What did 2025 really change? We sit down with Steve Murphy for a clear-eyed year-end that swaps noise for signal. The conversation starts with community—Christmas Daddies turning 62 and a bold decision to sell seized U.S. liquor to fund food banks—then widens into the defining fault line of the year: leadership tone and what it does to a country.

Politics loomed large without swallowing the local. Steve unpacks why style and truth-telling matter as much as policy, and how that set the stage for Mark Carney’s centrist moment. We dig into Quebec’s shifting currents, vote migrations, and the surprising places affordability now hurts most—from trades to homeowners staring at double-digit property tax hikes. Even Canada Post becomes a mirror for modern reality: less mail, more parcels, and a humane case for restructuring that protects people while matching the service we actually use.

The Atlantic lens brings fresh ground. Weather swung from drought to downpour, scorching berries and boosting certain grapes, while EVs and chargers quietly tipped from novelty to normal. City-building gets practical: Halifax needs a multipurpose stadium, a mid-size performance hall, and eventually a larger arena—not as vanity projects, but as social infrastructure that anchors tourism, keeps doctors and students here, and gives families reasons to gather. The airport’s expansion and new direct European routes prove demand is real; now we match it with venues, roads, and a plan.

Energy sits just beyond the horizon and right at our feet. Wind is a serious bet. Tidal is a fierce engineering problem begging for a Nova Scotia answer. Solar may not be our ace, but a portfolio of renewables could be. Through it all, we keep circling back to something simple: kindness is strategy, not sentiment. It draws visitors, calms politics, and holds space for the work ahead.

If you value grounded analysis, local stakes, and a conversation that respects your time and intelligence, press play. Then share this with a friend who cares about Atlantic Canada’s next chapter. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what headline from 2025 will history say mattered most?

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