The Ben Mulroney Show - Best of the Week Part 5 - Kevin O'Leary, Candice Bergen, Warren Kinsella, Tom Parkin

Episode Date: March 23, 2025

Best of the Week Part 5 - Kevin O'Leary, Candice Bergen, Warren Kinsella, Tom Parkin Guests: Kevin O'Leary, Candice Bergen, Warren Kinsella, Tom Parkin, Rachel Parker, Dave Bradley If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Desjardins, we speak business. We speak startup funding and comprehensive game plans. We've mastered made-to-measure growth and expansion advice, and we can talk your ear off about transferring your business when the time comes. Because at Desjardins Business, we speak the same language you do, business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us and contact Desjardins today. We'd love to talk business. Welcome to the Ben Mulroney Best of the Week podcast. We had so many great conversations this week, including a chat with friend of the show, Kevin O'Leary, about Canada's lack of growth over the past decade.

Plus, the political panel got spicy. Enjoy. All right, it's time for some Friday fireworks with our This Week in Politics panel. And it's a good one. Please welcome to the show Candice Bergen, former leader of the Conservative Party, Tom Parkin, principal at Impact Strategies, as well as a Canadian columnist and commentator. And Warren Kinsella, former special advisor to Jean Chrétien and the CEO of the Daisy Group. To all three of you, I say welcome.

Good morning. All right, before three of you, I say welcome. Good morning. All right, before we get going, I have put together a mashup of Mark Carney on debate night and Mark Carney yesterday on the ills of the Canadian economy. We are in an economic crisis that's brought on, sorry, I'm gonna answer the question.

We're brought on by the tariffs that have been put on Canada, actual and prospective. Our economy over the last five years has been driven by a big increase in the labor force, which was largely because of a surge in immigration that is now trying to be controlled, and by government spending that grew over 9% year after year after year, twice the rate of growth of our economy.

So our economy was weak before we got to the point of these threats from President Trump. Warren Kinsella, I'm going to start with you. You said one thing on debate night and a completely different thing yesterday, and I'm trying to square the circle. Yeah, well, he's not the first politician to do that if we're being honest with ourselves. But you know, the issue, whatever lane he picks for himself that is working for him is Trump. You know, you blame every sparrow that falls on Trump. You really, you can't lose these days. You know, 338 Canada, which is an aggregator

that pulls together all the polls, is this morning got a seat projection showing the liberals with nearly 180 seats and the Tories about 50 seats back, which obviously is a pretty dramatic change from about seven weeks ago. So you know as long as the liberals, actually as long as Donald Trump keeps popping off about Canada, Carney just needs to maintain a pulse really and he doesn't really need to do anything other than say you know I don't like that guy and I'm different than that guy. If he goes silent and starts focusing on you know some other toy, then Pauliev becomes more competitive. But right now, the elephant in the room, as they say,

is Donald Trump and the Liberal Party's benefiting. Candice Bergen, if the polls are to be believed, and honestly, emotionally, I just don't see them being as believable as a lot of people do, but if they are to be believed, then it feels like Canadians are willing to absolve the Liberal Party over the failure of the last 10 years, our productivity, our competitiveness, all of that doesn't matter. The clock starts today and I find that really fascinating. Yeah, well I mean I know and Warren knows this as well, campaigns really do matter and what happens

during the campaign will be important. And I think the fact that Canadians are changing their minds so quickly tells us that they can change again. I think that Mark Carney will have a problem if he kind of continues this mode where he literally says one thing a week ago and then something completely different a week later, two things. First of all, it's going to continue to feed into the narrative that he has a little bit of a problem with telling the truth.

And secondly, and I'm curious, what does he actually believe? Because if he thinks the only problem is Donald Trump, and I get Warren's point, you know, the more he talks about Trump, the better he does. But how is he going to fix things? He can't admit there was a problem, how do you fix it? So when he said too much spending, immigration levels too high, I'm assuming he actually thinks

we need to increase trade with other countries, we need to build pipelines, those things. But he can't say that and then say, oh, but our only problem is Trump threatening tariffs and imposing tariffs. So, you know, he's gonna have to figure that out and part of that is political experience. He's used to a boardroom,

he's used to being probably coddled a bit and that's not gonna happen. So we'll see what the Canadian public decides on this, but the campaign will matter. And I think ultimately though, he will have to be genuine and he will have to be truthful. What does he believe is the best thing for the country? Tom Park and what is your assessment of Mark Carney's first week as prime minister? Well, he's taken some important foreign steps, which I think signal the idea of trade diversification that he's pivoting away from Trump, which is obviously under

threat, something the United States has never acknowledged the waters between Canada's archipelago as being Canadian sovereign waters. They see them as an international shipping route. So those are key things that he's touching on. These are icons of Canadian identity, and he's playing that well. Now, to your point about these two clips, I don't think it's, you know, you can say two things that are both true. Yeah, of course, Mr. Trump is an enormous economic threat to Canada, but clearly Mr. Carney also believes that the deficit is a huge threat to Canada. And in fact, if we look at the positions that he's taken since the demise, the departure of Mr. Trudeau, he's adopted just a load of conservative positions.

