The Big Five Podcast

CJAD 800
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Oct 9, 2025 • 24min

Where’s Denis Coderre when you need him? Another woman mauled by dogs. Plus: Sky-high salaries for Mark Carney’s men.

Elias Makos welcomes back Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor. A woman is in critical condition after being mauled by three dogs outside a garage in Saint-Léonard It looks like the Carney government might be falling back into reality. A new poll out from Leger shows the Liberals at 44 percent of the vote, which is three percent drop since the last polling numbers Santé Quebec says that the summer period in the health network has been a positive one this year. However, a new report from Montreal Gazette’s Aaron Derfel explains that things aren’t as rosy as portrayed
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Oct 8, 2025 • 24min

Mark Carney sucks up to Donald Trump. Plus: The decline of Canadian happiness

Joining Elias on CJAD 800 this morning were Bonnie Feigenbaum, Conservative Party of Quebec candidate in last provincial election and a lecturer at Concordia & McGill University, media & government relations consultant  & Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance. Among the topics discussed were Mark Carney left Washington last night without a deal after meeting with U.S President Donald Trump for two and a half hours A recent piece from The Globe and Mail on Canadian happiness is getting a lot of attention Denmark wants to ban social media for kids under the age of 15
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Oct 7, 2025 • 24min

Montreal’s universities brace for protests & Mr. Carney goes to Washington, again.

Elias was joined on the Big 5 were Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies &Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government. Among the topics discussed were  Concordia University has closed their downtown campus and cancelled all classes today, citing “potentially obstructive protests.” Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Washington where he will meet and speak with U.S President Donald this afternoon. A new poll out from Leger for CTV News Montreal for this year’s municipal election shows that the leaders in the election are… the undecided.
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Oct 6, 2025 • 24min

More terrible tales from the Temporary Foreign Worker program. Plus: Carney heads to Washington, everyone else comes to Quebec.

Elias Makos kicks off the week with Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. The federal government has slapped a Toronto Canadian Tire franchise owner with more than $100,000 in fines for violating rules under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Québec Premier François Legault has been hosting Ontario Premier Doug Ford as well as the governors of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in order to strengthen their relationships. As the municipal election campaign continues across the province, some mayors and town councillors have already been re-elected.
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Oct 3, 2025 • 25min

The political implosion of François Legault continues. Plus: The SAAQclic platform was made in India.

Elias Makos is joined by Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. A new Léger poll shows François Legault’s popularity plunge is continuing, while Éric Duhaime is reaping the rewards of the CAQ’s rightward shift A crack pipe was found and handled by two young children on the grounds of the elementary school next to the supervised injection site Nobody knows who’s running for mayor. Journal de Montreal went out and asked random people on the street about the upcoming Montreal election 
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Oct 2, 2025 • 37min

After a deadly shooting in Laval, worries about ‘disorganized crime.’ Plus: Have serious discussions become impossible to have?

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. A brazen daytime shooting that left one dead at a Starbucks in Laval appears to be linked to organized crime, says the province’s public security minister Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is pushing back against his critics and taking aim at some of the language used against him and his party  The day after François Legault denounced what he called an “onslaught of radical Islamism,” Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge urged people on Wednesday to wake up to the threat.
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Oct 1, 2025 • 24min

François Legault plays his greatest hits and latest singles. Plus: Would you take Saudi Arabia’s cash?

Elias Makos is joined by Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Premier Francois Legault laid out his vision for the new session at the National Assembly on Tuesday Controversy in the comedy world over a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia Photos of an SPVM officer sleeping in his car under highway 40 in Ahuntsic
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Sep 30, 2025 • 25min

Is “Elbows Up!” just a slogan?

Justine McIntyre, a strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Akil Alleyne, a seasoned reporter and commentator, dive into pressing issues affecting Canada. They dissect the allure of U.S. opportunities that lure talent away, exploring how culture and regulations influence decisions. The discussion heats up as they examine Quebec's language policies, highlighting inconsistencies in enforcement. They also critique Canadian media's obsession with U.S. politics, advocating for a stronger focus on national matters. It's an insightful and lively conversation!
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Sep 29, 2025 • 24min

The Big 5: You’re not imagining things - road rage is getting worse!

Paul Gott, lead singer of the punk band The Ripcordz and a journalism professor, teams up with Jonathan Kalis, a former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and VP at McMillan Vantage. They dive into the alarming rise of road rage in Quebec, attributing it to traffic design flaws and urban frustration. The duo also critiques Mark Carney's frequent international travel and discusses the implications of Montreal's refusal to fund a FIFA World Cup base camp, highlighting the tension between economic benefits and political optics.
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Sep 26, 2025 • 33min

Language, secularism, budgetary doom and no more mail - this show has it all!

Elias Makos ends the week with Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies, and Christina Chough, Spanish teacher and Chair of the modern languages department at Dawson College. The Parti Québécois has revealed the results of its internal referendum on secularism. A golf club in Laval is asking members to speak French among themselves on the course, and in the clubhouse, saying that too much English was being used. Ottawa’s fiscal watchdog is sounding the alarm over Canada’s finances.

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