

The Big Five Podcast
iHeartRadio
The Big Five is the quintessential Montreal podcast, and the best way to get caught up on the top stories impacting the city. Every weekday, host Elias Makos and a roster of Montreal thought leaders debate and inform.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 30, 2025 • 23min
Banning teens from social media. Plus: Go Habs Go Gate was far worse than we thought
Elias Makos ends the week with Neil Drabkin, a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government, and Dan Delmar, co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. A Quebec cross-party committee is recommending that children under 14 be banned from using social media without parental consent Do we need more communal child discipline? In a surprising political move, former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre has endorsed Conservative Party of Quebec leader Éric Duhaime Quebec’s language watchdog, the OQLF, contacted Montreal’s transit agency at least six times over nine months to push for the removal of the word “go” from bus displays supporting CF Montréal The Toronto band Martha and the Muffins are taking yet another stand against Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre and his use of their song Echo Beach at campaign rallies

May 29, 2025 • 26min
Sending multiculturalism to the dustbin of history. Plus: How many parents can a child have?
Elias Makos is joined by political analyst Karim Boulos and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Immigration Minister Jean-Francois Roberge has passed a new law The CAQ is opposing a court ruling that would recognize more than two parents for a child. Groupe Jaspe has lost a constitutional challenge In a few weeks, wines, spirits, and even champagne normally sold in branches of the SAQ will find their way to the shelves of six depanneurs and grocery stores in the Montreal area.

May 28, 2025 • 25min
The King’s Speech. Plus: Quebec’s battle with family doctors.
Elias Makos is joined by Antonine Yaccarini, Political Analysts, PR Expert and former PQ and CAQ staffer, and Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies. In King Charles III’s speech from the throne, he delivered a series of subtle but pointed messages that many say were aimed at Donald Trump Hours after that speech seeped with declarations of sovereignty, Donald Trump took to social media yesterday to once again bring up Canada becoming the 51st state Quebec’s National Assembly unanimously passed a motion to cut all ties with the monarchy

May 27, 2025 • 25min
Get ready for the most badass throne speech of your lifetime. Plus: You really don’t want to compost.
Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia. King Charles and Queen Camilla conclude their brief Canadian visit today with a ceremonial parade through downtown Ottawa and a historic throne speech in Parliament Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend his first question period on Wednesday but will not continue Justin Trudeau’s tradition of answering all questions in the House of Commons on that day Montreal police will now have to clearly tell people they are allowed to leave during police checks Montreal has a goal of zero waste landfills by 2030 but the goal is facing resistance from residents

May 26, 2025 • 26min
The King comes to Canada. Plus: The Laval pharmacist facing criminal charges.
Elias Makos kicks off the week with Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor, 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. King Charles and Queen Camilla are arriving in Ottawa today for their first Canadian visit since the King’s coronation The RCMP has warned of a sharp rise in terrorism activity in Canada, reporting a 488% increase in terrorism-related charges over the past year A Laval pharmacist is facing a criminal charge for allegedly refusing to hand over an EpiPen to police officers trying to save a six month old baby in anaphylactic shock A listener says they're considering going ‘au naturel’ this summer when they were confronted with a sale price of $14.99 for a stick of deodorant

May 23, 2025 • 23min
The insane billing practices behind the SAAQclic scandal. Plus: Should the price of your home come down?
Elias caps off the week with Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. A public inquiry into Quebec’s SAAQclic digital platform has revealed that external IT contractors saw their hourly rates soar from $82 to $350 without proper justification The National Post this morning writes about just how different things are under Carney, saying “ministers get called out, punctuality matters and patience is on short supply” In shock news coming out of the US the Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's certification to enroll international students

May 22, 2025 • 23min
Anti-woke job postings and the latest Quebec healthcare cut: Kleenex.
Elias Makos welcomes back Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies, and Raphaël Melançon, a political analyst for Noovo and CTV Montreal News at 5. He is also the president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. A Quebec City bar sparked outrage after posting a job ad on Facebook seeking a barmaid who was not “woke,” pro-Liberal, pro-CAQ, or supportive of COVID-19 health measures A new Leger poll shows that 61% of Quebecers now support lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for driving from 0.08% to 0.05% Elbows up! Except if you're the Canada Pension Plan. The CPP fund’s U.S. exposure has grown to 47%, despite calls for it to increase investments at home

May 21, 2025 • 24min
Golden Domes, Superblocks, and the Quebecifying the Netflix homepage
Elias Makos is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Political analyst Karim Boulos. Canada is in discussions to join the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defence program, according to the Prime Minister’s Office The Plante administration will be testing an urban innovation in the neighbourhood east of the Jacques-Cartier bridge that turns residential areas into giant cul-de-sacs Quebec’s culture minister Mathieu Lacombe is set to table a new bill which will require major streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify to boost visibility of francophone content

May 21, 2025 • 24min
Is it time to ditch daily mail delivery? Plus: Should cops be allowed to use drones to catch bad drivers?
Elias Makos kicks off the week with Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. Canada Post has received a strike notice from the union representing 55,000 postal workers, who plan to walk off the job starting Friday, amid ongoing collective agreement talks New polling from Leger reveals that a majority of Quebecers want an end to the province’s carbon pricing scheme and think that a pipeline for Alberta’s oil coming through Quebec would be a good idea Police in Kingston, Ontario are using drones to catch distracted drivers using their smartphones behind the wheel Up at Bordeaux prison it seems that prisoners have managed to illegally access cell phones

May 19, 2025 • 35min
Confirmation of a federal budget this fall. Plus: Former Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre criticizing the Quebec Liberal leadership race
Dan Delmar, in for Elias Makos is joined by Akil Alleyne, reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program and Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor on The Big 5. Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed that his government will present a full federal budget this fall. Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre criticized the Quebec Liberal Party's leadership race Will apps like TikTok and Youtube one day soon impact hockey watching?