Show Notes
Frank McKenna, former Premier of New Brunswick and Canadian Ambassador to the United States, joins Steve for this special edition of The Paikin Podcast in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. They discuss McKenna's experience as ambassador, dealing with George W. Bush, how he would deal with Trump, whether Trump's unpredictability is constrained by markets, and whether we live in a more dangerous time than the height of the Cold War.
They then discuss Brian Mulroney's Meech Lake Accord, how McKenna regrets not supporting it, whether he regrets not running for the federal Liberal leadership, his $20-million donation to St. Francis Xavier University, and the world young people are confronting today.
More from The Paikin Podcast
Normally on World on Edge, we look at other countries in the thick of significant upheaval. But today, we turn the camera lens on ourselves. Martha Hall Findlay joins Janice Stein to discuss Alberta’s referendum results, what they mean, what comes next, what Danielle Smith will do with the separatists in her party, the referendum’s nine other questions, and rising anti-immigration sentiment.
Joseph P. Kennedy III joins Steve to discuss the upcoming midterm elections, the Republicans’ spending advantage, recent polls, the possibility of flipping Texas, the 51st-state talk, whether Trump’s treatment of Canada is an issue for voters, Trump’s personal enrichment and “grifting,” and the possibility of inappropriate or even illegal efforts to overturn the election results.
The Everything Political panel, with former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Tony Clement, discusses Alberta’s referendum, Danielle Smith’s high-wire act, and the role Canada’s premiers played in the lead-up to the referendum. Then they open up the mailbag and take questions on term limits and the gerontocracy, open borders, media bias, Tony’s boomer remarks, the risk Carney is running by trying to sell our airports, the most exciting election Steve has covered, and the most underrated politician in Canada.
Gary Marcus joins Steve to discuss calls to slow down AI development, Anthropic’s IPO and mounting debt, Trump’s self-policing approach, the Hugging Face incident, rogue AI agents, anthropomorphizing AI, and whether LLMs, at their core, are incapable of ever truly aligning with human values.
Andrew Cohen joins Janice Stein on World on Edge to discuss Canada’s foreign policy, whether Canada is now “awake,” the peacekeeping era, Carney the statesman, whether his “middle powers” coalition is more than just speeches, Canada’s defence spending, and whether “soft power” still matters in the world today.