He backs the tax, he wants to cut taxes on investors, he talked about an income tax, he talked about slaying the deficit, he's talking about cutting the public service, etc., etc. So, you know, it is a break with the past. And the question now is, I think, is whether he will stand on those points and can continue to pull from the right, or whether he may try to assuage the left a little bit, which might compromise him on the right. I think he won't,

and whether that opens some space where people start to say, listen, this guy's pretty conservative. Maybe a liberal, but he's pretty conservative. Maybe we need to hedge against him in a stronger NDP. Candice Bergen, we're seeing now that both Pierre Poliev and Jagmeet Singh are coming out, calling out Mark Carney's lack

of transparency in terms of his disclosure of his assets, what might be in the blind trust, could there be conflicts in there? And they both seem to be trained firmly on him. Is that an acknowledgement that Mark Carney is the man to beat, at least today? Yes, I think I think definitely Jagmeet Singh finally realizes what a mistake he made not pulling the government down back in December. So he's got to get back some support from the Liberals that have left him. And you know it'll be a drip, drip, drip. It'll be interesting to see if Canadians care about the fact that Carney has conflicts that he's not disclosing and making some pretty substantial decisions that could be affecting his own wealth.

It will be a drip-drip. Unless he deals with it, the Conservatives and the NDP will keep talking about it as they should. And we'll see whether Canadians care or not. That was going to be my question for Warren. You are always really good at knowing what sorts of issues matter to people and what

sorts of issues matter to people like me. And I can't always tell the difference. Is the disclosure thing too inside baseball or is it something that could gain traction? Well, I'm a war room guy and you know, I'm always looking for vulnerabilities in my opponent. And so I was watching Carney at that press conference that he had in London and two reporters, Stephanie Levitz from The Globe and Rosemary Barton from CBC, not exactly, you know, strong opponents of the liberal government, certainly in the case of Barton, asked him completely fair but tough questions about the very issue.

You guys are talking about his hold, disclosure, and conflict of interest. He was snarty, he was snarky, he was condescending, he was arrogant towards them. The entire press gallery circled around those two reporters and was very critical of Carney, the way in which he responded. And I thought, okay, this is an interesting moment. What does the Conservative Party do? They issue a memo saying to the media, we're not gonna let you any of you on our plane or bus. They can't help themselves.

It's like, you're a Conservative Party. Here's a gun, go shoot yourself in the foot again. Like at the very moment you've got the whole gallery on your side, you blow the gallery away. Like it's just so stupid. But yeah, he's got a vulnerability. You just watch his body language. And he was angry.

And that, Tom, you got about 30 seconds on this and then I'll come back to you after the break. But is his prickliness baked into who he is? Is that what we're going to be seeing over the course of this campaign or can they train that out of him? It's pretty quick. He's not a young guy. It's pretty hard to untrain somebody of a lifetime boardroom experience and I think that's the subtext of all of this.

He's a rich guy. He's a rich boardroom guy and he's not, you know, he's going to say some things that people say are attractive. Yes, he has a bit of a break from Trudeau's, you know, progressivism and all that stuff. Is that really what people want? What exactly is his plan? That's the kind of subtext. All right.

Well, thank you very much. And we got more with our political panel when we continue, including what the heck's going on between Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the Conservative Party of Canada. That is next, right here on the Ben Mulroney Show. Welcome back to the show and this week in politics on the Ben Mulroney Show marches on with Candice Bergen, Tom Parkin and Warren Kinsella. Tom I said I'd start back with you. Let's let's get a lay of the land of the relationship between the Ontario Progressive Conservatives and the Conservative Party of Canada. So in the Toronto Star today, Robert Benzie has a story

that says, insiders say Pierre Poliev called Doug Ford for advice, but the premier said he'll be staying out of the election, which sounds like, I mean, that should hurt. But just a few hours later, Doug Ford tweeted a very magnanimous, almost like a thank you to the Conservative Party for answering his call of helping them develop the Ring of Fire. And so I'm trying to figure out what that dynamic really is. Is it hostile? Is it a cold war? Are they warming up to each other? What do you think?

No, I think it's hostile. Beyond Cold War, I think it's hostile. We've seen it for a while. There's a real dislike between Mr. Ford and Mr. Polly evident. It's political, it's personal, it's ambition. And the political part of it is what I think Canadians should be most concerned about.

Mr. Polly was trying to ride two horses at the same time. Mr. Ford, not a fan of his, but he did eject all those far-right people during the convoy period and he got them out of his party and they went and they formed the New Blue Party and rode off into non-existence. Mr. Polieff didn't have that. He didn't do that at all. In fact, he cozied up to them.

