On Monday, Justin Trudeau announced he'll resign as Liberal leader and Prime Minister once the party picks a successor, bringing an end to almost a decade in power. Marci Surkes gives us an inside view of the Liberal party before and during the Trudeau years. Marci Surkes was executive director for policy and cabinet in Justin Trudeau’s Prime Minister’s Office. She ran the caretaker government during the 2021 election. She is now the Chief Strategy Officer for Compass Rose. Season 3 of The Paul ...
Jan 08, 2025•56 min
Live from Ottawa! Paul reluctantly makes a New Year's resolution. Writer Ian Williams reads from his upcoming novel You’ve Changed. Strategists Garry Keller, Marci Surkes and Allison Gifford (“The Panel”) talk about the political year to come. Ada Lea performs her songs “Damn” and “Baby Blue Frigidaire Mini Fridge.” Jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould performs the Paul Wells Show theme music. Thank you to our friends at the National Arts Centre for hosting this live event, and to WestJet and Meta for t...
Jan 01, 2025•52 min
Happy holidays. We're on a break, but we thought you might enjoy this episode from our friends at CANADALAND. It's a conversation about Substack's role in the future of journalism, featuring Paul Wells, The Line's Jen Gerson and Substack founder Chris Best. If you like this episode, you can subscribe to CANADALAND for more like it. CANADALAND credits: Host & Publisher: Jesse Brown Senior Producer: Bruce Thorson Audio Editor & Technical Producer: Tristan Capacchione Production Manager: ma...
Dec 25, 2024•37 min
Join us for an hour of live music, politics, and self-reflection. Former Premiers Kathleen Wynne and Jason Kenney trade jabs onstage and look back on the year that was. Catharine Vandelinde, executive director of Options Housing , talks about her work getting people off the street and into homes. Jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould performs "It Had To Be You," "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise," "I Haven’t Managed to Forget You" and our theme music. Singer-songwriter Scott Merritt performs his songs "Mov...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In a conversation that took place less than three hours after Chrystia Freeland resigned from the federal cabinet, Paul Wells is joined by Justin Ling and Jen Gerson to discuss what this astonishing news means for the Liberal Party and the Trudeau government. Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy.
Dec 16, 2024•37 min
Paul answers questions from readers (and producer Kevin Sexton) about the state of Canadian politics, Trump, journalism, and more! Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy.
Dec 11, 2024•47 min
In his book We Have Never Been Woke, Musa al-Gharbi argues that a new class of liberal elites uses the language of “wokeness” without actually helping the marginalized and disadvantaged. He joins Paul to talk about a decades-long trend of the Democrats reorienting themselves towards a constituency of wealthy white people. It’s a message he was sharing well before Kamala Harris lost the election. He also talks about how moving from a red state to New York City broke a lot of illusions he had abou...
Dec 04, 2024•41 min
What does a Trump presidency mean for trade? Paul is joined by a panel of analysts from the U.S., Canada and Mexico, to talk about what might be in store for North America during the next Trump administration. The panellists are Vassy Kapelos, chief political correspondent for CTV news, Doug Palmer, senior trade reporter at Politico, and Enrique de la Madrid, author, newspaper columnist, and former member of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. This panel was recorded at The North American Manufactu...
Nov 27, 2024•40 min
Ontario’s government recently announced that Jane Philpott will lead a team with the goal of connecting every person in the province to primary health care within the next five years. With around 2.5 million people currently without a family doctor in Ontario, the task is enormous. So how did a former Liberal health minister get hired on by a conservative government for such an important job? And how exactly does she plan on doing it? Jane Philpott joins Paul to talk about how the job came about...
Nov 20, 2024•32 min
With Trump’s decisive win in the U.S. election, American writer Ross Barkan argues his country has finally reached the end of the "Obama era" of politics. Barkan talks about what went wrong for Democrats, why he was early to say Harris was the wrong candidate, what he expects to come from Trump’s return to the White House, and why he sees an opportunity for the American left. Ross Barkan is a journalist and novelist, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation and man...
