The Line Podcast: Rookie Carney is pulverizing Poilievre`

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded in the last-pre-election days on March 21, 2025, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson look around and realize that this is as calm as their lives are going to be for about a month. And that's just sad.And this is where we pause to slip in an announcement to Line readers, listeners and viewers: we are switching over to election mode effective immediately. That's going to mean an accelerated publication schedule. You'll be hearing from us seven days a week, sometimes more than once per day. That means, in the unlikely event that you haven't already, now is the time to sign up at ReadTheLine.ca. We've got some great stuff coming. Don't miss it.This episode of The Line Podcast is brought to you by Unsmoke Canada. Canada can be a global leader in reducing the harm caused by smoking, but it requires actionable steps, including giving adult smokers the information they need to choose potentially less harmful alternatives. Learn more at Unsmoke.ca.Your hosts start the podcast this week by talking about Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada. They review his first few days in office, and find some good and some bad. They see some signs that he could mature as a politician. They also see some evidence that he needs that maturing to happen. Could Carney win? Absolutely. Could he lose? Also absolutely. We definitely see and even admire the tactical cunning of the Liberal battle plan. But gosh, it comes with some risks.This episode has also been brought to you by Forestry For The Future. Forestry supports 200,000 Canadians in hundreds of communities, generating $87 billion in annual revenues and $37 billion in exports — including $29 billion to the United States. It's also key to addressing some of our biggest challenges. We need an action plan for our forest sector and its employees, one that will help build the homes we need with Canadian wood, reduce the risk of wildfires and create more family-supporting jobs right here at home. To learn more about what forestry can do for Canada, visit ForestryForTheFuture.ca.After that, your hosts move onto the Conservatives. It's another mixed bag. There are definitely some signs that the Conservatives are, finally and belatedly, beginning their pivot away from the kind of campaign they wanted to run toward the kind of campaign they need to run. It's taken a long time, but your friends at The Line are starting to see the outlines of a new Conservative campaign take shape. One that can win. But they're also still seeing signs of internal divisions and a degree of leadership paralysis in the CPC. Much like with Carney, they conclude that Poilievre can absolutely win this. But he's gotten his butt handed to him for the last month or so, and hasn't known what to do about that.This episode of The Line Podcast is also brought to you by Environmental 360 Solutions. Ontario's recycling system is failing local businesses and benefiting large American recyclers. Over $10 million a year is being collected from Ontario consumers in mandatory fees for tire and battery recycling but much of the work is being outsourced to American recyclers. This is starving local Ontario companies of opportunities to do that work and keep good jobs in the province. Worse, enough mandatory fees have been collected from consumers to recycle 100% of the materials, but only a fraction of this work is actually being done. Ontario’s recycling regulator is finally taking action, issuing penalties to the companies collecting the recycling fees, but in turn these companies are using these mandatory fees, paid by Ontarians to fund recycling programs, to cover the fines. The result? Ontario consumers are enriching unscrupulous industry participants and American recyclers, undermining recycling, job creation, and investment in Ontario. It’s time for real accountability in the recycling industry. Click here to learn more.Last but not least, Jen gives Matt an update from Alberta, where she is looking for any signs of a truly building secessionist movement ... and not finding one. She lays out how that could change, and how it could change fast. Matt wraps up with a quick word on some developments in the other provinces. Lots going on.Like we said, folks, our Aprils are ruined. Because all of the stuff, and more, in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. Share our pain.Also! If you're into pain, please follow us on social media. We just rolled out a bunch of new accounts. Keep 'em growing!Facebook x 2: (On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here). (We need to do it this way because of C-18. So thanks, Trudeau.)Instagram.TikTok.Twitter.BlueSky.LinkedIn.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 will release new episodes every Tuesday morning. In case you missed it, here is last Tuesday’s episode. We hope you enjoyed it. More to come on Tuesday of next week.Thanks for all your support. 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.The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Follow us on Twitter @the_lineca. Pitch us something: [email protected] Get full access to The Line at www.readtheline.ca/subscribe