So now he's trying to ride two horses, one which is your mainstream conservative, who is aghast and abhorrent at what Trump is doing, and the other group loves Trump. That's a very difficult position to try and reconcile. And you see it in some of the policy things that he's done. He trials up to a Calhout in mid-February, announced his so-called Canada first defense policy, which was incredibly weak, talked about threats from Russia and China, never mentioned even once that Trump is talking about international shipping lanes through our Northwest Passage, their lack of recognition of our territorial integrity up there, the search for critical minerals, the idea of high Arctic oil and

gas exploration with Russia. I mean, this is the threat. If Pierre Paulier can't name it, then he's not going to stop it. Okay. So I want to bring Candace in. I want to bring Candace in because Candace, A, I suspect you have a different interpretation than Tom, but two, you also probably have particular insights because it seems that this schism goes back to when Andrew Scheer was the leader and you were there at the time. And from what I understand, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives weren't allowed participating in any way in that federal election. Yeah, I do see it a little differently. And I mean, maybe it's because I've got solid good

relationships with a lot of the MPPs and I have through the years. I think Doug Ford is doing what Doug Ford should do. He is the premier of Ontario, he is politically astute, he has been good friends with many of the liberals. He has Chris Jeffreeland swearing in. He is going to have to work with whoever

wins the election and that is a toss-up. He is absolutely doing the right thing in terms of, I'm not going to get heavily involved in the election, however, he did tweet out something as you mentioned, Ben, supporting policy that was good for Ontario. I absolutely expect him to be supportive of whether it is liberal policy or conservative policy

that will be supportive of Ontario. But the deeper thing here, he is one man and he is the premier, but his MPP, I know there are many of them that want to see a conversation But the deeper thing here, he is one man and he is the premier, but his MPP, I know there are many of them that want to see a Conservative government elected.

Let's see how many of them are out door knocking and doing things with candidates who are running for the Conservatives versus the Liberals. That's to me a sign of where provincial government really is that. That's going me what's a sign of where province, provincial government really is at.

And that would be, that's gonna be my final question on this to Warren. Does the Conservative Party of Canada need Doug Ford's ground game to win Ontario? Short answer, yes, but they're not gonna get it. There's a lot of people in provincial and federal politics who believe in alternation. You know, if you have the Tories at Queens Park,

you benefit more by having liberals in Ottawa. There's a lot of people who believe that. Like for example, Ben, your dad wouldn't allow a lot of Tories to go against David Peterson back in the day, they were quite close. So it's not unusual. If you look at Ford's vote, about a third of it, as much as a third of it, vote federally liberal. And Ford is a progressive conservative, as it says on his business card. He's just a different kind of conservative than Pierre Paulièvres.

So all of this makes sense to me. I don't think it's a big deal. And that, you know, that star story, I don't want to knock my competitors, but I don't believe actually that Pierre-Paulier picked up the phone to beg Doug Ford for help. I just cannot see Pierre-Paulier doing that. Like I'm sorry. I thought that story was overwritten. All right. Let's move on to a different provincial federal dynamic, this time with Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta and our current Prime Minister Mark Carney.

They met and Danielle Smith gave the press her honest assessment of him. And she said she was demanding oil policy changes and she warned of a national unity crisis if the grievances or priorities of Alberta are not properly addressed. And I think I'll start, Candice, with you. What is Danielle Smith actually saying here? Is she, she's, I don't believe she's threatening secession, but she is saying that you can't take it lightly.

Well, she's doing what she should be doing as the premier of Alberta, who has been, you know, disrespected and frankly crapped on by Ottawa and a lot of people around the Ottawa bubble for a long time, in fact, the last 10 years. So I don't think she's threatening, she leaving Canada, I don't think that that's what she's saying.

But Albertans have been angry, frustrated and feeling not only disrespected, they've lost their jobs and economically punished because they're Albertans and they have a huge resource of oil and gas. So the Liberals have been punishing them for that for the last 10 years. So you bet she's going to come out strongly.

It's not a change of tune or heart for her. She's been saying this. And so I think she's doing exactly the right thing, just like I think Ford is doing what he needs to do for his province. She's doing and saying what she needs to say and what she believes is right for her province. Tom Parkin, how do you see the meeting from yesterday between Alberta and the feds? It was I can't believe Mr. Carney wouldn't believe that it was would be as useless as it turned out to be. I mean, when it's over by five minutes, and you're issuing tweets with threats to national unity, unless my demands are all met, you know, like probably, you know, it wasn't going to be a good meeting anyway. So I think it's probably was more of an intelligence

gathering exercise for Mr. Carney to see what things he needs to massage. He is seated, say afterward, that maybe the emissions cap, maybe he could reconsider it, which is, you know, he's got rid of the carbon tax, he's going to get rid of the emissions cap. Nothing's off the table. So you know that's what I see it as. He was intelligence gathering and he's going to kind of play that stuff out and make a you know kind of move further and further towards Smith and take away the ground that she's standing on. And Warren we're going to end with you because it does feel that in this election so many of the issues go through the resource sector and therefore in a lot of ways, Alberta, Alberta will be at least the

