The Line
The Line is a Canadian magazine dedicated to covering local, national and international politics, news, current events and occasionally some obscure stories. Hosted by Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson.
The Line
Your clock's ticking, too, Poilievre
In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on April 4, 2025, Jen spends a lot more time talking about her internal anatomy than Matt had expected. But he more or less kept his game face on.
He thinks.
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They first talk about the campaign, of course. The latest and greatest there. It's been a quiet campaign. There were some candidate flameouts, which they discuss. Poilievre had some comments about female breeding windows, and they chat about that, too. They also talk about the unavoidable reaction by Canadian politicians to what's coming out of the U.S., even if it's not quite as bad as feared.
This episode of The Line Podcast is also brought to you by TikTok Canada. TikTok is focused on securing its platform during the federal election, and a key part of this effort is TikTok Canada's local employees — who understand our culture, languages, and political system. Having these local employees here is clearly in Canada's interest, however, TikTok Canada has been ordered to shut down its local operations and to lay off these employees. This just doesn't make sense. The next government has an opportunity to find a solution in Canada that protects well-paying jobs and billions in economic investment — while addressing security concerns and fostering a thriving tech and creative sector. Let's find a solution for TikTok that makes sense for Canadians.
After that, your hosts move on to a comment by Mark Carney that caught Matt's attention this week. Matt doesn't disagree with the comment, per se. He certainly agrees with the idea behind it — in a changing world, Canada has to step up and do more. He's just not sure Carney realized what country he was talking about when he said what Canada is ready to actually do. We are deterred by sticks of foreign butter! Come on.
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To wrap up, Jen talks about her recent column on Alberta separatism, why she still has doubts, and Matt helpfully weighs in from Toronto to explain WHAT'S WRONG WITH ALBERTANS. Because he knows how much they love it when he does that. He just wants to remind them that they are still his second favourite province. And that ain't bad.
All that, and more, in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. As always, like and subscribe at our main page, ReadTheLine.ca. You can also follow us on your favourite podcast app so you never miss an episode. And if you're enjoying The Line Podcast, share it with a friend, post about it online, or just yell at someone on the bus. We won’t judge.