The MeidasTouch Podcast - Canada NDP Leader STRIKES BACK at Trump’s THREATS

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas interviews Canada’s House of Common’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh about Trump’s latest threats and what’s next for Canada after Prime Minister Trudeau resigned. Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. I'm joined by Jagmeet Singh, member of the House of Commons and leader of the NDP in the House of Commons. We've got a lot going on in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from the Liberal Party just announced his resignation. His government was held together by an alliance, a tenuous one, with the NDP. Mr. Singh, you had called for his resignation a few weeks later. He did indeed resign.

First and foremost, I want to welcome you to the Midas Touch Network. We had some other NDP members on, but welcome. Thank you so much. I'm honored and excited to be here. Thanks so much. You know, when Donald Trump was elected and he first started attacking Canada, there was a lot of confusion, I think, within Canada about how to respond, but not from you. You immediately responded right away and said, you will not bully us.

And after that, I thought it gave others the confidence because you're seeing it now with a lot of other politicians out there in Canada who are saying that. But Donald Trump has been relentless. Just yesterday, he made the following post as well, once again, referring to Canada as the 51st state. And he said that Canadians would love for Canada to be the 51st state and that this is something that they want. What a great nation it would be essentially if the United States conquers Canada. I want to get your response to that. For those who don't know you too, you got a background in jujitsu. You went to law school. You got a great story that we'll get into a little bit later as well.

But one, standing up to Trump in the first place. But two, your overall reaction to this barrage of threats from the United States, from Trump specifically, not all of us, against Canada. Well, I would say first off, Donald Trump is acting more like an internet troll than a president of the United States. I don't think that's the way you act as a president. And it's certainly not the way you interact with other countries. But as I mentioned, I've dealt with bullies throughout my life. And I know what it's like. Even if you're the smaller guy, even if you're outnumbered, you got to make it not worth the bullies while bullies only understand strength.

They only understand strength and pain. So you have to make it not worth the bullies while bullies only understand strength. They only understand strength and pain. So you have to make sure you're standing up and showing that if you take a, if you want to take that decision to fight with us, to pick a fight with us, it's going to hurt you too. And so I want to issue a challenge actually on your show today for anyone that's running for prime minister. I've committed that Canada would respond with retaliatory tariffs. If, if Trump imposes tariffs on Canada would respond with retaliatory tariffs. If Trump

imposes tariffs on Canada, we should respond with tariffs. That's how you respond to a bully. You got to respond with strength. So my challenge is for anyone else out there who's running to become prime minister, I want you to also commit so that Donald Trump knows that anyone in Canada who gets that position will respond with a tariff, with terracing kind, fighting fire with fire, showing that we're ready to stand up to a bully. You know, you have this Maple MAGA thing going on in Canada, as it's been referred to, embodied in the Conservative Party there, led by their opposition leader, Pierre Poliev. You know, Pierre Poliev recently went on this far right-wing podcast by Jordan Peterson, where he seemed to mock all of the social programs in Canada, from healthcare to dental

to pharma, and started saying it's a way that distribution goes from people who don't have a lot of money to the people in power. In other words, that the social programs in Canada are benefiting the wealthiest and not the people. It seems to be the message that he was spewing on Jordan Peterson. And before you've confronted him about this, you know, he seems to be someone who's more supportive of our failed health care system here in the United States. Let me just show this brief portion of that interview from the Jordan Peterson podcast. The fact that he was on that podcast to me says a lot in and of itself. But what he said, you know, I thought was horrifying as an American. I wonder what,

you know, Canadians think about this. Let's play this clip. Oh, the socialist policies that provide goods and services to Canadians, let's say, are denizens of other countries by printing money, actually punish the poor brutally. Oh, absolutely. In consequence of the inflation that they generate. Yes. I mean, all the socialist policies in practice take, redistribute from the working class to the super wealthy in practice. What's your response to him being on that show, what he said on that show, and what's

your message to Canadians, especially as we're in this pro-rogue period? And I assume there'll be elections sometime after March. Yeah, there's going to be elections soon. First of all, it's ridiculous what he's saying. But let's be really clear what he's saying. He has said this again and again. So he is making the case to cut health care. He is saying that we need to privatize and cut everything in our country. He is saying that health care is bad. He is saying that dental care is bad. He is saying that pensions are bad, that employment insurance. What he is saying that dental care is bad he is saying that pensions are bad that employment insurance what he is saying is all the