priorities Alberta feel to me they have to be taken more seriously in this election than in in years past. Yeah, but she's not being a serious premier, you know, she and I say that as a Calgarian and somebody who believes worked in the oil patch and believes in, you know, energy extraction and benefiting the country. She, she, you know, well, let me give you the reaction of Gary Mason, who's the Globe, the Globes, you know, columnist for, for the Globe and Mail in Western Canada, he said, Daniel Smith is quickly becoming as big a threat to Canada as Donald Trump. This is not an exaggeration. Like she presented Carney with a lift, it was like a hostage taking, you know, here's what I want, and threatened that there's going to be a

national unity crisis. It was like, well, no kidding, Danielle, you're the one who's causing it. Every other premier, New Democrat, Liberal, Conservative, everybody is in lockstep on how to deal with Trump. You're the only one throwing, you know, love notes to the guy and going down to Mar-a-Lago and posing for photos with him. Like she, like I can tell you guys in Alberta, there's a lot of Albertans who do not approve of the way Daniel Smith is handling this file. And I think in the end, I think it's gonna hurt her. I wanna thank Candice Bergen, Tom Parkin, Warren Kinsella to all three of you. I love speaking to you.

I love your insights. I agree sometimes, I disagree other times. And I know that's why our listeners tune in, but please come back anytime. And I hope all three of you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for having me. Thank you. Thank you, Ben. Hi, I'm Donna Friesen from Global National.

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Yes, indeed, this is the Ben Mulroney Show, and we thank you so much for joining us. One of our favorite guests who never fails to inform and entertain is coming up in just a moment. So let's welcome to the show Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank fame. Welcome back to the show my friend. Thank you so much for joining us. Great to be here. Thank you.

I always love having you on the show because you represent in a lot of ways to a lot of people the nexus point between Canada and the United States having had success on both sides of the border. And recently, Alberta Premier, Daniel Smith suggested that President Trump wants liberals to stay in power in Canada because they've weakened the nation and he wants to capitalize on it. What do you think of that? And how do you think, if in fact, that is an argument worthy of pursuit,

how best should Pierre Poliev leverage it? Well, we're in a bit of a chaotic situation. This is pure politics at play. Let's assume we're going to announce an election Sunday night that's anticipated by the market right now, and let the games begin, because it's an awkward time for the negotiations going on in the United States. Sunday night that's anticipated by the market right now and let the games begin because

it's an awkward time for the negotiations going on in the United States, not just for Canada, but think about April 2nd, the tariff schedules coming out all around the world. Most countries are actually negotiating now tariff by tariff, item by item, because they know what those schedules look like. And probably 30% of those commodities from other countries are going to get negotiated down to zero tariffs because otherwise they face reciprocal tariffs. We don't have that going on in Canada right now because right now we're using Trump as a leverage point of pain in trying to decide on leadership.

Well, yeah, because Kevin, I mean, we've got Mark Carney saying this is the crisis du jour and yet he hasn't had a phone call with Donald Trump yet. He wants this to be an election issue, which I find deeply troubling, deeply cynical, and choosing politics and strategy over what is best for the country. Yeah, the Carney move to get on a plane to go to england was not unnoticed by the administration in the united states uh... for lack of better words they're really pissed and that's because uh... historically uh... member even in term p m but

historically because united states is country's largest trading partner with an economic union so to speak in terms of how we do business it's always been a situation regardless of politics that the incoming leadership would call or go to the White House first. Yeah. Just pure economics. Now what Carney did you know maybe helps him maybe doesn't in terms of getting the base riled up because right now the leadership in the liberal parties in a little bit of chaos in terms of what

to do with this. And you know, the polls are neck and neck, so it's a very interesting situation. What it has done, and I would argue, it set us back 20 feet in terms of negotiating a settlement with the US. Yeah. Carney has no status with Trump right now and people have started to realize every leader, every leader has gone to the White House, gone to Mar-a-Lago, gone down and dealt with Trump, even Zelensky when he was absolutely chaotic meeting sausage being made.

So since you're watching, has has a on the table with Trump or at least is negotiating one. We're not. Yeah. And so I don't agree with what Carney did. It's obviously his decision, but I think it was a mistake could cost them dearly. And I have been watching like other Canadians. Wow. He's bringing the old retreads back. He's got, I can't believe he would do this. He had a chance to reset his cabinet. I see free left. Yeah, Kevin, I want to I want to stick on the mono E mono Carney Trump dynamic, because look, if the polls are to be believed, and if they hold throughout the election campaign, and that is by no means a certainty, but if they do, and Mark Carney officially becomes our next prime minister and forms the next government

He would be the guy sitting opposite Donald Trump now All things being equal Mark Carney is oftentimes the smartest guy in the room and he knows more about the ins and outs of the economy than I could ever dream to know but What is also true is Donald Trump? Can steamroll almost anybody. So in a battle between the two of them as they fight out for their national interest, who wins?

