The Ben Mulroney Show - Richard Madan -- Manitoba's voice in Washington and so much more

Episode Date: May 26, 2026

GUEST:  Richard Madan / Manitoba's Sr. Representative to the United States If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/bms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, on youtube -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BenMulroneyShow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Insta: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ Executive Producer:  Mike Drolet Reach out to Mike with story ideas or tips at [e-mail] Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast is brought to you by the National Payroll Institute, the leader for the payroll profession in Canada, setting the standard of professional excellence, delivering critical expertise, and providing resources that over 45,000 payroll professionals rely on. Welcome back, and we're living in a very precarious time where everyone needs to be rowing in the same direction as we face an uncertain future with our closest trading ally,

the United States, when a once close ally would call. calls us, we can call them unreliable and I think that's a fair assessment. And so you got to put the best people in the positions that can help us the most. And for years, our next guest was known for his ability to walk the halls of power in Washington and ask the power brokers in, in, in government for their take on X, Y, and Z. And then he was asked to take off that hat, remain in those but instead of ask questions, advocate for the business community in Manitoba. Please welcome to the show former journalist and current trade.

Manitoba's senior representative to the United States. Richard Madden, Richard, welcome. Hey, Ben, thanks for having me. And belated congrats on your new show. It's not new anymore. No, it's, well, it still has that new, that new show smell. So I appreciate it. Yeah, so a lot of people, they're seeing you for the first time since you held those microphones.

for CBC and CTV. And you're still in Washington, but you've taken on a different role. Talk to me about that moment when you were approached to take on this role. Oh, well, absolutely would love to. So it happened about two years ago. Premier Canoe was in Winnipeg,

and I knew some of his staff members, and they reached out saying, the Premier is having a speech at the embassy, would you like to go? I thought, you know, I haven't seen these guys in a long time. So I came. And that's when they first mentioned that they're looking at introducing or having a representative for the province of Manitoba

as a recommendation from the provincial business and jobs council. And I love the acronym, Manitoba's P.B. and J., that's what it's called. And I said, you know what, absolutely, we're entering a critical time. I've seen this movie before. This is right before Liberation Day at the White House. And Ontario has an envoy here. Alberta has a representative here, but there's no one advocating for Manitoba. Right. So, you know, Alberta, it's pretty, Alberta, you know, their focus is energy.

Ontario's about steel in the auto sector. Quebec is about their minerals or culture. But no one's talking about agriculture. No one's talking about, you know, poultry, pork. The food Americans eat. So it took me a while, but the more I realized we're entering a very important time for Canada-U.S. relations, I decided to accept this role. And I really haven't looked back. We're coming up to a year. We're making some tremendous progress. But it's that USM or Kuzma negotiation. That seems to be a bit stalled right now. There's a lot of politics, but I'm still optimistic and confident.

We'll get to the finish line sometime this year. So talk to me about what your day is filled with and how much latitude do you have to go out on your own and strike out on behalf of the people of Manitoba? And how much of it is done in concert, not just with the federal leadership out there, but also your other provincial analogs? Yeah. So, I mean, I work inside the embassy, but the federal government doesn't hold my hand. They don't hold Ontario's hand or Alberta's hand. So, you know, every day we try to find liftoff. And I spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill and various departments.

And, you know, the elevator pitch is really the three A's for Manitoba, agriculture, the Arctic and aerospace. Critical minerals falls under aerospace. And we found our lane and we're getting a lot of interest from members of Congress. And let's face it, Ben. Everyone on Capitol Hill knows where Canada is. Many of them have heard of Toronto. They've heard of Quebec, but a lot of them haven't heard of Manitoba. So you're really introducing them to the province.

We're targeting lawmakers from Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, the Midwest. We talk about food security, how Manitoba pork literally puts, you know, brings home the bacon in those states. We talk about the Arctic where right now everything has aligned. You have a prime minister that's made Arctic security, a primary responsibility. You have, of course, President Trump talking about fortress North American and improving the Arctic there. So we've had a lot of success on that level. When it comes to USMCA, I'll tell you, 90, 95% of lawmakers from both Republicans and Democrats support USMCA. They recognize the importance of food security, what the prairies, what Canada provides, whether it's agriculture, grains, pork, cattle, you name it.

