Trade talks collapsed and Ontario Premier Doug Ford laced up his boots and donned the flag to decry US President Donald Trump. Between telling Trump to "kiss my ass," and unveiling a Lake Ontario sign in response to Trump's executive order renaming the body of water, Ford and the PCs have seen a benefit in the polls. But Ford's tenure leading Ontario has pushed legislation and politics far closer to the MAGA movement than nearly any other premier. While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is floundering by meekly confronting the US-Canada trade war, Ford is turning around public perception of him and his party. Eric Wickham, Ontario reporter for PressProgress, joins Scott to discuss Ford's appeal, his tenure as premier and how, despite all this fervour, life in Ontario continues to deteriorate.

Ontario’s Recent Policy Changes Are Part of a Larger Pattern to Centralize Power and Silence Dissent, Critics Say

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/reality-check-on-doug-fords-trade-posturing-ft-eric-wickham-podcast

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Over the past few days, every large news outlet has reported about the last-minute collapse of a trade deal between Canada and the USA. Despite the fact that details of the deal have only trickled out through anonymous or second-hand channels, the majority of legacy news rallied around Carney and commended the prime minister on doing the hard task of pulling out of a deal. But little critical coverage of the methods, details and process of the trade negotiations leads most outlets to sycophantic levels of deference to Carney. Isaac A. Peltz, award-winning independent journalist behind On the Trail, joins Scott to dissect the nationalistic news climate that buries critical capacity to hide behind the flag.

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/legacy-news-worship-carneys-trade-blowup-ft-isaac-a-peltz-podcast

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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In March 2025, provinces across Canada pulled US alcohol products off of their shelves in response to new tariffs announced by the US Trump administration. It's become such a sticking point that Trump specifically cited Canadian markets for US alcohol as a core reason for a new 50 per cent tariff against Canada. Have the booze bans worked? What has the effect been on the US alcohol industry? Can American brands recover after this debacle? Dave Infante, award-winning journalist and editor of the newsletter Fingers which covers drinking in the US, joins Scott to discuss these questions and more.

Note: Trump announced he paused the 50 per cent tariff for three days late on August 18.

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Sources and further reading:

https://readthecatch.ca/canadian-booze-bans-rattle-the-us-ft-dave-infante-podcast

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

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