Well, you know, at the end of the day, you have to understand, I've said this countless times, you and I have talked about this multiple times. You got to distinguish the signal from the noise with Trump. Trump wants a good economy and he wants security. And I don't know if you noticed a couple of hours ago, our conversation is very timely.

He just reached out to King Charles to talk about joining the Commonwealth. Now, why is he doing that? He's doing that if you wanna read the signal, in my opinion, to get a closer union with Canada who's already got that membership status. Because the long goal, the long goal is uniting these economies against China. So you know, everybody, they ask me, well, how's Carney gonna do? Canadians should ask themselves, who do I want leading ourselves, not just with Trump issues, globally? Because my

concern with Carney, and look, I respect him, that guy's got a really good resume, but he's back on the carbon tax stuff again. He's got the same elitist global view of climate that comes out of Davos, and he's just, in my view, and believe me, I'm gonna be voting in this election like many other Canadians, we're very polarized here, he's just Trudeau 2.0 on steroids. And I don't think the country can take that anymore. Believe me, I'm going to be voting in this election like many other Canadians. We're very polarized here.

He's just Trudeau 2.0 on steroids. And I don't think the country can take that anymore. We've got to pivot and broaden ourselves globally, but also make sure that we get our resources managed because what's been held back by Trudeau and the policies that Carney wants to maintain, doubling down on car tax. It's got to be crazy. Yeah. We saw all those charts this week that were disappointing and not but also

unsurprising about how that we've experienced a real loss decade, both in terms of our competition in the OECD and the G seven. But I do want to finish because I've got one other topic I want to get to with you, Kevin. And it's all about Tesla. And there's two angles I want to take with you. And the first is the stock being down 50% since December. You have all these people who are vandalizing and blowing up Teslas all while Elon Musk is responsible for saving two astronauts in space.

What do you make of this? I don't know, it's such a unique position. This tarnishing of the brand and people willing to go to criminal lengths to express themselves, even though Elon Musk has done things that nobody else has ever done. And will continue to do so. No one executes like him. First of all, anybody that fire bombs a car, regardless of their politics or which brand they set on fire, is a felon. And they will be found because all the cameras on these lots and the cars themselves have cameras

They're going to jail for anywhere from five to twenty years They're thinking of and I doubt they'll get that far But they're thinking of bringing terrorist charges against these people which means no reduction in sentence and you go in the hole In a federal prison it's hell on earth But I think that's where they're going either for five or twenty years and that's what should happen now the politics of this are really interesting because you've got a more divisive uh... constituency out there and and obviously the democratic party is trying to find its soul because they were never the the party of violence

and here they are uh... kind of reacting against Doge. By the way, I hope we doge it up in Canada. There's so much fat in the federal government, we've got to find a dogerologist. I got one other question for you about this whole thing because look, I think what's happening to Tesla and people who own Teslas is unfair. However, there is something that rubs me the wrong way. When Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary,

gets on TV and urges Americans to buy Tesla stock, Elon Musk works for the federal government. To me, there's just something that feels wrong about that. That's, I don't know, your thoughts? Yeah, listen, you're not the only one to bring that up with me. I know Howard. Everybody on Wall Street knows Howard and Bay Street too, for that matter.

He's a legendary banker. He's controversial. He just kept himself in the controversial column with this one. I mean, this is really, he's trying to fight back, you know, obviously what's happening to a legendary, you know, US company. By the way, most of the state pension plans, including Canadian pension plans, own a piece of Tesla. So this stock has gotten slaughtered, you know,

and maybe Howard's trying to do a buy signal, but what he did there caused a lot of controversy. And I just want to add one other thing then. I'm in my studio right now, so I think our interview, if it's getting to the end, I want to play a song. I got a nice little tune I've been working on. Okay. Ready? Yep.

["The Sound of a Sound"] ["The Sound of a Sound"] ["The Sound of a Sound"] ["The Sound of a Sound"] ["The Sound of a Sound"] Kevin O'Leary, I mean, listen, I did not expect that you had that kind of level of funk inside your soul.

I'm talking wawa back. Kevin, I appreciate you, man. I hope you have a great weekend. Hope to hear from you again soon. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show. And in anticipation of a looming federal election, our federal leaders are everywhere. And Mark Carney, the Prime Minister, found himself in Alberta.

