Elias Makos is joined by Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Premier Francois Legault laid out his vision for the new session at the National Assembly on Tuesday Controversy in the comedy world over a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia Photos of an SPVM officer sleeping in his car under highway 40 in Ahuntsic
Elias was joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor & Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. Among the topics discussed on The Big 5 Elbows up or elbows down? Quebec’s language ministry has given Loto-Québec special dispensation to operate the slot machines at its casinos in English Are we too consumed with news from the United States, and in particular, the 24-hour news cycle of what Donald Trump is saying and doing?
Elias was joined on The Big 5 by Paul Gott, lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia &Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Among the topics discussed were Prime Minister Mark Carney is defending his frequent international travel, You’re not imagining things - road rage is getting worse La Presse reports that the city of Montreal balked at spending a relatively small sum to host a national team's base camp during the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Elias Makos ends the week with Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies, and Christina Chough, Spanish teacher and Chair of the modern languages department at Dawson College. The Parti Québécois has revealed the results of its internal referendum on secularism. A golf club in Laval is asking members to speak French among themselves on the course, and in the clubhouse, saying that too much English was being used. Ottawa’s fiscal watchdog is sounding the alarm over Canada’s finances.
Elias Makos is joined by Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government. The CEO of Groupe Dynamite says he is considering moving his businesses to the United States amid concerns that Quebec’s rigid immigration policies pose a huge risk to his operations. Are Quebec politics moving to the right - at least economically? The word of the moment as the National Assembly gears up for its next session appears to be “efficiency” - with almost all the parties talking about it. The sun is setting on the second Valerie Plante/Projet Montreal term in office, but that hasn’t stopped the party from spending on what some are calling frivolous travel.
Elias Makos welcomes back Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Jimmy Kimmel made his return to late night television on Tuesday night. Over the course of an 18-minute monologue, TV host did spend some time trying to make amends for his controversial comments on the killing of Charlie Kirk. Three days after a 15-year-old was killed by police in Longueil, there are many more questions than answers. Dirty politics at play in the Montreal municipal election? On Monday, Mayor Valerie Plante dropped that Craig Sauvé – who’s running for mayor under his Transition Montreal banner – tried to get back into the Projet Montreal caucus in July.
Elias Makos is joined by Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies. Given how important public transit is, should STM employees be allowed to strike at all? U.S. President Donald Trump linked autism to the use of Tylenol during pregnancy, and again raised concerns about vaccines. Mark Carney is in New York as the UN General Assembly is set to take place. Ahead of that, he spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
Elias Makos begins the week with Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia. Canada has officially recognized the State of Palestine. The Irish hip-hop group Kneecap has been banned from entering Canada. The federal government is bringing forward new legislation to add a hate crime offence to the Criminal Code. Journal de Montreal took a look at the new modular homes the city is putting up to house the homeless and found it costs the city about 2600$ per unit a month…
Elias Makos ends the week off with Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil. Journal de Montreal has a rundown this morning of how much every municipal elected official makes. The Quebec government is responding to the brief filed by the Canadian government in the Supreme Court of Canada's case on Bill 21, calling it hypocritical. The U.S ambassador to Canada says he is disappointed with how the country is dealing with its trade relation with the U.S. We’re getting more reporting into what exactly went down the day Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air by ABC. The Hollywood Reporter says pushback over Kimmel’s comments began to snowball in the afternoon
Dan Delmar is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel off the air following comments he made during his opening monologue Monday evening. “Bubble Zone” legislation is set to be tabled on Friday. Three new offences including new hate crime legislation is being introduced by the Carney government. Projet Montreal, Ensemble Montreal and Transition Montreal all unveiled their slogans for this year’s municipal election.
Elias Makos welcomes back Anthony Koch, Former National Spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and current managing principal at AK Strategies, and Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A new poll from Leger shows robust support for secularism and laïcité in Quebec. New numbers this morning from Leger show that Premier Francois Legault’s cabinet shuffle was not up to par with Quebecers. Radio-Canada is apologizing after one of its correspondents used anti-semitic language on air. Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation as Transport and Interim Trade Minister yesterday.