things that actually help out the working class are bad and he's gonna cut them so for someone in Canada right now you know back to the question why we don't want to be part of the States I can assure you Canadians don't want the American style system where if you get a heart attack or God forbid, you get a cancer diagnosis, you end up going bankrupt. That never happens in Canada. You do not go bankrupt for an illness in Canada. We see we've got protections in place. If someone loses their job, there's employment insurance. So you get a little bit of support so you can get back on your feet and find a new job. You get some income supports. He wants to cut that. Seniors in Canada get a little bit of support so you can get back on your feet and find a new job you get some income supports he wants to cut that seniors in canada get a pension you spend your

life here you get a pension at the end of the day and that pension is stable it's solid i think it should be higher but there is a pension and seniors rely on it he came out said he wanted to cut that one of his first ideas so for canadians listening know that Pierre-Paul Yves the Conservatives want to cut the things that you need. It's going to hurt you. And the only ones that it benefits to cut healthcare is the super rich. To cut pensions is a super rich to benefit from that. Pensions help the working class. Not having pensions benefits those who are super rich, but it hurts the workers. It hurts the working class. And so what he is proposing is to hurt working class people, is to hurt middle class people.

And I want Canadians to know I'm going to fight back against that. I'm going to fight tooth and nail to protect the things that we have and make them better, make them stronger. You know, before Trump won the election and started doing all of these threats against Canada, and frankly, even before Prime Minister Trudeau resigned, if I were to even talk to some of my Canadian buddies, somewhat off the record or just as friends, they would think though, look, it's likely that this guy is going to win, Pierre Poliev. And there seemed to be, I don't want to call it defeatist because I don't want to project an Americocentric view of my conversations with Canadians, but there seemed to be a fait accompli that Canada is just going to be pulled into this maple MAGA thing. And that inevitably, that's where it's being just drawn into. And I would say, but I just spoke to Jagmeet Singh and he's saying this guy so

clearly articulating things that to me would go against foundational principles in Canada. So what am I missing here as an American? Are people really going to vote for this guy? Do people, I've seen this guy speak on the house floor. He's obnoxious. He gets kicked out. He, you know, he's, He seems to be everything that cuts against my American view of Canada. So what do you think is going to happen? I mean, can this guy be stopped? Can the Conservative Party truly be stopped after this pro-Rogue period ends? Yes, yes. And this is an important thing because I think you're right. I think there are some people that are losing hope and people that are feeling like, you know, what can I do? And

that sense of helplessness might be setting in for some folks. So I want to speak directly to those folks. When you are feeling worried, deeply worried, maybe afraid that Pierre Polyev is going to cut the things that you believe in, cut healthcare, cut pensions. That dental care program that I fought for, that brought in over a million people who were able to get their teeth fixed. Millions of people are signed up to this program. He wants to cut that as well. For folks that are worried and maybe afraid of Pierre Polyev and the conservatives, I want you to know that we are building a movement.

That for folks that are afraid of the conservatives and people who feel let down by the liberals. You feel let down because the liberals promised to do things and they said they were going to get things done and they didn't do it. So you feel let down by the liberals. Stand with us. We are building a movement and together we can fight and we can win. You know, while Pierre Polyev is ahead in the polls, it's a serious challenge. He's at 40%. That means 60% of Canadians still don't want it.

If we come together, if we organize together, if we fight, we can win. And I know Canadians believe in a universal healthcare system. They believe in our system. They want it to be stronger. They don't want to see a cut. Well, Pierre Polly wants to cut it. So anyone who wants to protect our health care system, join us. For anyone out there that thinks pensions should be there and should be even stronger, join us.

We're fighting back to protect your pensions. So I want to make that message to Canadians. We are fighting back. And for the first time in a decade, we have pulled ahead of the governing party. If we come together, we can fight back against conservatives. We can stop them from cutting the things that you believe in and you love so dearly. You know, one of the things you see with far right wing movements internationally, same thing here in the U.S., probably Canada, you know, everywhere is this divide and conquer approach, though, because they can use wedge issues to divide people, that sometimes the default ends up being picking really flawed and harmful people who are actually attacking you. So I see you on Canadian

media appearances, and often you get asked the question, which is basically like, well, you know, what could the NDP be doing here? Is it forming alliances again with the Liberal Party? I mean, you've been asked, well, look, you know, you've been you called for Trudeau's resignation and to and to basically disband the government that led to his resignation. Does that fall into the hands of the far right? Does that fall into the hands of Pierre Poliev? And you get asked that a lot. So what's and oftentimes you get cut off when you're trying

to give your answer when I've been watching Canadian media. But if you can explain that, because some people are saying, well, look, we don't want Pierre Poliev. We didn't like Trudeau. But now what do we do? So what do you say to those people? You have to hear that a lot. Yeah, I know for sure we do, for sure. Well, I think ultimately people right now are feeling like life has gotten worse. And I think this applies to the States as well. I think people are attributing a shift left and right to what is just people looked at their lives and said at the end, four years in the States, nine years in Canada, that their life is worse off. It's more expensive to buy groceries, more expensive