He played a little bit of hockey with the Oilers. But probably more importantly, he had a sit down with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, where she made her demands very clear on oil policy changes that she says her province needs to see, and she warned that national unity was at stake. Here's Danielle Smith giving her assessment of her first meeting with Mark Carney. I think there's a real danger that the new prime minister is worse than the old prime minister. But if one of his values is keeping oil and gas in the ground, and he thinks Alberta can

operate on wind and solar and battery power. He's got another thing coming. So I will be able to make our case very clearly, especially in the changing environment we find ourselves in that our world needs more energy. They need more energy from a reliable democratic source and ally. And the world is very interested

in what Alberta has to offer. And I would hope that they would work in partnership with us to be able to get that to market. So I haven't had that conversation with the new prime minister yet, I intend to. And I'll have to vet it at that time. But everything I've seen so far suggests to me that ending the retail carbon tax

just so consumers can't see it when they go and fill up their gas or when they look at their home heating bill, but then walloping our industry with potentially higher taxes, that's just not gonna fly. All right, so to discuss this a little deeper, let's talk to a journalist who is in the trenches

in Alberta each and every day, Rachel Parker. Welcome back to the show, Rachel. Happy to be here. Now, before we talk about the Premier, let's talk about Mark Carney. He's got roots in the province and he's just spent some time there. What is the perception of Mark Carney in Alberta from what you're hearing? Yeah, I think Daniel Smith pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one.

Obviously, you know, he's been doing a bit of campaigning in Edmonton. Edmonton typically goes to the Alberta NDP in our provincial elections. So I think the Liberals might have a possibility to, you know, pick up a seat or to their under Mark Carney. But generally, the Liberals are pretty hated in Alberta, and that is not going to be changing with Mark Carney. If anything, from what I'm hearing, people dislike him even more than Justin Trudeau. People distrust him even more than Justin Trudeau, people distrust him even more than Justin Trudeau. You know, you've been hearing

that talking point that people are repeating that, oh he's unelected, and I mean in fairness that is how our system works. We have the same thing happen with Danielle Smith, but those are sort of the talking points, that's the rhetoric that you're hearing among people in the province who are just generally very uncomfortable with Mark Carney and feel that he is a globalist that feel like he is going to increase immigration and make things worse for the energy industry in our province. Rachel, when you see polling that shows the Liberals really close to the Conservatives

in Alberta and in some cases, in some cases winning as many as 11 seats in the province, what do you make of that then? in some cases winning as many as 11 seats in the province. What do you make of that then? I don't buy that too much. I think that that is probably a pretty big miss from the polling industry. If you remember, even when we had our provincial election here back in 2023, there was a lot of polling coming out that was saying that the NDP was going to win. And of course they didn't. We have a United Conservative Party government. But Alberta is typically a very hard province to pull. Janet Brown is known as the best pollster in the province.

She usually hits the nail on the head. She gets quite close to the mark in our provincial elections. She just has a different bit of a method which is that she calls landlines repeatedly because in the rural parts of the province there are still people who use landlines. There's still elderly people that can't be reached. And so I think that her methods

are just a bit more focused here. But when I see polls coming out that the liberals are neck and neck with the conservatives are gonna win 11 seats, yeah, I don't buy that. Part of the Premier's messaging to the new Prime Minister was that there is a deep resentment in the province. And it's been there for a very long time, but it does seem to be metastasizing or crystallizing

About you know the country's dependence on the natural resources of Alberta but an unwillingness to respect the province enough to allow them to extract it and profit from it to the benefit of the entire country and so there there was a talk of a potential national unity crisis. Is she making a mountain out of a molehill or is she is she telling him there is an iceberg that I can see and if you don't see it, you're blind? No, I think that she recognizes what's going on, especially among her base. And you know, I was the person to break the story that there is a delegation organizing in Alberta right now that plans to go down to Washington, D.C. to pitch Donald Trump

on Alberta statehood. Now, I've done some polling on this because I was interested in the numbers and the numbers for statehood aren't very high. Only about 20% of the province is interested in that idea. That being said, that's 20% of Albertans who are interested in joining the US without any sustained campaign to that effect. Now, when we look at Albertans who are thinking

that maybe independence is the route to go, where we would separate from Canada, but not necessarily join the United States, those numbers are quite higher at almost 40% of Albertans being very supportive or somewhat supportive. So those are really high numbers when you think about the fact that as I've said, there hasn't been a sustained campaign pushing for succession from Canada. And I know that there's efforts undergoing right now to create some campaigns. I think some people are kind of sitting on the sidelines waiting to see the outcome of the federal election. But if we have a Mark Carney liberal government

up in Ottawa again, these campaigns are going to be full-fledged and I suspect it will be a big problem for the premier and it will be a big problem for Ottawa. Well, that's what I was gonna ask you. Cause there are a lot of people outside of Alberta who sort of they poo poo the nationalism of Alberta and they'll say, it's just a bunch of crackpots. It's not that. It's something else.

Well, my question to those people is how much time have you spent in the province? Yeah. Do you have any idea what the actual grievances here are? It's the fact that Alberta is giving, according to estimates from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, $3 billion annually in equalization payments. And we haven't received a payment in six decades because we are a wealthy province. So the federal government steals our wealth to do wealth redistribution and give it to the other provinces. And at the same time, they're hamstrunging our energy industry, as you said. Mark Carney said that he plans to keep the 2030 emissions cap, which is a target on Alberta oil and gas. Dan Ellsworth has said that will act as a production cap.