Elias Makos is joined by Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom, and Political analyst Karim Boulos. Former CJAD host Leslie Roberts will be running for Ensemble Montreal in the riding of Peter-McGill in the Ville-Marie Borough. The amount of homeless people found dead reached record highs once again last year. The federal government unveiled yesterday a $320 million investment into the Hippodrome project. The growth of streaming services continues to accelerate in Canada - along with their pricing. Almost every streaming service has jacked up their rates in 2025.
Elias Makos kicks off the week with Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS. Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled yesterday the first plans for his ‘Build Canada Homes’ program. After demanding his ministers to find a way to cut spending inside multiple areas of government, we are now learning that projections for the next federal budget will see a deficit of around $100 billion. The Journal de Montreal reports today that nearly 90 percent of fraud cases reported to police result in no charges being laid. As we approach the changing of the clocks on November 2nd, it seems doubtful that Quebec will move forward with eliminating the time change.
Elias Makos ends the week with Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada. Downtown Montreal residents are planning to sue over a homeless shelter in their neighbourhood The population of Montreal will drop by 200 thousand by 2030 The federal government unveiled its first five projects that it wants speedy approval from the federal government The suspect in the shooting of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been apprehended. Since the shooting, there has been a surprising amount of people sharing their glee about the shooting, even here in Quebec
Elias Makos is joined by Catherine Hogan, high school teacher at Westwood Senior High in Hudson, and Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government. Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of the student-focused political group Turning Point USA was shot and killed at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Francois Legault officially made his cabinet shuffle yesterday. Earlier this week the city of Montreal alongside the STM revealed the names of the new metro stations that will be created on the extension of the blue metro line.
Elias Makos is joined by Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. It is cabinet shuffle day for the CAQ. A fascinating side of the language debate exposed this morning by the Montreal Gazette’s series on the city’s struggles to adapt to the new language policies of Bill 96. Edmonton police are challenging the Crown prosecutor's decision to offer a plea deal to a woman charged with murdering an eight year old indigenous girl A mayor in Eastern Ontario is tired of residents of Quebec not paying their parking tickets
Elias Makos is joined by Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. Three-quarters of downtown Montreal workers believe the city's core has deteriorated. A new poll from the Brotherhood of Montreal Police officers says one in four Montrealers does not feel safe in the city. Francois Bonnardel will get the boot come tomorrow’s CAQ cabinet shuffle. The cost of construction for a high school on the south shore has exploded to almost $500 million. With sales declining, the SAQ is desperately trying to get more 18-to-24-year-olds in its stores.
Elias Makos kicks the week off with Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia. We lost Habs legend Ken Dryden over the weekend. Should we name a street after him? The City of Montreal has given its frontline workers a rulebook on dealing with English-speaking citizens — complete with step-by-step guidance, sample phrases and careful instructions for handing out bilingual pamphlets. South Korea says it’s struck a deal with Washington to free its citizens caught up in a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia. Elon Musk, currently worth $430 billion, could become the world’s first trillionaire. Is anyone worth a trillion dollars?
Joining Elias Makos on the Friday edition of The Big 5 is Bonnie Feigenbaum, Conservative Party of Quebec candidate in last provincial election and a lecturer at Concordia & McGill University, media & government relations consultant and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.
Elias Makos is joined by Raphaël Melançon, a political analyst for Noovo and CTV Montreal News at 5. He is also the president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies, and Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberal government to scrap Canada’s temporary foreign worker program Former Quebec Premier Jean Charest says Canada will thank US President Donald Trump in 20 years A prominent U.S. conservative is set to brief Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet behind closed doors today. Le Devoir reports that the cabinet shuffle will happen next week, and that the National Assembly will be prorogued for two weeks as the CAQ gets its ducks in a row