Wonk
by Public Policy Forum
WONK is a show about big ideas in unprecedented times. Hosted by Amanda Lang, we unpack some of the most pressing issues and challenges facing Canada, and talk to some leading thinkers and policymakers about how to tackle them. New episodes drop on Thursdays.This feed also hosts the archive for Public Policy Forum's podcast, Policy Speaking.
Episodes
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Candace Laing on the Canada’s trade war plan: ‘We got this’
It would not be an understatement to say that the Canada-U.S. relationship is undergoing a challenging time. The U.S. president describes Canada as a terrible trade partner and the 51st state. Both countries have applied tariffs and counter tariffs on goods that not long ago crossed the border...
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Lisa Raitt and Anne McLellan: Canadian democracy is working
The largest survey on Canadian views on foreign policy in over 50 years suggests that Canadians are united on a whole host of issues, from trade diversification to global health. It also shows a surprising confidence that democracy in Canada is working well, despite the challenges and unity...
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Can the auto industry survive Trump?
When it comes to Canada's auto industry, the U.S. President is very clear: Donald Trump does not see the need for it and he is doing everything he can to force car makers to bring their operations to America. The rupture would undermine an industrial relationship that goes back decades, and lead…
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Premier RJ Simpson on northern investment the need for better Arctic defence
Canada’s Arctic is getting a level of attention it hasn't seen in decades. The federal government is promising to put some $35 billion towards asserting Canada's Arctic sovereignty, creating economic opportunities and, it is hoped, long-term prosperity for Northern communities. But how will these...
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Canada’s search for $1 trillion — and new friends
Canada's push to diversify its economy has taken some big steps: An international investment summit in Toronto; a trip by PM Mark Carney to the European Parliament to explore becoming an associate member of the EU; and a meeting in Saint-Pierre with French President Emmanuel Macron. What do these...
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Canada’s former top trade negotiator Steve Verheul: Moving beyond the U.S.
Ever since Donald Trump was reelected in 2024 and started talking about Canada as a 51st state, cross border trade has been a sore point. But in recent weeks, there has been great urgency as the United States slapped tariffs on many goods and the fate of CUSMA hangs in the balance. PM Mark Carney...
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Gov. Josh Shapiro on Canada-U.S. relations
Josh Shapiro is the governor of Pennsylvania. He talks to host Amanda Lang about fixing CUSMA, the importance of the U.S. midterms and the trade instability caused by President Donald Trump. This is the final episode of season 4 of WONK. We’ll be back this fall with a brand new season.
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How to make a nation of supertraders
The need to pivot away from our dependence on the U.S. as a trading partner has definitely been driven home to Canadian businesses. But actually doing that is a different story. If there's a base camp for that climb, it's Export Development Canada (EDC), the Crown Corporation whose mission is to...
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Evan Solomon on the promise and perils of AI
Few innovations have held the amount of promise and — let's face it — peril as artificial intelligence. Will it be mankind's greatest leap forward or its absolute demise? Into this uncertainty comes Canada's new AI strategy, one which tries to walk the line between promise and peril. Host Amanda...
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Building an economy that helps people flourish
More than 25 years ago, management consultant Joseph Pine introduced a revolutionary concept he called the experience economy. It helped shape how companies would reframe their businesses, but also their approaches to customers. Pine described the economy as being divided into progressions of...
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The big risks facing Canada and the world
Anyone who thinks that insurance is dull hasn't thought about it in the right way. The ability to offset risk is the structural foundation of everything in a modern economy, including our own individual ability to avoid personal financial ruin. Charles Brindamour is CEO of Intact Financial, the...
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Why the Canadian economy will be okay
One of the dangerous things about constantly talking about the challenges that our economy faces is losing the sense of urgency that it needs. With the new fiscal update under our belts, and plenty of uncertainty in the weeks and months ahead, host Amanda Lang checks in with one of Canada’s top...
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Gregor Robertson on the housing dilemma
When it comes to affordability, few issues hit more than housing. We need homes of all types without cratering the value of the existing housing stock. That's not an easy task, but it is one the federal government is lending its policy to. Host Amanda Lang talks to Gregor Robertson, the federal...
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Frank McKenna on Canada’s future and dealing with America
The challenges facing Canada are pretty enormous, from our aging population to trade issues changing the fabric of our economy. It's a hard time to be a young person thinking about the future. Canada's universities are at the center of this struggle to equip them with the skills they need. Host...
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How to get investment flowing back to Canada
One of the key goals the federal government has laid out is to attract more investment to Canada after years of outflows. So have we finally turned a corner? Host Amanda Lang talks to TMX Group CEO John McKenzie about building home-grown talent, focusing on long term growth and unlocking Canada’s...
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Could Canada be energy independent?
The conflict with Iran has raised a lot of questions about Canadian oil, gas and energy. If we produce so much of the stuff, why are we at the mercy of bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz? Jay Khosla is executive director of economic and energy policy at the Public Policy Forum. Susannah Pierce…
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Canada’s race to build big talent
Canada could need up to half a million new workers by 2030 — everything from the trades to high-tech entrepreneurs to knowledge workers. But between the U.S. hoovering up Canadian talent and new policies putting a chill on international students, building the talent we need might take some work....
