We go On Background with Ben Carr, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre, who is coming up on his first year in the House of Commons following a by-election victory last June. Ben shares insights from his first year as an MP, what it’s like being a prairie Liberal, and flips the script on Fred to discuss the state of the Conservative Party. Ben also talks about honouring the legacy of public service of his late father, the Honourable Jim Carr.

We go On Background with Stephen Maher, award winning writer who has covered Parliament Hill for decades, now contributor to iPolitics, and author of upcoming book The Prince, The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau. Stephen and Fred discuss his upcoming book about Justin Trudeau’s rise to power and offer a behind-the-scenes look into the book writing process. 

Pick up a copy of The Prince at your favourite bookstore, coming out May 28th. 

We go On Background with Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton, Canada’s fastest growing big city. As one of Canada’s most politically experienced mayors, Mayor Brown has leveraged his experience in both federal and provincial politics to become one of the most vocal and influential mayors in Canada. Patrick shares with Fred some of the realities on the ground for Canada’s big cities, not always fully understood by Ottawa’s bubble. They discuss how Brampton is working with all levels of government to address some of the most pressing public policy challenges affecting Canada’s largest cities from auto-thefts to immigration and also importantly, the rise in popularity of cricket. 

We go On Background with Dan Arnold, Chief Strategy Officer at Pollara Strategic Insights and former Director of Research, Advertising, & Correspondence to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to unpack Canadians’ endless obsession with the spectacle of American politics. With the 2024 U.S.election cycle promising to be no different, Dan and Fred discuss Canadians’ views on Donald Trump and consider how the outcomes have the potential to affect the next Canadian federal election.

This episode is brought to you by the Federally Regulated Employers – Transportation and Communications (FETCO).

We go On Background with Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and most importantly for this episode, the Member of Parliament for Central Nova. After almost a decade removed from opposing campaigns to represent their home riding, Fred and Minister Fraser reminisce on their political journeys and how their paths have been shaped by their humble beginnings in rural Nova Scotia. Not to be forgotten, they also discuss Fraser's first year as the Minister responsible for housing policy, a major focus of the recent Federal Budget.   

We go On Background with Greg MacEachern, Principal and Founder of KAN Strategies. Greg and Fred, both proud St. Francis Xavier University alumni, reminisce on the late Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, sharing stories of his impact on their lives and others to his transformative policies that shaped the Canada we know today. From his time at StFX to his tenure as Prime Minister, Mulroney left an indelible mark on Canadian politics, leaving behind a legacy that continues to reverberate today across partisan lines.

We go on On Background with Tyler Meredith, former Economic Advisor to PM Trudeau and the Deputy PM and Minister of Finance, now a Founding Partner at Meredith Boessenkool Policy Advisors, and Laura Kurkimaki, former Principal Secretary to the Leader of the Official Opposition, and now a Principal at Earnscliffe Strategies. How are budgets made? There are surely stakeholder consultations and input from experts in policy and economics, but eventually they will need to align with a political agenda. Fred, Tyler, and Laura dive deep into the dynamics of making and selling a budget, unpacking the internal politics and process within government, and how lobbyists can navigate these waters to make their case for funding.

We go On Background with Daniel Lauzon, former Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of Communications to the Liberal Party of Canada, and now Senior Director for Public Affairs and Policy (International) at CAE. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the geopolitical climate around the world has continued to rapidly evolve with Canada facing an imperative moment to define our position in the world. How do governments balance the politics of establishing our international position as well as prolonged military spending at times when Canadians aren’t pushing them to do more, facing economic anxiety about their finances at home?

We go On Background with Kady O'Malley, journalist at iPolitics, and parliamentary procedure expert to dissect opposition obstruction tactics and how they are being used to derail the Liberal government's legislative agenda. Fred and Kady explore tactics being used by the Conservative opposition and muse on what a potentially doomed future for the Liberal-NDP agreement could mean.

We go On Background with Dan Arnold, Chief Strategy Officer at Pollara Strategic Insights and former Director of Research, Advertising, & Correspondence to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Bringing decades of experience as Trudeau’s top pollster and a key Liberal strategist, Dan and Fred unpack the topic of Trudeau’s infamous broken promise of electoral reform. They discuss the politics of making changes to our electoral system and how examples around the world and within our own political parties might not offer much wisdom.

We go On Background with Stevie O'Brien, Counsel at McMillan LLP, Senior Advisor at McMillan Vantage, and former Chief of Staff to multiple Ministers in the Liberal government. Maintaining caucus discipline is an ongoing battle for any government or leaders’ office, and the combination of social media and the modern political climate have made it more challenging than ever before. Stevie and Fred discuss the delicate dance of caucus discipline including how the Trudeau government can keep the team together despite their recent woes, and how Poilievre's government-in-waiting can avoid any costly mistakes.

We go On Background with Dimitri Soudas, former Director of Communications for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to demystify Quebec's current political landscape . The latest polls have Pierre Poilievre leading Justin Trudeau in every province, with one exception. Fred and Dimitri discuss what it will take for Conservatives to win the hearts of Québécois voters, and how volatile provincial politics could bring back the National Question.

In an ode to the countless hard working political staffers, we go On Background with former Liberal, Conservative and NDP staffers to discuss the highs and lows of working on Parliament Hill:

Steve Outhouse is a former federal Conservative Staffer, and Founder of  Intercede Communication and Just Campaigns.

Melissa Cotton is a former Liberal staffer for the federal and Ontario governments, and currently Director for Government Affairs (Canada) at CN Rail.

Mélanie Richer is a former federal NDP staffer, and currently a Senior Consultant at Earnscliffe Strategies.

Matthew Conway is a former Conservative staffer for the federal and Ontario governments, and currently the National Vice President of the Conservative Party, as well as President of Conway Direction Public Relations.

We go On Background with Dave Sommer, Associate Creative Director at Creative Currency and VP at Enterprise Canada, former Deputy Director of Communications, Digital, for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and former Head of Politics and Government at Instagram. Dave played a major role in Liberals’ 2015 majority winning campaign, where the party’s digital strategy was well ahead of their opponents. He and Fred discuss why Trudeau should return to the authenticity of his earlier campaigns to counter Poilievre's populist appeal.

We go On Background with Cole Hogan, digital strategist and Principal at Earnscliffe Strategies. Fred and Cole dissect Pierre Poilievre’s recently released housing mini-documentary that has received millions of views online, discussing how the Conservatives are winning the social media war with content and messaging that is resonating with Canadians. Also not to be missed: a passionate discussion on the correlation between the current state of Canadian politics and pro wrestling.

We go On Background with Tausha Michaud, SVP at McMillan Vantage, and former Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Official Opposition. Is it majority or bust for Pierre Poilievre? Tausha and Fred discuss their experience working with opposition parties under Erin O’Toole and potential strategies for forming a government as a Conservative leader in a minority Parliament.

We go On Background with Glen McGregor, award-winning journalist, with decades of experience on Parliament Hill and covering federal election campaigns. Glen and Fred trade war stories as they battled through some of politics’ biggest “scandals” in this century, and talk about what the relationship between media and campaigns could look like with Pierre Poilievre.

We go On Background with David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, to discuss MRP, an innovative polling method that offers a more accurate look at the state of Canadian politics at a riding-by-riding level, and what it could mean for the future of campaigning.

We go On Background with Karl Bélanger, veteran NDP campaign strategist and President of Traxxion Strategies, to discuss the elephant in the room – should Justin Trudeau stay on as leader or make way for another Liberal to take on Pierre Poilievre.

We go On Background with spark*insights' Alex Kohut, an expert in public opinion research at the highest levels of Canadian politics, to look at the leadership of Poilievre and Trudeau, and what the polls are really telling us about who will be Prime Minister after the next election.