
Show overview
The Line Podcast has been publishing since 2022, and across the 4 years since has built a catalogue of 254 episodes. That works out to roughly 280 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 53 min and 1h 19m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language News show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 2 days ago, with 33 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 95 episodes published. Published by Line Editor.
From the publisher
Commentary for Canadians. www.readtheline.ca
Latest Episodes
View all 254 episodesOn The Line: How much military can Canada really afford?
The Line Podcast: Canada must start fixing problems, not just identifying them
On The Line: The case for the Canadian Crown
The Line Podcast: SCOOP: Jen blew the whistle to keep people safe. Alberta brushed her off
The Line Podcast: Are Canadians too smug to survive?
On The Line: Carney's got a majority. Here's how he should use it, and how he can lose it
The Line Podcast: Rookie Carney is crushing veteran Poilievre
On The Line: Can Canada keep up with China? Can we keep it out?
The Line Podcast: The Liberals are the best politicians in our broken country
On The Line: America will be effin' back — but maybe not for a while

The Line Podcast: Take us with you, astronauts
In this episode of The Line Podcast, recorded a day early on April 2nd, 2026 ahead of the Easter long weekend, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson open by saluting the departure of Artemis II on its journey to the Moon. Jen finds herself unexpectedly emotional about it, and the hosts spend some time reflecting on why moments like this matter — and why it’s still important to hold on to a sense of hope. It really is the best side of America (with a little bit of Canada!) on display. And then there is the other side of America! They check in on the state of the war in the Persian Gulf, as well as a recent speech by Donald Trump that neither host found particularly reassuring. The overall trajectory worries them, though Matt does offer some grounded analysis. Put simply, he’s not expecting Canada to be leading any clearance mission through the Strait of Hormuz.From there, Jen provides an update from Alberta, where recent developments have left her feeling vindicated, albeit in a grim way. They discuss at some length why Jen struggles to convince people of things that are quite obvious; Matt pivots from political analysis to therapy and encourages her to be more comfortable accepting that you can’t always argue people into seeing things your way.The conversation then shifts to federal politics, with Matt arguing that Mark Carney needs to tighten up his government’s communications before he starts squandering some of the advantages he still enjoys early in his mandate. All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all our Line family!YouTube:Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.Please sign up at those options not just for this episode, or future episodes of The Line Podcast, but so that you can also receive our other podcast series, On the Line, which releases new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode, where Jen Gerson spoke with Jason Kenney about separatism, federalism and his own role in shaping what Alberta politics has become.Happy Easter and Passover and enjoy the long weekend. We’ll talk to you soon.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

On The Line: Jason Kenney on Alberta separatism
Today on On The Line, host Jen Gerson sits down with former Alberta premier Jason Kenney for a conversation about the rise of separatist sentiment in Alberta.Kenney, a former federal Conservative cabinet minister, has found himself cast as an unlikely spokesperson for conservative federalists in the province as efforts continue to gather signatures for a referendum on separation. He reflects on the deeper roots of Alberta populism, including the merger of the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, and how those political currents have shaped the province’s modern identity.This episode of On The Line is brought to you by Dominion Dynamics. Canada has never had true sovereign awareness of our North. Vast parts of our country are a blind spot. And when you can’t see your own territory, you can’t defend it, secure it, or respond when threats emerge. Dominion Dynamics is changing that. Dominion Dynamics is building a sovereign command and control capability that lets Canada and its allies see, respond, and defend across every domain. Dominion is starting in the Arctic, where extreme cold demands technology no one else can deliver. See everything. Defend what matters. Dominion Dynamics. Learn more at DefendtheDominion.com.Gerson presses him on how things reached this point. Why have successive generations of Alberta leaders sought to tap into populist anger? And is there a risk that this time, the politics of western alienation have been pushed too far?It’s a direct and unsparing conversation about grievance, identity, and whether Alberta’s long-running tensions with Ottawa are now entering a more dangerous phase.YouTube:Video goes live in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.We hope you enjoy the episode — and don’t miss us next week. We’ll be back with more On The Line.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

