The Line Podcast: Carney is winning the vibes war

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on May 29, 2026, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson begin with discussion of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to New York and the state of Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Your hosts debate whether Canada has actually surrendered ground in the talks or merely put an opening offer on the table. They also discuss Carney’s popularity. Matt remains eager to see more concrete accomplishments, but he concedes that, at least for now, the prime minister is decisively winning the vibes war.This episode of The Line Podcast is brought to you by Electro-Federation Canada. Canada’s clean electricity grid gives us a competitive edge in attracting global investment — but to maintain that advantage our system needs to break down barriers and unlock the grid. Aging infrastructure, supply chain constraints, and outdated regulations threaten our ability to expand and modernize the grid — essential components of meeting future capacity needs. Electro-Federation Canada has developed a research-backed roadmap for grid readiness focused on smart policy and regulatory alignment. To learn more, visit MakeTheSwitch.ElectroFed.com.Next, Jen asks Matt to explain the Swedish aircraft Canada is buying, giving him an opportunity to walk listeners through the logic behind the deal. Is this a new line for Canada, or just Carney buying himself the room to buy some U.S. equipment next? That conversation quickly expands into a broader rant about Canada’s inability to simply get important things done. Once again, governments are creating new mechanisms, new processes, and new workarounds to accomplish tasks that functioning countries often manage through their existing institutions.This episode of The Line Podcast is also 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 conditions demand technology no one else can deliver.Defend the Dominion. Dominion Dynamics.Learn more at DefendTheDominion.com.In the final segment, the hosts return to Alberta and the ongoing federalist-versus-separatist debate. They spend considerable time discussing what role, if any, Canadians outside the province should be playing in the conversation. Can outsiders help the federalist cause, or do they risk making matters worse? Matt and Jen don’t agree on every detail, but both recognize that the stakes extend well beyond Alberta itself.All that and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast.All that and more on the latest episode of The Line Podcast. Check us out at ReadTheLine.ca, and God help us all.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 Matt Gurney spoke with defence analyst Philippe Lagassê about why Canada will struggle to fund the military it is promising to build, and also with Lazar Berman of the Times of Israel about the new drone warfare tactics Hezbollah is successfully using against Israeli troops.Thanks, as always, and we’ll talk to you soon. Like, subscribe and share!The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded. No federal subsidies, no bailouts. If you value our work, please consider supporting us by subscribing or making a donation. Donations are not subscriptions and do not unlock paywalled content, but they help keep The Line independentTo contact The Line with a general inquiry or comment, please email [email protected]. For other ways to connect with us or to follow us on social media, please see our LinkTree. Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe