence with mounting economic pressures. And finally, the most contentious question of all: What color apple is best?

Reaction to the Liberal majority ripples through the Conservative caucus as Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric dig into what the result means inside the opposition benches. Carney and Poilievre present duelling policies for high gas prices — each with its own gloss on tax relief at the pump. Finally, an international bromance blossoms. Mark Carney and Finnish President Alexander Stubb put their partnership on display. What it signals about Canada's place in a shifting global order.

Hosts Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric examine the latest developments in Canada’s deepening trade relationship with China, with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and executives courting business in Beijing. Plus, a closer look at the Conservatives’ shift against high-speed rail. Finally, reflections on the life and legacy of NDP icon Stephen Lewis.

Hosts Mickey Djuric and Nick Taylor-Vaisey invite “China watcher” Phelim Kine to the show to discuss a stunning new POLITICO poll. The survey of thousands of people in Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., and the United States revealed how people around the world really feel about MAGA — and what is happening as a result. Speaking of polls: Will Carney’s soaring popularity hold? We discuss. Plus, Mickey talks truths and optics with Angus Reid president Shachi Kurl.

Co-hosts Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric dig into the prime minister's latest thoughts on the strikes in the Middle East. Pierre Poilievre takes his first trip abroad as opposition leader and offers his best rebrand yet. And Manitoba's man in Washington, Richard Madan, joins the show.

A new POLITICO/Public First poll finds what one pollster calls “a sort of unrequited hatred” shaping the Canada-U.S. relationship, with Canadians increasingly skeptical of Washington even as Americans maintain a warmer view of their northern neighbor. Meanwhile in Ottawa, another Conservative floor crosser shifts the balance in the House and revives fresh election speculation around Mark Carney’s minority government. Plus, Conservative MP Scott Aitchison joins from Milan to talk Olympic gold, housing lessons from Italy and the temperature on Parliament Hill. Nick Taylor-Vaisey is POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter Mickey Djuric is a reporter and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter ⁠Alex Keeney⁠ is Playbook Canada's executive producer ⁠Steve Bone⁠ composed the music used in Playbook Canada.

It’s been referred to as “Harperpalooza” in Ottawa this week: a prolonged celebration of the 20th anniversary of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first election victory. Conservatives celebrated past glories at reunions and a swanky gala, but present-day obstacles loom. On this episode of the Playbook Canada podcast, co-hosts Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric examine how Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is still searching for a winning message, while Mark Carney’s Liberals project confidence — perhaps even hubris — by tapping MPs for diplomatic posts, brushing off House vacancies, and moving quickly to lock in candidates ahead of looming by-elections. Also on the show: what that confidence could mean in the weeks ahead, from cross-party cooperation on affordability to Canada’s renewed focus on the Arctic. Plus, Rachel Curran, a former top policy adviser to Harper and now a senior executive at Meta, joins the podcast to reflect on working for Harper, the evolving tech-policy landscape, and whether news could soon return to Facebook and Instagram in Canada. Nick Taylor-Vaisey is POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter Mickey Djuric is a reporter and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter ⁠Alex Keeney⁠ is Playbook Canada's executive producer ⁠Steve Bone⁠ composed the music used in Playbook Canada.

At Davos, Mark Carney laid out Canada’s place in a volatile world. Playbook Canada examines the political moment at home and what comes next as MPs head back to the Hill. Then, forecaster Philippe J. Fournier, founder of 338Canada, joins the show to give his predictions, including whether there will be an election in 2026. Nick Taylor-Vaisey is POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter Mickey Djuric is a reporter and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter ⁠Alex Keeney⁠ is Playbook Canada's executive producer ⁠Steve Bone⁠ composed the music used in Playbook Canada.