The Line Podcast: Mark Carney's got a new China problem
In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on March 26th, 2026, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson open with what they’re calling Mark Carney’s new China problem. They both understand why the government is trying to maintain a workable relationship with China, but they’re struck by how one Liberal MP, Michael Ma, ended up sounding very much like someone echoing Beijing’s preferred talking points. They’re careful not to accuse Ma of anything beyond saying something China would have been happy to hear, but they also note that the Conservatives are likely to seize on it and not let go. What sweet revenge that will be (given which party Mr. Ma oh-so-recently belonged to).More broadly, the conversation widens into a darker assessment of Canada’s political health, with Matt arriving at a bleak conclusion: our only remaining, functional mechanism of domestic political accountability increasingly seems to be ... the United States.From there, the hosts turn to the latest Air Canada bilingualism controversy, centring on Air Canada. Jen offers a characteristically blunt take: Canada keeps returning to language fights, she argues, because they function as a kind of political comfort food — something familiar and easy to argue about while avoiding much harder conversations about a world that is becoming more unstable and dangerous. Matt doesn’t have much of a rebuttal to that. Maybe the Americans can fix that for us, too?Finally, the discussion shifts back to the United States. Pierre Poilievre’s appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience gets a positive review from both hosts, who see it as a smart move. Jen also shares highlights from a recent trip south, including a rare opportunity to tour the West Wing and the Oval Office. She comes away with a mix of impressions — some good, some less so — and offers a few observations that listeners won’t hear anywhere else.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast.YouTube:Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.Please sign up at those options not just for this episode, or future episodes of The Line Podcast, but so that you can also receive our other podcast series, On the Line, which releases new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode, where Jen Gerson chats with Lucy Hargreaves, CEO of Build Canada, a non-partisan group focused on tackling the country’s productivity challenges. Of which there are many!Thanks for all your support. We’ll talk to you soon.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

On The Line: Are we building Canada?
In this episode of On The Line, host Jen Gerson speaks with Lucy Hargreaves, CEO of Build Canada, a non-partisan group focused on tackling the country’s productivity challenges.They dig into a deceptively simple question: why Canada no build good? From stalled projects to brain drain, they explore what’s holding the country back and whether the so-called lost Trudeau decade has left deeper structural problems than many are willing to admit. Hargreaves, a former Liberal staffer, also reflects on her own disillusionment with the previous government and what changed her perspective.This episode of On The Line is brought to you by Dominion Dynamics. Canada has never had true sovereign awareness of our North. Vast parts of our country are a blind spot. And when you can’t see your own territory, you can’t defend it, secure it, or respond when threats emerge. Dominion Dynamics is changing that. Dominion Dynamics is building a sovereign command and control capability that lets Canada and its allies see, respond, and defend across every domain. Dominion is starting in the Arctic, where extreme cold demands technology no one else can deliver. See everything. Defend what matters. Dominion Dynamics. Learn more at DefendtheDominion.com.From there, the conversation turns outward. Is Donald Trump really driving Canada’s economic anxieties, or has he become a convenient scapegoat for problems that are largely homegrown? And what does Hargreaves make of the new Mark Carney government — does it represent a real shift, or more of the same?It’s a grounded conversation about productivity, politics, and whether Canada is capable of getting its economic house back in order.YouTube:Video goes live in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.We hope you enjoy the episode — and don’t miss us next week. We’ll be back with more On The Line.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

On The Line: Politics in Canada, cyberwar in the U.S. and Iran
In this episode of On The Line, host Matt Gurney is joined by two guests to break down the latest in politics and geopolitics.First up is Gregory Jack, senior vice president of public affairs at Ipsos, for a full update on the federal polling landscape. The latest numbers show the Liberal Party of Canada opening up a significant lead, raising questions about what has gone wrong for the Conservative Party of Canada and why Pierre Poilievre appears to be reinventing himself yet again — even if the effort doesn’t seem to be gaining much traction. Gurney and Jack also dig into the latest polling on separatist sentiment and political change in both Alberta and Quebec, and what those numbers do and don’t actually mean.This episode of On The Line is brought to you by the Forest Products Association of Canada. In a volatile world, Canada has to focus on what we can control right here at home. Prime Minister Carney says a country that can’t build itself has few options. The forest products sector provides the literal building blocks for our country — from the lumber and wood products to build new homes and infrastructure; to pulp and paper for household and business use; to therenewable power we need to support energy security.We’re already a global trade success story, and we’re ready to do more to build a resilient, self-reliant country.It’s time to focus on Canada’s domestic strengths. Learn more at www.fpac.ca.After that, Matt is joined by David Shipley, CEO of Beauceron Security and the show’s go-to cybersecurity guy, to discuss the cyber dimension of the new Persian Gulf war. Shipley explains how the conflict opened with a remarkably effective cyber campaign by Israel and the United States, but is now evolving into a cycle of retaliation. That includes Iranian counterattacks and a particularly damaging strike against a major U.S. medical company, offering a glimpse of how cyber warfare increasingly intersects with real-world conflict.All that, plus the usual On The Line conversation about politics, strategy, and the strange times we’re living through. Don’t forget to like and subscribe!YouTube:Video goes live in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.We hope you enjoy the episode — and don’t miss us next week. We’ll be back with more On The Line.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

