The Line Podcast: Danielle Smith needs to make her choice

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on January 30, 2026, one of your hosts starts with a literal public safety announcement. Line editor Gurney was the victim of attempted identity theft this week (like he doesn’t have enough going on) and some Line readers may have received bizarre messages claiming to be from me. They weren’t! He promises!From there, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson start with a sharp and unsparing look at Alberta separatism. Jen is in no mood for half measures, especially when it comes to Premier Danielle Smith’s refusal to firmly commit herself. As she sees it, people who style themselves as free speech warriors don’t get to hide behind mealy-mouthed statements when it actually matters. She also takes direct aim at what she calls the loser energy of the separatist movement itself. Matt agrees, adding that many of the separatists he encounters remind him of the gun-ban obsessives or bike-lane warriors in other parts of the country — people whose entire identities are wrapped up in a single cause, and who spend enormous amounts of time constructing elaborate arguments to justify what is, in reality, an emotional state. Both hosts close the segment by wishing, once again, that Canada had a serious and functional ability to monitor foreign interference, because if this movement grows, they strongly suspect outside actors will be eager to help it along.Later, the conversation turns to the Conservative Party of Canada, which is gathering in Calgary to review Pierre Poilievre’s leadership. There’s no obvious threat to him, but Matt argues the party has wasted the last nine months pretending the election result was a fluke, largely because that fantasy spared them from having to make difficult decisions. Unfortunately for the Conservatives, the facts haven’t changed. If anything, the hosts note that Mark Carney is settling into the job better than expected. He still makes the occasional rookie mistake, but overall he’s performing competently and growing into the role. That leaves the CPC with a real problem: it now needs a credible plan to defeat a capable Liberal government while also navigating the chaos of a disruptive Trump presidency.Finally, the hosts circle back to the China deal they didn’t have time to fully address last week. Matt says he’s listened carefully to both the boosters and the critics, and has come to an inconvenient conclusion: he agrees with all of them. The deal contains real opportunities and real risks, and Canada may not be ready for what comes next. As both hosts note, we are entering a geopolitical era where being wealthy and strategically important can make a country a very attractive target, especially when caught between competing hostile powers. It’s a position many other countries have experienced before. Maybe, they suggest, it’s time Canada started asking the Poles or the Israelis for advice.Enjoy all this and more in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. Check us out at ReadTheLine.ca, and as always, like and subscribe.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 speaks with Gregory Jack from Ipsos about some new polling on the actual level of separatist sentiment in Alberta.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