Brian Crombie Radio Hour - Epi 1551 - Canada’s GIGA Response: Sovereignty, Security, and the End of Economic Naivety

As geopolitics reshapes trade, technology, and capital flows, Canada’s long-standing economic assumptions are being stress-tested — and exposed. On this episode of The Brian Crombie Radio Hour, Brian is joined by Patrick Leblond, associate professor and senior fellow specializing in trade, geopolitics, and economic sovereignty, for a critical examination of why Canada now needs a GIGA-scale response to a changing global order. Patrick explains how economic tools — trade policy, supply chains, data, technology, energy, and capital — are increasingly being weaponized by powerful states, marking a decisive break from the post-war rules-based system Canada built its prosperity on. Together, they explore why Canada’s deep dependence on the United States has shifted from advantage to vulnerability, what U.S. national security strategy means for Canadian firms, and why tariffs alone won’t protect sovereignty. This is not anti-American — it’s pro-Canadian realism. A serious conversation about industrial strategy, infrastructure, and what it will take for Canada to protect its interests in an era where economic power is geopolitical power.