Nov 13, 2024•35 min
Canada is full of corporations consolidating market power, from grocery stores to internet providers to movie theatres. And people are starting to notice. Sometimes it’s obvious, and sometimes less so. Paul was surprised, for instance, to find luxury cookware brand Paderno at Canadian Tire – until he realized it’s one of many brands that Canadian Tire owns. In their book The Big Fix , Vass Bednar and Denise Hearn talk about how markets in Canada became increasingly dominated by a handful of huge...
Nov 06, 2024•40 min
Aujourd’hui, on vous présente The Paul Wells Show en français! La chroniqueuse politique Chantal Hébert prend le rôle d'animatrice pour interviewer Paul au sujet de son premier livre en français, Justin Trudeau dans les câbles: Gouverner quand ça va mal . Chantal et Paul discutent du règne de Trudeau, de sa réputation au Québec, de l’avenir du Parti libéral du Canada, et de l’art de la traduction. Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Polic...
Oct 30, 2024•47 min
Two acclaimed historians talk about the state of democracy and freedom in the world today. In her latest book, Autocracy Inc., Anne Applebaum writes about a group of dictators who share a bond that’s not based on ideology, but on their ability to help each other gain wealth, power and impunity. Yale historian Timothy Synder argues in his new book On Freedom that freedom is more than the absence of oppression. He shares his vision for freedom in the wake of a recent trip to Ukraine. Season 3 of T...
Oct 23, 2024•59 min
Marc Garneau looks back on his time as an astronaut and Trudeau Cabinet minister. He talks to Paul about truth telling in politics, why he stuck around after being ousted from Cabinet, and his thoughts on the current political landscape, from the fate of the Liberal party to Quebec sovereignty. Marc Garneau’s new autobiography is called A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream. Season 3 of The Paul Wells Show is sponsored by McGill University’s Max Bell Sch...
Oct 16, 2024•42 min
During the Trump years, historian Tim Cook saw our neighbours treating us “deplorably.” That got him thinking about the historical relationship between Canada and the U.S. So he decided to write a book about Canada and the U.S. during the Second World War. He talks to Paul about Canada's struggle to assert its sovereignty while remaining an important ally to the Americans, and how that relationship sheds light the world we live in today. Tim Cook’s new book is called The Good Allies: How Canada ...
Oct 09, 2024•33 min
Today, we're sharing another except from Paul Wells' audiobook, Justin Trudeau on the Ropes, read by the author himself. Much of Trudeau's reign as Prime Minister has been shaped by major external events, including the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. This section of the book looks back on how Trudeau adapted to a Trump presidency. Justin Trudeau on the Ropes is published by Sutherland House. The audiobook was recorded at the National Arts Centre. You can download the entire thing wherever y...
Jul 03, 2024•14 min
In this excerpt from his audiobook, Justin Trudeau on the Ropes, Paul Wells looks back to the beginning of Trudeau's political career. Justin Trudeau on the Ropes is published by Sutherland House. This audiobook was recorded in studio at the National Arts Centre. You can find the full thing wherever you get audiobooks.
Jun 19, 2024•11 min
Pierre Poilievre may be our prime minister next year, so it’s a good time to learn more about him. Journalist Andrew Lawton’s new book, Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life, follows the Conservative leader’s life and career from childhood to today. Andrew talks to Paul about Poilievre’s political record, his particular brand of conservatism, and what we can expect from Poilievre if he becomes prime minister. For more detailed show notes or to subscribe to Paul’s Substack, head over to paulwells.su...
May 22, 2024•50 min
How do people like Stephen Sondheim, Sofia Coppola or David Simon create something from nothing? And what are the threads that tie their work together with making a cookbook or a cartoon? Former New York Magazine and New York Times Magazine editor Adam Moss talked to dozens of creative people to find out how they do it. In his new book, The Work of Art, artists from a wide range of mediums break down the process behind a single piece, sharing sketches, outlines and rejected attempts they worked ...
