It's been a few months now since the United States placed the first in an ever-changing series of tariffs on Canadian products. And our economy, so far is doing ... alright? Not great, of course, but Canada has not yet been plunged into a recession. Does that showcase our resilience? Might we not suffer as much as originally thought? That's still to be determined.

The next couple of months will tell us a great deal about the impact of Trump's tariffs, and meanwhile the American president himself is coming to Canada next week for a G7 meeting. With that milestone approaching, and new economic data on the horizon, Jordan speaks to Jim Standford, an economist and the Director the the Centre for Future Work, to get a sense of what we might see over the next few months, how we can prepare for it, and what the Canadian government should hope to achieve at the G7—in spite of the presence of Donald Trump.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

Canada's new defence minister has promised an effort unseen since World War II to replenish and revitalize our military. How serious is he? Canada has a history of talking about improving its defence but doing very little to make it happen. Is this time different?

After Jordan and Laura wonder why we're even pretending to entertain President Trump's latest and greatest attempt to add 'gold' to something, Jordan interviews Stephen Saidman a Carleton University Political Scientist in the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and Director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network, about what this new government needs to do to change the narrative around Canada's military. How do we meaningfully increase our capacity, in terms of equipment and actual boots on the ground. And, yeah, we ask him to explain the Golden Dome, too.

All that, and listener feedback, too!

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

For a whole lot of Canadians outside the prairie province—and a good number of Albertans, too—the province's recent flirtation with an independence referendum seems ... unhelpful, to put it mildly. At a moment Canadian unity has never been more important, Alberta's premier seems to be undermining that effort. Is this a cheap political ploy? A well reasoned approach to real provincial greivances? Or something else?

Jordan and Laura discuss how the rest of Canada is feeling about Alberta these days, then Jordan interviews Senator Paula Simons to get to the bottom of what's really happening in the province. The independent senator has a long career as a journalist, a fierce love of the province and a view that accounts for the whole of Alberta, not just the loudest voices. So where is this coming from? Why now? And will it actually amount to anything?

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.