About this episode

Rocco Rossi discusses his experiences walking the Camino de Santiago and his political career.

Rocco Rossi has had an eclectic career. He ran for mayor of Toronto in 2010 and for Queen’s Park in the 2011 Ontario election. He has headed up the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Prostate Cancer Canada, and is currently president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. He has also walked the Camino de Santiago in Europe multiple times. He talks with Steve about why he makes the trek, what it offers him, the solitude he finds, walking it with his son, and the novel he wrote based on those adventures. They also discuss his run against Rob Ford for mayor of Toronto and flipping over to the Progressive Conservatives in the 2011 Ontario election. Support us: patreon.com/thepaikinpodcast Follow The Paikin Podcast: YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/@ThePaikinPodcast SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OhwznCIUEA11lZGcNIM4h?si=b5d73bc7c3a041b7 X: x.com/ThePaikinPod INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/thepaikinpodcast BLUESKY: bsky.app/profile/thepaikinpodcast.bsky.social Email us at: thepaikinpodcast@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

People in this episode

Host: Steve

Guest: Rocco Rossi

Topics covered

• solitude
• Camino de Santiago
• politics
• personal journey
• father-son relationship

Keywords

• Rocco Rossi
• Camino de Santiago
• Toronto mayoral race
• Ontario election
• solitude
• father-son bond
• Heart and Stroke Foundation
• Prostate Cancer Canada

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Heart and Stroke Foundation, Prostate Cancer Canada, Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Places: Toronto, Ontario, Camino de Santiago

More episodes of The Paikin Podcast

• World on Edge: Is 9/11 the Most Significant Event of the 21st Century? · September 10, 2026 · 1h 3m
• David Collenette: Managing 9/11, Working with America, and the Story of Gander · September 3, 2026 · 41 min
• World on Edge: Geopolitical Hotspots, Canada-U.S., and a Nuclear China · September 1, 2026 · 51 min
• Everything Political: Are Canadians Ready for this Trade War? · August 27, 2026 · 52 min
• Margaret MacMillan: Are We Headed Back to the WWI Era Again? · August 25, 2026 · 43 min
• How to Fix Canada’s Health Care System · August 20, 2026 · 47 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Paikin Podcast podcast page.