May 15, 2024•41 min
The tables are turned this week! Guest host Vassy Kapelos interviews Paul Wells about his new book on the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau on the Ropes. In the book, Paul chronicles how Trudeau came to power, how he's held on for eight years, and how his approach to governing has changed over that time. Vassy Kapelos is the Chief Political Correspondent at CTV News and the host of CTV Question Period, Power Play and the Vassy Kapelos Show.
May 08, 2024•33 min
Is the commission into foreign election interference asking the wrong question about China? That’s what journalist Jonathan Manthorpe thinks. He argues the real issue is that for decades Canada has failed to confront China’s efforts to control Canadians of Chinese heritage and influence Canadian institutions. He wrote a book about it, Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada. It was originally published in 2019, but it’s now been updated to take into account...
May 01, 2024•44 min
Jason Kenney is back on the show. The former Alberta Premier and Conservative MP offers a mea culpa for his time as Defence Minister, takes issue with a former guest’s views on the war in Ukraine, and tells the story of a young Pierre Poilievre.
Apr 24, 2024•39 min
Canada’s healthcare system is facing some serious problems, and failing many Canadians, but former health minister Dr. Jane Philpott thinks it can be fixed. In her new book, Health for All, she shares her vision for a radical reset to how we think about and organize healthcare. Dr. Philpott spoke to Paul at the Ottawa International Writers Festival.
Apr 17, 2024•33 min
What does the Trudeau government have to show after eight years in power? Reporter Justin Ling makes the case that the government is deeply dysfunctional on a wide range of issues, and that the Prime Minister is in denial about it. Ling brought those claims to an interview with Justin Trudeau himself. He shares the highlights of that interview with us. You can read Justin Ling’s profile of Justin Trudeau in The Walrus.
Apr 10, 2024•46 min
A few years ago, the government drastically increased their immigration targets, leading to record levels of immigration into Canada. But recently, they’ve decided to temper those numbers, among concerns that such high immigration is exacerbating housing shortages. Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, talks about why the government made that decision.
Apr 03, 2024•43 min
COVID-19 exposed some serious weaknesses in Canada’s public institutions. So what have our governments learned? There has been no official attempt to answer that question thoroughly across the country. So two think tanks decided to take it on. They invited experts including politicians, senior public servants, Indigenous leaders and others, to get together and talk about what happened during the pandemic. The Institute for Research on Public Policy and the Institute on Governance released a new ...
Mar 27, 2024•46 min
A new book takes us into the messy succession drama inside one of Canada’s biggest companies, Rogers Communications. It features family members fighting in public, two competing boards, and even actor Brian Cox from HBO's Succession. Globe and Mail reporter Alexandra Posadzki’s book Rogers v Rogers takes us behind the scenes of a company trying to find its footing after the death of their founder, all while navigating a high-stakes business deal.
Mar 20, 2024•42 min
In the two years since the Russian invasion, there's largely been a consensus in Canada about supporting Ukraine. Debates in Parliament and the media focus almost entirely on how to best help Ukraine, and not whether we should be helping in the first place. William Thorsell thinks that's a shame. He also thinks it’s time for the West to withdraw from the war and concede defeat. William Thorsell is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum. He’s currentl...
Mar 13, 2024•40 min
How do Canada’s Prime Ministers measure up when it comes to foreign policy? Political scientist Patrice Dutil polled some colleagues to come up with a ranking. They placed Trudeau right near the bottom, alongside his predecessor Stephen Harper. Dutil joins Paul to break down the rankings and make the case that foreign policy needs to be taken more seriously in Canada. Patrice Dutil is the editor of Statesmen, Strategists and Diplomats: Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Making of Foreign Policy....
Mar 06, 2024•52 min
Housing policy has become one of the main debates among federal political parties. It wasn’t always this way, even as house prices were getting out of control. So why exactly did the housing crisis become such a prominent issue on the national stage? And can the federal government solve it? Mike Moffatt keeps a close watch on housing policy, and has advised the Trudeau Government on the issue. He is the founding director of the PLACE Centre at the Smart Prosperity Institute, and an assistant pro...
Feb 28, 2024•37 min