to find a home. Things are more costly. Salaries haven't kept up. People are really feeling squeezed. And they thought, you know, this guy might make my life more affordable. And so I want to make sure people know very clearly, if you are a working class person, if you are a middle class person, if you're a middle class family, that Pierre Polyev is going to cut things and make life even more expensive. And if you think about the things that are actually driving up your cost of living, the cost of your groceries, well, Pierre Polyev, his chief advisor, Jenny Byrne, widely known, that's his chief advisor.

She runs a lobby firm and she is the chief lobbyist for the biggest corporate grocery store in Canada. So do you think she will let Paul Yev ever take on the greed of these big corporate grocery stores that are ripping you off? No, we know that the housing market in Canada is amazing for rich investors, big developers, they make lots of money in Canada, but it's not working for a working-class family it's not working for a senior it's not working for a young person that graduates even with a good job they cannot find a hope it's impossible you think Pierre Polly is gonna fix that

well his chief advisor Jenny Byrne is also a chief lobbyist for the biggest corporate landlords in Canada so they're not gonna fix the problems that you're up against. And so I would say to people, if you're worried about the cost of groceries, if you're worried about the cost of a home, if you're worried about building a good life, Pierre Polyab is going to do everything in his power to make it even harder for you to help out his rich friends. We are committed to taking on those greedy CEOs.

I'm committed to fighting back against folks that are ripping you off. I want to change the housing market so it works for you, for working class people, not for a rich investor, not for a developer, but it works for a family. It works for a young person. It works for a senior. We can do these things. And my message is the way we do it is we come together. I know folks have voted different ways in the past. Maybe you voted liberal in the past.

Maybe you voted Green Party in the past. For people that are looking for some hope, I ask you to stand with me this time. Stand with us this time and together we can come together and fight back and we can win. You know, talking about the friends of Pierre Polievia Elon Musk seems to be amplifying uh the interview with Jordan Peterson and everything conservative party over and over again um you know to see kind of foreign intervention in your elections so brazenly like this I I want to get your thoughts on that and your message to the Canadian people there. We're seeing this internationally though, right? I mean, we're seeing Elon Musk with the reform party in the UK, with the AFD in Germany. There's not a far right wing party that this guy,

Elon Musk is not propping up even more far right wing than even Nigel Farage is like, all right, you're getting a little too far there, which tells you a lot. But it's that alliance that Musk is trying to create with Poliev, AFD, Reform Party, MAGA, and bring this together to help the billionaires and the oligarchs? Do I have that right? Or what's your response as Canadians are seeing, why is Elon Musk coming into Canada? Why is he messing with us?

Yeah, it's a great point. I would break it into two parts. First part is who appeals to or who Elon Musk is working with or who is he spending his time with? It is clear he is on the side of billionaires. He's on the side of CEOs. I made the case that his chief advisor is also a chief lobbyist for the wealthiest corporations.

Well, you also look at what Pierre Polyev has done in the past two years. He has met with over a hundred corporate lobbyists. He has spent his time with the wealthiest in Canada doing private fundraisers in multi-million dollar mansions. So it's very clear who he is setting himself up with. He is on the side of the billionaires. He is on the side of those tech bro billionaires in Canada.

And it's clear that Elon Musk falls in that same camp. Billionaires who want governments to make laws that benefit them, make them even more money, and hurt the working class. So that's one side of it. And the second side of it is the foreign interference. Well, in Canada, there was clear allegations of foreign interference brought by our RCMP, like the FBI in the States, RCMP is the federal police agency, brought forward, and as well as our version of the CIA,

brought forward clear allegations of foreign interference, directly touching the Conservative Party of Canada. Not just the party, but also the leadership race in which Pierre Polyev was selected. Despite that, knowing that, he refused to get security clearance to review the documents and the information about the allegations of foreign interference. So foreign governments, foreign countries interfering in his party specifically, in his leadership race specifically, the allegations where they tried to support a favored candidate. He refused to get the security clearance to learn about that. So he is no stranger to foreign interference. And I've said again and again, he has shown a willingness to put his party in front of the

country. And I think ultimately, when it comes down to it, you've got to put your country first, got to put the protection of the people of the country, the sanctity and the institutions of the country before your own party. And he has failed to do that. I think it disqualifies him as a candidate for prime minister. I think it disqualifies him as a candidate for prime minister. I think it clearly shows he does not have the right priorities or the moral certitude to do the right work here. Jagmeet, we've been speaking for about 17 minutes or so. And I want to introduce our audience though, to just who you are. Of course, I would love to have you on more in the future, but I'd love for people just to know your background. I mean, how do you go to lead the NDP? Your background was a very