There's just a couple that are causing some challenges in that relationship. And just last week, a Republican from upstate New York wrote an op-ed, really calling out Canada saying they're not coming close to the negotiating table. I'm just going to read you a line here saying, I frequently meet with Canadian delegations and government officials who are happy to list their grievances in the U.S. in the trade space, but some grow quiet and dismissive when asked about addressing U.S. concerns. There's also a misconception that by some that Canada struck a huge free trade deal with China.

You have to dial that back a little bit. We've had some criticism on our NATO spending, defense spending, when they're saying, why are you doing victory laps when Canada committed to the 2.5 and you're hitting 5%. So that's a perception that we really tried to combat. And I think we're having some success. But at the time, the engagement is key. These discussions are happening behind the scenes. and I'm really happy to be to be part of it playing the role that I do here.

Well, and that's, you mentioned success. What determines in your mind whether you've had a successful day or whether you've been successful on a particular file? Yes. So obviously when you take on this role, there's no guidebook or a book to look up, what's a win, what isn't. And really the first year, especially for a new office here, it's capacity building.

You're meeting as many people as we can. But I think we've had tremendous success educating members of Congress of Canada's Arctic. The Churchill Port has really piqued a lot of interest. We're working towards having a congressional delegation visit the Arctic. It was supposed to happen this spring, but the votes happened. We're looking at this fall, but of course we're entering the midterm election season. So a lot of these members of Congress and the Senate in particular that we've been targeting, they can't make it because they're running for re-election.

But a win is getting knowledge out there about Manitoba. but we've hosted events here where members of Congress have learned about our province and are interested in visiting perhaps during the summer or the spring when it warms up. But ultimately, our focus, the biggest win is a USMCA. The question, though, is, you know, I'll put it this way. Jameson Greer, the trade representative, I was at an event with him just a few weeks ago. He said, America First is not a slogan. It's a policy, and we're not going back to the status quo.

So the challenge for Canada for the federal government is what concessions is Canada willing to live with? You have been that guy chasing people with the microphone and holding them to account, getting their opinions. Has your opinion changed of those politicians now that you are interacting with them on a completely different basis? Yes. That's such a great question because that was one of the biggest part of my transition is seeing a U.S. Senator when you're scrumming them in a hallway versus when you meet with them. They all have their brand, all of their personalities

when they're in front of a camera, and then you meet them in their offices, completely different. I'm not going to give the name away. But there is this one Republican senator who was, every time I spoke with her, she was quite, I don't want to say standoff, but she was quite blunt and very matter-of-fact.

And you meet her in person. And it's like meeting Dolly Parton, kind, funny, engaging, hilarious. So you get to see a different side of them. Their knowledge of Canada is a lot more behind the scenes than what they say in front of the cameras. So there's a public messaging that they give and then there's a personal messaging they're giving. Here's a challenge, though. You will speak to a lot of Republicans who will go on Fox News and say things about Canada. And then behind the scenes, when you're meeting them privately, they will say,

I don't agree with the president on this. I think the president is wrong on this. I think tariffs are wrong. Then you ask them, well, why don't you say anything in public? And they will say, I don't want to risk the wrath of the administration. I don't want to get primaried. I don't want to face a primary challenger from the right. So this is sort of the world we're living in right now.

Well, you're going to stick around with us. I got so many more questions for you, Richard Madden. Really glad to be chatting with you. It's been a long time, but glad to see that you're doing well. So don't go anywhere. We've got much more with Rich. Remember, we're talking trade. We're talking politics. We're talking journalism. We're talking to all the things that matter to you.

The listeners here at the Ben Mulrooney Show. Don't go anywhere. We continue after the break. Hey, y'all. It's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if.