And so people here are simply fed up. And with the policies that Mark Carney has announced, you know, including that he's added the co-founder of this controversial lobbying group that, you know, has proposed to increase the Canadian population to 100 million. People are just fed up here. People are looking at the federal government with a lot of distrust.

And Mark Carney, he's not well known, but what people know about him, they don't like. And here's why this should be concerning to people is that, look, if you have a small cohort of people clamoring for independence or clamoring for statehood. It really doesn't have anywhere to go, right? They're going to talk to each other. It's not they don't have the money, they don't have the manpower, they don't have the infrastructure to do anything with that movement. But if it starts getting up to 20, 30, 40 percent, and then you have a government that is elected across the country that is viewed as hostile to Alberta's interest and you have a president adding increased pressure to

that dynamic. Well then all of a sudden that 40 percent, 30-40 percent, they can mobilize, they are funded, they can communicate, they can organize, and they can take that 40% much higher. Well, and you know, that's exactly right. And what I've said repeatedly is, you know, to your conversation about the rest of Canada, not really understanding what's going on here, is the talking point that you'll often hear coming from Eastern Canada,

to sentiments of separation out here is, oh, well, they're traitors. And, you know, the sentiment out here is, oh, well, they're traders. And, you know, the sentiment out here is I didn't leave Canada. Canada left me a long time ago. Yeah. Yeah. We're already seeing numbers at 40%. And what I can tell you is that Alberta is known for its Brown gate. We have some of the best organizers in the country here, some of the best conservative organizers in the country here. People decide that they want to do this. You are going to see a very strong and sustained campaign effort with a lot of money behind it to get it done. Yeah, and you're absolutely right.

There's people on one side of the political spectrum who are so eager to shut down any sort of conversation, either on Carney's Team Canada or you're a traitor. And it is so friggin' insulting that we can't have an adult conversation about different paths and different ideas and different values and different ways to get what we want. It is, but it's the Canada we live in. Isn't that right, Rachel?

Absolutely, it is. Well, I wanna thank you so much. That was Rachel Parker, a journalist based in Alberta. Really hope to talk to you again soon. Thanks for having me. All right, it is now time for a segment that keeps getting a ton of love on the podcast. It is one of the most downloaded segments we do. And ever since we added Dave Bradley, the man with the dulcet tones to the mix, it has

added a level of credibility that I, as Guy Smiley, cannot bring to this show alone. But before we start, I have to warn you, as I do every week, if you are sensitive to adult language, you may want to turn the radio off for this next segment. Turn it down. I don't go get a cup of coffee or just fast forward through. Some of the clips that we play have adult and colorful language. And with that being said, it is time for Is This BS or Is This Real? See now that's some bullshit. This is bullshit.

Man this is some bullshit. You want answers? I think I'm entitled. You want answers? I want the truth! You can't handle the truth. You are fake news. I warned you.

I warned you. Okay if you want to play along at home please do so. Dave will tell us the story. You make your guess. I'll do the same. Dave you want to play along at home, please do so. Dave will tell us the story. You make your guess. I'll do the same. Dave, you ready? Yes. Let's get started with story number one.

All right. So this is a move that's raising some eyebrows. The World Economic Forum, which is also known as the WEF, has proposed a global policy that would limit individuals to growing no more than 10 pounds of homegrown food every year. It's an effort to combat climate change and meet stringent net zero targets. WFEF officials claim that backyard farming and personal vegetable gardens contribute significantly to carbon emissions due to soil consumption, water usage, non-regulated composting methods. The proposal, which is informally dubbed the Homegrown Food Cap, is said to be part of a broader effort to centralize and

regulate global food production under a more sustainable, corporate-controlled model. The proposed guidelines would see individuals exceeding the 10-pound limit facing fines. Some reports even suggest that home food production could be tied to digital ID tracking with smart meters monitoring personal garden outputs. Critics have slammed the idea as authoritarian overreach designed to strip people of food sovereignty. So did the World Economic Forum forum propose global limits on how much food we should grow? All right so the World economic forum is sort of like Michael Jackson or Diddy or Donald Trump in that they you would believe that. If you heard a story that Donald Trump wanted to sign an executive order,

making it, throwing every left-handed person in jail, you would believe that, or you'd be open to believing it. Same thing with the World Economic Forum. And they have had some crazy ideas in the past, but I'm gonna turn on my rational brain and I'm going to say that this is BS. See, that's some bullshit. Dave, you tried to get me on the first one. All right, let's go to story number

two. Has there been more egg seizures than fentanyl at the border this year? The bird flu continues to be a big problem in the US affecting egg supply. US Customs and Border Protection data now shows that there have been significantly more egg products seized at US borders than the number of seizures of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl so far in 2025. According to the data, there have been 413 drug seizure events involving fentanyl this year compared to 5,500 egg product interceptions so far. The rise in egg interceptions comes as the U.S. continues to battle an outbreak of avian

flu that has devastated the poultry industry, caused a surge in egg prices and shortages in some stores. They say most of the egg product interception have occurred because people were unaware they couldn't bring those products back across the border. They say travelers are prohibited from bringing fresh eggs, raw chicken, or live birds into the U.S. from Mexico. Officials warn that bringing such products in, even though they might be cheaper for individuals carrying potential health risks, could make problems even worse.