compelling story when I learned about it. So I'd love for you just very briefly to just share that story with our people here. Yeah, sure, sure. It's always a little bit embarrassing to talk about yourself too much. My goal is to fight for the people, but I think it's always helpful to know a bit about, I guess, who you're trying to vote for or support. I was born in Canada, born in Toronto. My parents were immigrants from Punjab. My dad studied medicine and my mom studied education. She was a teacher. They came here and weren't able to get jobs in their field. My mom got a job as a clerk, entry-level, minimum wage. My dad was working as a security guard while he was trying to pass his exams to get recognized.

My family went through lots of ups and downs. My dad eventually was able to get a good position and did really well. And then he struggled with an addiction. That really meant the home was an unstable place. I took care of my kid brother when I went to university so I was 20 my kid brother's 15 he came to live with me and it was a tough time my dad got really sick and then I had to work multiple jobs to take care of my kid brother while going to school at the same time I got through school I ended up going to law school I wrote a book that shared some of my my challenges i'm a survivor of uh of uh sexual abuse when i was a kid i took martial arts classes

to protect me against bullying and then i also suffered uh abuse there so i really uh understand the the plight of survivors and what that's like uh i know what it's like to live with someone who you love and care for but it's also someone that's addicted to substance that can turn into someone who's scary and a monster even though there's someone you love and they're so generous and kind i've seen ups and downs financially my family was very successful but then lost everything and my parents went bankrupt and i had to be the sole income earner for my family for a number of years so i've seen a lot of ups and downs and when i was a lawyer and practicing my brother basically said i need you to get into politics i said brother i love fighting for people i do pro bono work for community groups but politics is not for me and

he ended up convincing me even though he's my kid brother and so i give him a lot of credit for this journey so he convinced me to get into it because he reminded me what my mom always said that you know we don't want to just survive we want to thrive and thriving in our culture means giving back to the people around you and this belief that we're all one and that's something that's driven me my whole life that we're all one he said if we're all one then you got to do everything possible to fight for the people around you and lift them up and so he eventually convinced me to do it and i got into politics i never had a political background. I had a family that was in politics.

So I ran for the first time ever at the federal level. So like a congressman and I came really close and wasn't able to pull it off. And then I ran again provincially. So I got elected provincially. I was provincial, like a state representative for a number of years. I became deputy leader and then made the plunge into federal politics and became leader federally. And then when we were in politics federally, we were able to use minority governments to get things done.

So we got dental care in which has helped out, like I mentioned, millions of Canadians. Dental care is covered for seniors and for kids, for families that earn $90,000 or less. So you can go to a dentist and the, and your dental bills are covered. That's something that we fought for. We made happen. Uh, we fought to bring in pharma care. So that's a free diabetes medication devices and birth control. And we were able to bring in better laws to protect workers so that when they go

on strike, the boss can't bring in replacement workers or scabs. So we brought an anti-scab legislation. So, uh, the journey, I guess, try to do a little quick summary of, uh, some of the political wins and some of the. The fight, but throughout it all, we were guided by the principle of me and my team and my family of how do we lift up the people around us? Cause we are better off when we take care of each other. Finally, Joe meet, we know that Donald Trump watches this show.

He frequently cites it in his court filings. He blames us for things and it's all meritless, but we know that him and his team watch this. So if you had a message for him today, what would your message be to Donald Trump, the president elect of the United States? Well, I'd say when it comes to Canada, let me be very clear. Canadians do not want to be a part of the United States. They're proud of being Canadians.

We do not want a for-profit healthcare system where you go bankrupt. If you have a heart attack or if you have a cancer diagnosis, we are proud of our country and if you want to pick a fight with us, it's going to hurt you as well. We don't want that. We want to build a strong relationship where we work together. But I want to send a clear message. If you want to pick a fight with Canada, we're going to we're going to fight back. And that means retaliatory tariffs. That means if you impose harm on Canada, it's also going to be felt in the United States. And we saw that before when they imposed the aluminum and steel tariffs. You impose those tariffs on Canada. We responded and it hurt Americans. It is not how we build a strong relationship. It's not how we build a good economy. We need to work together.

Not we don't need to be bullying each other. And we're going to fight facts. My message is don't pick a fight with Canada. It's not a fight that's worth it. Jagmeet Singh, leader of the NDP in the House of Commons. Thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you. Everybody hit subscribe.

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