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A life-defining technology. Crime as we know it will never be the same. I'm like, oh my God, he's lying. From CBC's Uncover, The Expert Witness. Available now on CBC Listen, or wherever, you can. get your podcasts. We are continuing our conversation with Richard Madden. He's Manitoba's senior representative to the United States, and he's a former

journalist. And I'm so glad that he is joining us now. A former journalist or reformed journalist, Richard? I would say former. Reform can mean something else. Now, your boss, Premier Wab Canoe, said of you that you speak the language of the Trump administration. I'm going to need clarification on what that means.

Right. So listen, it takes a while. Let me just back up. And I'm not trashing the Canadian media, but there is a perception there that everything Trump does is bad. And it's important to really understand a perspective. So I put it this way. When we all grew up, we had our understanding of what America was or the concept of the United States. So for some people, it was JFK, the moon landing for others, other people it was Reagan, the Berlin Wall coming coming. down. So just closed her eyes and you tell me first, what was your first experience and understanding of the United States? My, oh, geez, I've got a, I've got a particular, very unique. I was just about to say. Yeah. Honestly, it was, it was, it was the trilateral meetings between Canada, the United States and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, uh, Mexico on NAFTA. Yeah. Well, yeah, that's, that's excellent. And that was, that was a huge, huge story and of course you had a front row seat to that. But for a lot of people in the MAGA universe,

it was 9-11. Yeah. And then when they were growing up, it was the financial crash. And they got a little older. Many of them served in Afghanistan and Iraq. So the optimism that we felt, what the United States felt to a lot of people under 40, they just don't feel it. Right. They don't feel they can't get a house. They saw their parents lose their jobs. They know people who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. And they just feel the whole system needs to be blown up and there's frustration and they wanted to turn inwards. So when you meet a lot of these Republicans, especially on Capitol Hill, one of the first things that I noticed was how young a lot of their staffers are a lot of their, are in their 30s. Whereas the members of Congress are in their 50, 60, 70s, some are in their 90s. So understanding

that perspective, that MAGA perspective, has really helped me, not only as a former journalists to make inroads with these certain groups, but also be able to speak with them and communicate with them because I understand their perspective. A lot of people, particularly journalists, will walk in there and they already have their minds made up, what they think of the party, what they think of the current state of Republicans, and then they go from there. And that that confrontation doesn't help, especially when you're in a role as an advocate for a province. So my role is, oh, go on. You're all right. I was just going to say. So my perspective, when I go meet with members of Congress or stakeholders is to really portray, here's how we help you,

whether it's food security, defense security, Arctic security, or as a partner, not an adversary. And I find that is more helpful than walking into an office, spewing facts, getting on a soapbox to say this is unfair because we're best friends and best friends don't treat each other this. Right. Yeah, that's a really good point. Early on in this trade war, a lot of people were trying to say, we've got to convince Donald Trump, that it's not us versus them.

It's the two of us versus the problem. And it feels like you may be able to get, you know, move that ball down the field a little more effectively with these individual legislators than with the president himself. Is that a fair assessment? Yeah. That's exactly it. So we let the federal government deal with the Howard Latinx of Scott Bessens, the White House and so forth.

My role is to advocate to members of Congress and to. state-level leaders. So everywhere from Pennsylvania to Illinois, to Iowa, to Missouri, and right now it's Nevada. And that's where we're really focusing on right now. And look, when I go up and I meet with people, I know if you can see this, but these are the lead behinds I give. And it says, Canada, the United States, a strong partnership because we want to really push the partnership as opposed to, here's why you're treating us badly. Is there, now, is there any element of your job that requires you to,

return to Manitoba, to give, I don't know, to testify before the legislature and explain the work that you've been doing. Because I do know that there's, there is an element of partisanship in terms of the value that you are providing the taxpayer, for example. Do you have to ever go back and show your work, if you will? Yeah, I was there in early April. Right before I went to Alaska with a delegation, the Manitoba's mining minister, to advocate for our Arctic strategy at this huge mining conference hosted by Senator Lisa Mikowsky of Alaska, a very powerful Republican senator who is a huge fan of Manitoba,

huge fan of what we're doing in the Arctic. I'll be back again in June to mark my one-year anniversary. But just on the controversy, my whole contract was modeled after Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec. And I started this whole office from scratch with no So I walked in here, you know, with a good contact list I developed over a decade in Washington. And just imagine somebody coming from Winnipeg here with nowhere to work, expecting the federal government to hold their hand when they walk the halls of Capitol Hill.