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Stephen Poloz on dealing with dual economic shocks
These past few years, inflation has been a beast. No sooner under control from the last supply chain shocks, the war in Iran has it rearing its head again. Stephen Poloz was Canada's central bank governor from 2013 to the summer of 2020. He’s now a special advisor at the law firm Osler, Hoskin…
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Canada’s place in the global energy race
Global energy supply is suddenly a hot topic — and it puts Canada in a strong position. At a time when we were already looking to increase our exports, the market is more than ready for them. But can we do it fast enough? TC Energy runs natural gas pipelines across North America, including the...
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The $7-billion bet on ag tech
We talk a lot in Canada about the size - and importance - of our agriculture sectors. But the estimates of what we could be doing are staggering. From new markets to new products, updating ag could be a pretty valuable opportunity. Farm Credit Canada is a Crown corporation that's dedicated to…
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Premier Susan Holt on Canada’s comeback plan
Few places in Canada have been as threatened by Trump's tariff war as New Brunswick, with an economy built around forestry, seafood and energy. But there's opportunity arising too. New Brunswick's maritime port is booming with Canadian cargo looking to avoid U.S. tariffs. And the Premier has a...
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How to deal with oil shocks and inflation
Most Canadians are still adjusting to the inflation that has settled across our economy from the last big geopolitical disruptions. Now a new one threatens to send prices higher again... all this at a time when Canada is trying to rebuild its own economic engine. Jim Stanford is the director of…
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Why housing should be a human right
It's hardly a secret that Canada has a housing problem. Usually it's described by the affordability issues around owning a home, but there is another and arguably more pernicious problem. Too many Canadians simply don't have one. Treating housing as a human right is one way to start facing that...
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Julie Dabrusin on Canada’s new climate plan
Canada has changed tack on its climate efforts from a price on carbon and a philosophical view that fossil fuels might be phased out to a more pragmatic policy that embraces energy development while still aiming to meet climate targets. It's a tricky line to walk at any time, but especially while...
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Tom Chi on how to make an economy that works
Some of the thorniest problems of our time won't be solved with the tools and systems that we currently use, but that doesn't make them beyond our capacity to solve. Tom Chi has spent his career at the center of innovation and process design — that includes at Google X, the moonshot factory…
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Zita Cobb on economic growth, one town at a time
Nestled in a tiny fishing outport in Newfoundland, Fogo Island Inn has become a luxury stop for the well-traveled. But it is a lot more than that -- by design. Fogo's part of a social enterprise called Shorefast, and while its success has definitely created wealth for the local economy, its...
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The dangerous spread of sports betting
With gambling in the palm of everyone's hand, it's not just big business: it's changing the world of sports. It also ignores the harms that come along the way. Danny Funt is a journalist and the author of a new book, Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling. He talks to…
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Premier David Eby on building a new economy
Prime Minister Carney's recent speech in Davos was hailed globally as a pivotal moment. But, as is always the case, the question becomes, what's next? In Canada, finding new trade partners is obviously top of the agenda. So is getting out of our own way on internal trade barriers. David Eby is…
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Chris Hadfield on Canada’s new space race
A Toronto startup recently launched 10 low earth orbit satellites as part of a new commercial satellite network. Meanwhile, a Canadian astronaut is poised to be one of the first to orbit the moon, and new investments are being made in space technology in this country. Chris Hadfield is one of...
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Bob Rae on the new world order
Even by recent standards, the world right now feels precarious with the U.S. attack on Venezuela and saber rattling over taking over other countries, all while abandoning international cooperation. It's hard not to wonder, where does it leave the rest of us? Host Amanda Lang talks to former UN...
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Canada’s make or break year
If ‘uncertainty’ was the word of 2025, what will the new year bring for Canada's economy and the world? On top of the now familiar trade and tariff worries for Canada, we are facing technological change and new geopolitical concerns. So what lies ahead? Kevin Carmichael is The Logic’s economics...
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Don Tapscott on the battle to control your own AI
You've heard of agentic AI, the next generation of smart technology that will, we're told, transform our lives. But what about identic AI? That's a term coined by Don Tapscott, the author and thought leader who's built a career on seeing what's coming in technology from one of the first books…
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The big policies that will shape 2026
When it comes to unprecedented times, 2025 did not disappoint. It was a year of upheaval and change, both at home and abroad. In the year ahead, Canada will grapple with big issues and daunting policy files, from housing to AI to tariffs and trade. Host Amanda Lang speaks with Inez Jabalpurwala,...
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‘What is common knowledge?’ Steven Pinker explains
Steven Pinker has spent his academic and literary career thinking about thinking, and the ways societies have been shaped by our neurology and what we do with it. He is a professor at Harvard University and author of 13 books. The latest: "When Everyone Knows What Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge...