The Line Podcast: In stunning move, police agree to enforce the law
In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on March 13th, 2026, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson begin with federal politics. Mark Carney appears to be on track to secure a majority government, and your hosts wonder whether he truly deserves it. Has the country actually improved much over the last year, or have the Conservatives simply squandered their opportunity not only to win, but even to hold him to a minority? They also discuss the government’s latest Arctic announcement, which Matt notes isn’t especially new. He’s frustrated that a leader recycling old announcements may still lock up the majority that will allow him to govern largely as he wishes for the next three years.The conversation then turns to the war in the Middle East. Jen brings some personal perspective to the discussion — many listeners may not realize that she lived in the region early in her career and still has many friends there. She shares some of what she’s hearing from people close to the unfolding conflict. At the same time, both hosts reflect on how strange the war feels from afar. Perhaps, they suggest, all of us — hosts and audience alike — are slowly becoming desensitized to events that would have seemed shocking and horrific not that long ago.The final segment takes an unexpected turn. It starts with Matt throwing Jen a conversational curveball: Hitler. You’ll have to tune in to hear exactly why that came up. But while they’re recording, breaking news emerges from Toronto, and the discussion shifts abruptly. Matt vents some frustration about what he sees as inadequate action to protect the city’s Jewish community, and some of that frustration spills out on air. He also makes, only reluctantly, an observation that he hopes no one in the White House hears, in case they use it against us. Jen laughs. She likes the chaos.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast.YouTube:Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.Please sign up at those options not just for this episode, or future episodes of The Line Podcast, but so that you can also receive our other podcast series, On the Line, which releases new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode, where Jen Gerson sits down with Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the country’s leading voices on digital policy.Thanks for all your support. We’ll talk to you soon.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

On The Line: Are we the digital baddies?
In this episode of On The Line, host Jen Gerson sits down with Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the country’s leading voices on digital policy.They begin with the latest United States Trade Priority Report, which singled out controversial Canadian legislation such as Online Streaming Act (Bill C‑11) as a major digital dispute complicating negotiations between Canada and the United States. Gerson asks whether the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated to the point where Canada now feels compelled to defend objectively terrible legislation simply on principle. It certainly seems that way.This episode is brought to you by the Forest Products Association of Canada. Government can’t control the global markets, but it can control the efficiency of our own regulatory system. It’s been over 150 days since the Red Tape Review, and Canada’s forest products sector is ready to move from intent to outcomes. We’re advocating for practical fixes — like reducing duplication and improving coordination — so we can get projects built at the speed of business. With greater regulatory efficiency, we can better compete with the Americans and Europeans, grow jobs, bring more of Canada to the world, and secure a stronger Canadian economy.Let’s get to work. Visit www.fpac.ca to learn more.From there, the conversation turns to the apparent resurrection of the Online Harms Act, which many observers assumed had died on the order paper. Instead, it may be finding new life following reports that Jesse Van Rootselaar had been flagged by OpenAI as a potential risk before the shooting rampage in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.Finally, Gerson and Geist discuss Bill C‑4 and the Senate of Canada’s effort to block what critics describe as an outrageous move by the House of Commons of Canada: legislation that would carve out a special exemption allowing political parties to avoid the privacy rules that apply to nearly everyone else. The result is a sharp conversation about digital governance, political incentives, and whether Canada is drifting into a regulatory posture that’s increasingly hard to defend.For more like this, be sure to like and subscribe.YouTube:Video goes live in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.We hope you enjoy the episode — and don’t miss us next week. We’ll be back with more On The Line.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter. Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

The Line Podcast: We hate it when Carney sounds like Trudeau
In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on March 6th, 2026, your hosts agree at the outset to avoid talking about Alberta for once, because Jen really needs a break. Fortunately, there was plenty else happening this week.Today’s episode of The Line Podcast is brought to you by Engage, the new door-to-door canvassing app from Geppetto Technologies. Engage makes it effortless to go knock doors and connect with your community. With a fragmented media landscape, endless spam phone calls, and social media echo chambers, the best way to reach people is at their doorstep. The Engage app makes it happen. Your canvassers will be ready to go in seconds using Engage’s user-friendly interface. We seamlessly connect with your campaign’s digital infrastructure to help you collect valuable data. Quickly track support, volunteers, signs and issues to set up a strong get-out-the-vote effort. With upcoming municipal elections in BC and Ontario, there’s no better time to get started with Engage. Made in Canada, built and supported by experienced campaigners. Ready for a winning ground game? Visit goknockdoors.ca for your demo.They begin with a quick tour of the current geopolitical landscape and what it means for Canada. Much to Jen’s disappointment, it leaves the country in a position where our new prime minister is starting to sound a lot like our old one. Jen generously volunteers to head to Ottawa and fix the Carney government’s communications problems herself. Matt suggests the real issue is that the government communicates well only when it’s confident the public will like what it has to say. The moment it has to juggle competing domestic priorities — as happened recently with the India trip and the new war against Iran — the messaging turns muddled and incoherent. Matt ultimately agrees with Jen: she’d better get to Ottawa and sort it out.From there, the hosts turn to Pierre Poilievre’s recent trip to Europe. Matt gives the effort some credit, even if it arrives a year or so late in terms of helping the Conservatives form a government. Jen is less charitable. She argues that Poilievre has already burned through several full personality reboots, and worries that each one seems suspiciously calibrated to whatever happens to be trending in right-wing social media echo chambers.Finally, Matt and Jen have some fun with a column in The Globe and Mail and what they consider a wildly exaggerated response from the ambassador of the United States in Ottawa. The laughs give way to a more serious discussion about information echo chambers, and how ideas that sound outrageous to outsiders can be wildly popular — and profitable — within a loyal online tribe. That dynamic, they conclude, may be great for engagement metrics, but it’s a terrible way to run a civilization.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast.YouTube (Video goes live in 30 minutes):Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.Please sign up at those options not just for this episode, or future episodes of The Line Podcast, but so that you can also receive our other podcast series, On the Line, which releases new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode, where Matt Gurney spoke with Bill Roggio, editor of The Long War Journal, and Kaveh Shahrooz from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, on what’s next in Iran.Thanks for all your support. We’ll talk to you soon.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