So, have there been more egg seizures than fentanyl at the border this year? Okay, look, the fentanyl issue, while terrible, has been overstated by the Americans, at least in terms of the numbers flowing south into the United States. I know they have an issue with the avian flu. I know they have an egg shortage. I also know that the Americans have these weird border things where they won't let you have, you know, the Kinder eggs? Those are apparently illegal, but bullets aren't. So yeah, yeah, because you can't have like a piece of plastic touching, touching the chocolate. Huh. And that's apparently a health risk. So you put all of that together in a blender and what comes out

is my belief that this is true. Is it possible this story is true? Yes it is. I'm on fire today, Dave Bradley. I also learned something about the Kinder Egg today. Oh yeah, it's crazy, those are illegal. That's why they had to come up with a new version of a Kinder Egg that is not nearly as fun for the kids. No.

Alright, time for story number three. Alright, did Doge uncover nearly $400,000 in a government contract for watering plants? Add to the list of wasted spending in the US, the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as Doge, has uncovered a $375,000 government contract dedicated solely to watering plants at various federal buildings. Reports say this contract outlines the need for maintaining greenery in government offices, with some plants reportedly receiving up to $500 worth of hydration services every month. Doge has been a controversial part of President Donald Trump's administration accusations

that Elon Musk has wrongly targeted important government agencies. As of March 18th, Doge's website claims that more than 3,600 contract terminations, totaling $11 billion in savings, have been carried out. That one doesn't even seem like that big of a deal. It's a lot of money, but compared to all the other numbers we're talking about, it seems like a drop in the bucket that you then flower water the plants with. And plants have to be watered and it seems like there are a lot of government buildings. So I don't even think that that sounds even remotely like government waste. I mean, it's just, it just is what it is.

It's the cost of having plants in buildings. So I'm going to say it's true. This is bullshit. Okay. Gotcha with that one. Well yeah, because it's so boring. It's so like relative to the other stories. If you'd said four million, maybe I would have.

Okay. All right. Well, you got me with that one. Okay. Let's move on to the next one. I'm gonna redeem myself. All right. Did a soccer team hold a minute of silence for a former player who is still alive? It's a top flight Bulgarian soccer team. We now apologize after a minute of silence. We're live every day nationwide on the Chorus Radio Network. The team was online to the Radio Canada player

and the iHouse Radio Canada apps. And make sure to follow and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your streaming audio. We release new podcasts every day. Petko Ganchev. But before the game had finished, Arda published a statement on Facebook apologizing to Ganchev, saying they had received wrong information about his death. The management of the club would like to express a huge apology to the former Arda player Petko Ganchev and his relatives after the club received wrong information about his death.

The club wrote, We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of good health and to enjoy the success of Arda. Okay, so when I was growing up in Ottawa, it was during not necessarily the heyday of the Canadian Football League. It's back when there were two teams named the Rough Riders out of, I think, eight. And I don't know if you remember this, Dave Bradley, but the Rough Riders, the Ottawa Rough Riders on two separate occasions drafted players who were dead. Really?

Yes. Yes. I guess they passed the physical and really impressed them at the combine. I don't know. But twice, two separate occasions, they drafted dead guys. So, this kind of feels like that. I'm really inclined to believe this, but you're sneaky, Dave Radley. You're sneaky. I'm going to say this is true. I'm gonna say this is true. It's fact. Yes!

Yes, exactly. Now, had you said that it was like a top tier team, but I think the Bulgaria gave it away. Yeah. And I really, can I just say, I very much enjoy the fact that his first name is Petco. Petco Gansher. Yeah.

But there's a, the company Petco should get in touch with this guy right now. Dave Bradley, thank you so much. I appreciate it. And I'm looking forward to do it again next week. Have a great weekend. You too. 911, what's your emergency?

Thursdays on global. LAPD on scene. The most intense season yet continues. He's a damn serial killer. We're gonna find her. Trump was hauling 22 million killer bees. So be NATO. He's breathing but he's not breathing.

He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's breathing but he's not breathing. He's a damn serial killer. We're gonna find her. Trump was hauling 22 million killer bees. So be NATO. He's breathing but barely. Cars started crashing everywhere.

Think there's still people trapped in that one. Get him out! Help is on the way. 9-1-1 all new Thursdays on Global. Stream on StackTV.