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Why Canada needs to build ‘anchor companies’
Despite some big advantages, world-leading research and a lot of early promise, Canada does not have a thriving life sciences and biotech sector. Could the elements that would fuel this much sought after industry also fuel growth in other places? Gordon McCauley is the head of adMare...
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Minister Champagne: Putting a ‘generational’ budget into practice
Canada’s recent federal budget has been called generational and transformational. Of course, it's been called that by the government that passed it, but there's no question that this budget comes at a pivotal moment for Canada. Host Amanda Lang talks to Finance Minister François-Philippe…
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Alberta’s Danielle Smith on pipelines and fellow premiers
When it comes to the Team Canada approach to fighting tariffs, the rubber hits the road in the provinces and territories — and with a growing list of major projects. Missing from the list so far is a pipeline from Alberta to B.C., a lightning rod for some very familiar-feeling inter-provincial...
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Matthew Boswell on Canada’s fight against anti-competitive behaviour
When it comes to setting the stage for a healthy economy, competition laws are among the most important tools. A lot of Canadians looking at our banks, telcos and airlines might wonder if we're getting it right. Recent reforms have put Canada on a stronger footing, but are we ready for the…
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Fara Dabhoiwala on the meaning of free speech
For most of human history, free speech was not a welcome concept. The notion that all ideas or expressions are equal is a pretty new one, and it could be argued a dangerous one. Fara Dabhoiwala, a senior research scholar at Princeton and author of ‘What is Free Speech?’ talks to host Amanda Lang...
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The biggest issues in Canada's next federal budget
Canada's upcoming federal budget is, by any measure, going to be big. It'll be big in size, symbolism and substance. And it's going to have to find support somewhere in the House to be passed at all. To talk about what’s at stake, we’ve reconvened our policy panel, featuring Armine Yalnizyan and...
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Stéfane Marion on Canada’s business investment crisis
Canada has a few immediate economic problems, like tariffs and a potential recession. But there are also some long-standing structural problems, including our poor productivity and the erosion of business investment. National Bank Chief Economist Stéfane Marion has highlighted the decimation of...
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David Frum on Donald Trump’s tariff problem
President Donald Trump is having a sizable impact on America and the world. Canada knows that all too well. For better or worse, there's a new economic order afoot. Will the new vision outlast the president? David Frum is a former Bush speech writer, now a senior editor at the Atlantic, author of...
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Catherine McKenna on climate costs and polarization
As Canada’s environment minister in 2015, Catherine McKenna emerged as a leading voice in the climate debate. She also faced some of the unprecedented and disturbing abuse that was aimed at public officials, and became an advocate for the voice of women in politics. McKenna is still a force at…
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The fight to save kids from social media harm
Sophisticated algorithms, endless scrolling and harmful content have affected a generation of children and young adults in alarming ways. Host Amanda Lang talks to Ava Smithing, advocacy director of the Young People's Alliance, about the addictiveness of social media platforms, advice for parents...
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Energy Minister Tim Hodgson on Canada's new economic ambitions
The time for slow rolling major energy projects in Canada appears to be ending. The resources sector is increasingly seen as both the low-hanging fruit of economic growth and a core component of clean technology in the future— a seeming contradiction that Ottawa is eagerly embracing. Host Amanda...
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Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem on seeking economic stability
Canada’s Central Bank lowered rates this week to the surprise of no one. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost over the summer, and inflation, if not easing, does appear to be contained. But as the Bank said in its statement, the path ahead will still be very much determined by what happens on…
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Economist Frances Donald on Canada’s big opportunity
Canada just recorded a quarter of negative growth and sits on the edge of a potential recession. U.S. tariffs continue to hit the economy hard. Meanwhile, the country is plowing ahead with plans to build mega projects and diversify trade. We are, to put it mildly, at a pretty consequential fork…
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Howard Marks: How to make sense of today’s reality-defying markets
One thing most people assume about stock markets is that they're an accurate reflection of what's happening in the economy. Yet nothing about markets or politics feels typical right now. Despite global tariffs and unprecedented uncertainty, markets continue to soar. Howard Marks is co-chair of...
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Encore: Jean Chrétien on the ongoing fight for national unity
Jean Chretien, Canada’s oldest living prime minister, isn't taking Western separatism lying down. Having seen Canada through the threat of Quebec separation, his Clarity Act of 2000 could find new currency today. Chrétien — now 91, mentally sharp and still not pulling his punches — talks to host...
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Encore: Sally Armstrong on the ongoing fight for women's rights
In her incredible career as a journalist and author, Sally Armstrong told stories no one else would about the atrocities of war and became a towering figure for women's rights. She speaks with host Amanda Lang about the ongoing fight for rights, the ‘small group of greedy men' who start wars and...
About this show
WONK is a show about big ideas in unprecedented times. Hosted by Amanda Lang, we unpack some of the most pressing issues and challenges facing Canada, and talk to some leading thinkers and policymakers about how to tackle them. New episodes drop on Thursdays.This feed also hosts the archive for Public Policy Forum's podcast, Policy Speaking.
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