It's not the same as walking around Winnipeg City Hall and knocking on doors and members of Congress suspected to open up. So, yeah, I've taken some heat on that. But, you know, the reality is that this office is modeled after Alberta and Ontario. but I had to build it from scratch because it didn't exist before. Yeah. Richard, if you've got the support of your boss, if you got the support of the head guy in charge, you're doing fine. I don't think that's my perspective.

If the big guy... Just not used to the criticism. Yeah. So I want to go back to sort of what we were talking about before, about sort of this new appreciation of or new insights into these politicians. Could you ever see yourself going back into some sort of journalistic role after you've done this? So I've had a couple offers, to be honest, to go back. I'm really enjoying this role right now, and I want to do my best.

So, you know, I haven't even thought that far ahead, because right now my immediate challenge is just making sure that we get across the finish line with USMCA. And what's, I got to ask, what's life like in Washington? Well, we just met with Senator Tom Tillis, North Carolina, last week, and he was ribbing us about the canes and the habs. I'm sorry, Finn. Habs haven't done too well. They're down to one.

Again, the series is not even over. No, don't worry about it. I'm not. That's true. You know, I said that about the Oilers. But listen, I love Washington. Our families here. We absolutely love it.

The politics is, it's very hypercharged here in D.C. You have posters of the president on buildings across the U.S. We're entering midterm election season. So the heightened politics has taken an uptick. So we're waiting to see what happens If there's a new makeup in the House And the Senate this fall You know, and the polls are suggesting

The Dems are going to take the House But we have so much gerrymandering happening right now I don't know if that's where that's going to land Yeah But this is always a hyper political city I love it. Politics is in my blood And it's Yeah

It is what it is It's just Yeah, no, I can tell it Like it feels like you were you were built for this that the man met the moment. What's been the greatest surprise in the job so far? The greatest surprise is how friendly most members of Congress are to you when you meet them. Because I am used to a little confrontation and a back and forth,

but that's just the gamification of politics here in the U.S., right? You know exactly which senator is the perfect senator to react to something the president tweeted, which Republican is going to buck the administration, which Democrat is going to criticize his own party or their own party. So you get to know the personalities here. But when you get to meet and socialize with some of these members of Congress, you realize it's such a different ballgame when you're on the political sides as opposed to the media side. Last question.

I guess because you were there at the tail end of one ambassador and the beginning of a new one. How's our new ambassador shaping up and taking on the role? Yeah, I'm going to give him some time. Mark Wiseman, great guy. I call him a finance bro, but he comes from Wall Street. He knows a Lennox. He knows the Bessens. He knows how to move in those circles.

He knows a host of Squawk Box on CNBC, and that is a show that everyone in the White House watches in the morning. They watch Squawk Box or they watch Fox and Friends. And he knows those players. I think he's going to do great. He's a smart guy. He's a money guy. But he just started.

I'm sure we'll see more of them in the weeks and months ahead. Richard Madden, one last suggestion. If things are getting rocky, you should recommend to people that you're talking to that if they help you out, you will ensure that the recipe for the greatest pizza in Canada, which comes from Pizzeria Augusto in Winnipeg,

you can get that for them. It's called the Dawn. It's the best pizza in the country. And I think you could use that as a carrot to get what you need for your people. I'm going to raise you your pizza one up it to steak. Best Steakhouse in Canada.

And Ben, I'm a huge fan of Steakhouse. The best steakhouse in Canada, Ray and Jerry's in Winnipeg, you've got to go. I will, absolutely. It's on the list right now. Richard Madden, a really great catching up. All the best to you. Pleasure. Thanks, Ben. It is changing from the misuse of AI

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