Playbook Canada

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Recession obsession | Plus, an insider’s guide to Ottawa Jun 04, 2026

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The recession debate has taken over Parliament Hill, and Pierre Poilievre wants Mark Carney to wear it. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric dissect the fight over the exact meaning of two quarters of negative growth. The Liberals move to reverse a rule forcing US streaming giants to fund Canadian content, one day after Dominic LeBlanc met Trump's trade rep in Washington. Plus a look inside the Senate before a tsunami of June bills rolls in. And a 200-second interview with Liberal operative and legendary Hill tour guide Kevin Bosch.

Special edition: AI can boost Canada’s struggling economy | Google economist Fabien Curto Millet Jun 03, 2026

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

Goodbye Steven Guilbeault, hello razor-thin majority | A Politico Paris Pod May 28, 2026

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Steven Guilbeault resigns from the Liberal caucus over the government's diluted climate plans — and he's not alone, with 14 Liberal MPs signing an anonymous letter criticizing the Alberta pipeline deal. Mark Carney lands in New York City to pitch Wall Street investors on Canada, and CANSEC is back in Ottawa, bigger and thirstier than ever, as the defense industry descends on the capital.

Little irritants, big deadline | Erin O'Toole May 21, 2026

Show notes

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

A deal for Alberta | Cabinet shuffle whispers May 14, 2026

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A grand bargain between Ottawa and Edmonton appears to be taking shape, and details leaking out of Alberta connect carbon, pipelines and national unity. As Carney's Cabinet turns one, insiders are whispering about who should go. And finally, the first time Ottawa faced a separatist threat, they wrote it all down. What 50-year-old Cabinet minutes tell us about today's national unity battles.

Inside the trade talk collapse | Susan Holt May 07, 2026

Show notes

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

Is Carney eyeing Rideau Hall for his official residence? | Soraya Martinez Ferrada Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

A decision on 24 Sussex is coming, raising questions about where Mark Carney will end up living: The Spring Economic Update was called boring, but buried inside it is a political play targeting voters Poilievre thought were his. And finally, the Hill has a new energy this week, but it's not flowing in the Conservatives' direction.

Special Edition: François-Philippe Champagne, beyond 200 seconds on uncertainty and the economy Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

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

Is YouTube the new question period? | David Herle Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre take their rivalry off the Hill and onto YouTube. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric explore what it means when the House of Commons stops being the main event: The Carney government has a hushed approach to trade talks. What the silence signals, and how long it can hold: And finally, Canada is the only G7 country that can't put a payload into orbit. A new bill aims to finally change that.

Canada’s Conservatives and the search for meaning | Danielle Martin Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

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

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