On The Line: Does Trump have an actual plan for victory in Iran?
In today’s episode of On The Line, host Matt Gurney is joined by two guests to discuss the new war unfolding in the Middle East.First up is Bill Roggio, editor of The Long War Journal and a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Roggio gives Matt the view from the United States: why Washington chose to strike now, the risks of an early withdrawal, and why he doesn’t see a coherent plan to actually win this war on the ground. In his view, the groundwork for success should have been laid months ago. Roggio makes clear that he wants a better future for the people of Iran, but he’s not convinced the U.S. fully understands what it has stepped into.This episode of On The Line is brought to you by the Forest Products Association of Canada. In a volatile world, Canada has to focus on what we can control right here at home. Prime Minister Carney says a country that can’t build itself has few options. The forest products sector provides the literal building blocks for our country — from the lumber and wood products to build new homes and infrastructure; to pulp and paper for household and business use; to the renewable power we need to support energy security.We’re already a global trade success story, and we’re ready to do more to build a resilient, self-reliant country.It’s time to focus on Canada’s domestic strengths. Learn more at www.fpac.ca.Then Matt turns to Toronto and his old friend Kaveh Shahrooz of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. A member of the Iranian diaspora, Shahrooz has been in contact with family in Iran as well as with members of the community here in Canada. He describes a moment filled with both optimism and fear. For the first time in nearly 50 years, there is real hope that change may be possible — but he cautions that any transition will likely involve dealing with deeply compromised actors who have done terrible things.It’s a sobering, dual-perspective conversation about strategy, uncertainty, and what change might actually cost.It’s a heavy episode, but we hope you enjoy it or learn something from it. And as always, like and subscribe.YouTube:Video goes live in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.We hope you enjoy the episode — and don’t miss us next week. We’ll be back with more On The Line.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter. Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected]. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe

The Line Podcast: Is it too late for a Poilievre anti-Trump pivot?
In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on February 27th, 2026, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson begin with a close look at what Pierre Poilievre had to say at the Economic Club in downtown Toronto this week. Matt liked much of the speech, aside from one section he considers pure fantasyland. Jen is far less impressed overall. Both hosts agree the message might have landed better a year ago, and both detect lingering signs of denial when it comes to how Conservatives are interpreting what’s actually happening in Washington.They then head south, metaphorically, as Jen dissects the State of the Union delivered by Donald Trump. Matt didn’t catch the entire speech but offers a few observations about Trump’s delivery that Jen happily builds on. The conversation widens to include the Democrats, who, in the hosts’ view, seem unusually committed to missing opportunities that are right in front of them.In the final segment, Matt and Jen turn to new polling that shows something odd unfolding out west. The Liberals are gaining traction in places where they traditionally struggle. Jen thinks she understands why. Even people who would never vote Liberal are quietly telling her they find themselves liking Mark Carney. The episode wraps with a brief discussion of Alberta’s latest provincial budget, which Matt, speaking as an Ontarian, finds contains more than a few familiar elements.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast.YouTube (Video goes live in 30 minutes):Spotify:Apple:And plenty more options here.Please sign up at those options not just for this episode, or future episodes of The Line Podcast, but so that you can also receive our other podcast series, On the Line, which releases new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode with Jen Gerson spoke with Jesse Brown, founder of Canadaland, on the explosion of antisemitism in Canada since the Oct. 7 attacks.Thanks for all your support. We’ll talk to you soon.The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation is not a subscription, and will not grant access to paywalled content. It’s just a way of thanking us for what we do. If you’re looking to subscribe and get full access, it’s that other blue button!The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe