The Corner Booth

om Mulcair didn’t hold back in his scorching Corner Booth debut.The former Quebec Liberal MNA and leader of the federal NDP joined to hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand at Snowdon Deli to dish on a number of hot button political issues — everything from Canada’s dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump to Quebec Premier François Legault’s fate. The longtime Outremont MP also pulled no punches on the current Montreal mayoral race. He talked about the “orange cone mentality” at City Hall and the closing of Camillien-Houde Way as a “form of political corruption.” He had sharp words for candidates Luc Rabouin and Craig Sauvé, even calling the former “ one of the worst politicians I’ve ever met.”But he saved some of his best barbs for the current premier and the person best positioned to unseat him in the 2026 provincial election, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.“Legault is finished. Let’s not kid ourselves about that,” he said. “But I’m not convinced the CAQ is a spent force.”Even though Plamondon currently enjoys a healthy lead in the polls, Mulcair can see it all crumble if the PQ’s calls for another referendum grow louder.“If you want to run the government, we might actually vote for you and give you that possibility. But if you tell us that once you get in, you’re going to start taking taxpayer money to try to set up the winning conditions for a referendum to break up one of the most successful countries in the world and pull Quebec out of Canada, we’re going defeat you,” Mulcair said.He also offered a warning to Pablo Rodriguez, current leader of the Quebec Liberals, saying “he’s walking right into a trap with Bill 21,” the CAQ’s secularism bill that bars teachers, lawyers, police officers and more from wearing religious symbols.Mulcair added the provincial Liberals remain “in deep trouble outside of Montreal.”But the seasoned politician and regular contributor to The Gazette’s opinion page was effusive in his praise of one politician in particular. Watch this week’s episode to find out who it is.

It’s orange cone season in Montreal right now, and drivers are begging for relief from the gridlock and detours.In his latest op-ed in The Gazette, longtime traffic consultant Rick Leckner writes the time to act is now to solve our city’s traffic woes. Décarie Blvd. may have been awash in construction cones, but that didn’t stop Leckner from stopping by Snowdon Deli for this week’s episode of The Corner Booth with hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand.

No one in the alcohol business is immune from dealing with government-run liquor boards, not even Kiefer Sutherland.The acclaimed Canadian actor and musician can now say his Red Bank Whisky is available coast-to-coast across the country, with Quebec being the final province to stock his wares.“Some provinces are quicker. For instance, Alberta was like, ‘give us the whisky, we’ll sell it right away,’” the 24 and Designated Survivor star said. “Other provinces took longer. Ontario took quite a long time, too. And then Quebec’s the last one. And so for us, just to be able to go around the world now and be able to say as a Canadian brand that we’re in all the provinces of Canada, it’s really important.”The celebrated Hollywood multi-hyphenate, who received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2005 and on Hollywood’s three years later, talked about his latest projects and enduring Canadian connections on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth with hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand at Snowdon Deli.

On Wednesday, the Coalition Avenir Québec government pledged to invest $540 million into student services — less than one month after it was met with fierce backlash for slashing of $570 million in education funding. While former senator André Pratte is “happy for the education system,” he says this flip-flopping by Quebec means that more drastic cuts are on the horizon. 

Mommy, it’s not over: Just for Laughs is back from the dead.It was a tumultuous 2024 for the city’s premier comedy fest. In March of that year, the fest was abruptly and shockingly cancelled and the old ownership group sought protection from its creditors. Later, it was saved by Quebec City’s ComediHa!, who delivered a small but mighty version of the fest to laugh-starved Montrealers. A year later, Just for Laughs’ owner Sylvain Parent-Bédard and program director Nick Brazao, who joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli, are bringing a star-studded lineup to Montreal this July 16-27.

Jean Charest has worn many hats in his political career, from Quebec premier to leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party.These days as a member of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s council on Canada-U.S. relations, Charest is focused on American President Donald Trump. Made up of leaders in business, innovation and policy, the council is tasked with advising the prime minister and his cabinet during this sensitive time in international relations.Fresh from Trump’s latest tariff threats that risk devastating Quebec’s economy, Charest joined hosts Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein on the latest episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to discuss his latest, and perhaps most critical, political battle yet.

Royalmount is getting ready to turn one. But has the mega-mall succeeded in winning over the hearts and minds of discerning local shoppers accustomed to hitting the high-end stores downtown? And will the next phases of developing offices and housing come to fruition?Carbonleo CEO Andrew Lutfy talked about the ups and downs of year one on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli with hosts Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein.

Pablo Rodriguez is the new leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, but is he the right man for the job?Political strategist Jennifer Crane, founder of Connexion Quebec Public Affairs, and political analyst Raphaël Melançon, founder of Trafalgar Stratégies, join hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to break down Rodriguez’s closer-than-expected leadership win, and whether he can bring Quebecers back to the party in time for the 2026 election.

Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand chat with Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, and Andrew Torriani, CEO and General Manager of Ritz-Carlton Montreal.

Quebec Liberals will choose a new leader on June 14 in Quebec City. A late entry into the contest is Karl Blackburn, former MNA for Roberval from 2003 to 2007, and a chief organizer for the party. Blackburn also served as the president and CEO of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ), the province’s largest employers’ group. The Quebec Liberal leadership candidate joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to lay out his vision for uniting the Liberal base in Montreal with the vote-rich regions of the province.

Quebec retailers are bracing themselves for sweeping new French-language rules that take effect on June 1. Michel Rochette, Quebec president of the Retail Council of Canada, and Matt Coburn, regional district manager at music retailer Long & McQuade, joined this week’s episode of The Corner Booth with hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand at Snowdon Deli.

Doctors in Quebec say they’re already stretched beyond their limits. Now, as Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé is tabling Bill 106, our province’s physicians are once again sounding the alarm over the disconnect between the CAQ government and those on the front lines on how to improve access to health care in this province.Family physicians Laura Sang and Christina Bianchini joined The Corner Booth with hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand to talk about why doctors are worried about the bill.

The Michelin Guide has finally arrived in Quebec and Montrealers reacted with shock to see only three restaurants get stars. Even Quebec City received more stars, with four one-star selections and the only two-star restaurant in the province.Who better to react to the controversial Michelin list than Dustin Gilman, the man known on the internet as Food Guy Montreal? He joined hosts hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand for a spicy episode of The Corner Booth at the Snowdon Deli.

Former Montreal Canadiens star Chris Nilan Knucks joined this week’s episode of The Corner Booth with hosts Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein at Snowdon Deli to talk about his theatre debut in Knuckles: The Chris Nilan Story and what compelled him to lay bare his mental and physical struggles in such an intimate setting.

The typical lifespan for a minority government in Canada is around 18 to 24 months. Will Mark Carney’s Liberals be able to buck the trend and outlast those grim odds? That’s the question put to former Quebec MNA and cabinet minister David Heurtel on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth, hosted by CJAD’s Aaron Rand and The Gazette’s Bill Brownstein at Snowdon Deli.

The Montreal Canadiens surprised just about everyone this year by making the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in four years, including legendary Habs play-by-play announcer Pierre Houde. But on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth with hosts Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein, back on home ice at Snowdon Deli, the French-language voice of the Habs on RDS since 1989 said the signs were there that this young team was primed to turn the corner.

On this week’s episode of The Corner Booth, filmed at Maison Boulud at the Ritz-Carlton, hosts Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein were joined by former Quebec MNA David Heurtel and political analyst Raphaël Melançon.

Liberal Anthony Housefather and Conservative Neil Oberman make a rare appearance together on this week’s episode at Snowdon Deli.

Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein chat with veteran business writer Paul Delean and Julian Karaguesian, visiting McGill economics professor and former special adviser to Finance Canada in Ottawa, on The Corner Booth at the Snowdon Deli in Montreal

Sébastien Dallaire, Executive Vice-President at Léger and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst, join hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week's The Corner Booth at the Snowdon Deli in Montreal. In this week's episode, they discuss the first week of the Federal Election campaign, Liberal leader Mark Carney's fast start and what Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre needs to do to swing momentum back in his direction.