Explore every episode of the podcast The Big Five Podcast

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 Denis Coderre, former mayor of Montreal.

• The Parti Québécois would steamroll its way to a majority government – if they drop the pledge to hold a referendum. A new Leger poll for Journal de Montréal says the party would get 39% of the vote in that scenario.
• Christine Fréchette will reveal her cabinet today. On Tout le Monde en parle Sunday, the new premier said that her cabinet will be a mix of change and continuity.
• Canada Post posted a staggering $1.57 billion loss before tax in 2025 — its worst ever — with losses jumping nearly 87 per cent in just one year.
• The number of aggressive dogs has increased by 41 percent since 2021. 

Elias Makos welcomes in Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia.

• Quebec Liberal leader Charles Milliard has clarified his clarifications of his first clarification of his position on Bill 96. In a tweet this morning, Milliard says… a lot. He reaffirms his nationalist chops, says protecting French is at the heart of his political commitment, and calls French the social and cultural glue of Quebec.
• Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada’s ties with the United States has now become a weakness. Carney released a pre-recorded address to Canadians yesterday where he mentioned the world has become more “dangerous and divided.” 
• Buyers of a residence in Hudson are claiming $475,000 from the former occupants after they learned after moving in that an intruder died in a break-in gone wrong. 

Elias Makos is joined by Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies.

• The Artemis II crew set records yesterday afternoon and evening. Does this mission have your interest? Are you in favour of space travel?
• Voting opens at 10 am this morning for members of the CAQ to elect their new leader and thus the new Premier of Quebec. But just a day before the opening of the vote, major news broke out of the Drainville camp. Drainville received support from Justice Minister Simon-Jolin Barrette, Health Minister Sonia Bélanger and Transport Minister Jonatan Julien.
• Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is striking a softer tone as his party launches a new advertising campaign aimed at affordability and national sovereignty.
• More and more towns across Quebec are monitoring how residents live their lives, using water meters and incentive-based garbage programs to influence habits and make those who use the most pay more.
• We are just over two months away from the FIFA World Cup. Montreal will not host any matches but a new investigative report by Radio-Canada's investigative program Enquête reveals we may have dodged a bullet. 
• The American middle class is shrinking. According to research from the American Enterprise Institute, more households are actually moving up. About 31% of U.S. households now qualify as upper middle class — roughly triple the share in 1979 — making it the largest economic group in the country.

Elias Makos brings you an extended edition of the Big 5 with Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies.

• Marwah Rizqy has been suspended from the Quebec Liberal Party caucus by leader Pablo Rodriguez. 
• Things are not getting better for the Quebec Liberal Party leader this morning. The Journal de Montreal’s Investigation bureau is alleging that Rodriguez's leadership race win may have come in part through “brownies” – campaign jargon for $100 bills.
• Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada unveiled her executive committee yesterday.
• At least three Quebec nurses brought in spectacular salaries of over $450,000 last year, thanks to a ton of overtime hours and generous bonuses.
• The Ontario government is exploring the idea of making impaired drivers pay ongoing child support if they kill a child’s parent or guardian.

Elias Makos is joined by Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Sue Smith, a Montreal journalist and broadcaster.

• After a smooth launch of the Deux-Montages branch over the weekend and into the work week, parts of the REM network are down after a truck struck a viaduct near the Bois-Franc station. Is the REM cursed?
• Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minority Liberal government narrowly survived its third confidence vote in as many weeks last night.
• After Ontario and New Brunswick, it’s reportedly Manitoba’s turn to try and poach Quebec doctors out of the province.
• Speaking of doctors, they had a good time sharing a photo of Health Minister Christian Dubé taking a flight to Florida just before the weekend.
• A new study out of Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytical Sciences Laboratory says Quebecers still do not understand the “best before” labeling on food. 

Elias Makos starts the week off with Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Jimmy Zoubris, former special advisor to the mayor of Montreal.

• The federal government is bracing for a razor-thin confidence vote on the budget Monday, with Liberals scrambling behind the scenes to lock down enough opposition support to avoid triggering an election.
•  The Parti Québecois is proposing to give the province its own currency if it were independent.
• It's weekday launch day for the new REM line in Deux-Montagnes. So far there have been no issues with the new line this weekend or this morning. That being said, REM employees staged a small protest on Saturday against their working conditions. 

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. and Alain Vaillancourt, Former Montreal City Councillor and Executive committee member.

Among the subjects discussed were

• Soraya Martinez Ferrada was officially sworn in as Montreal mayor last night. What’s her first challenge?
• Three critical mineral extraction projects, a nickel mine in Ontario and a transmission line on the northern B.C. coast are among the new initiatives added to the growing list of projects referred to the Major Projects Office.
• Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is reiterating his threat to cut social assistance for asylum seekers. 
• A Quebec man says he can only place 93-cent bets in Loto-Québec’s sports betting app because he was winning too much money.

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia.

• Is Mark Carney’s honeymoon with voters coming to an end? Quebecers are seemingly not impressed with Mark Carney’s first budget.
• Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre spoke to reporters yesterday for the first time since two MPs announced they were leaving his caucus. 
• As it stands right now, there will be no bus or metro service this weekend. 
• Doctors leaving for Ontario may not be getting the better lifestyle that was promised to them. 

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom.

• Premier François Legault’s support continues to tumble. New numbers released by Léger this morning show that 71 per cent of Quebecers are unsatisfied with the Premier. 
• An architecture firm is proposing a new project for the Metropolitan Expressway. Lemay is proposing to add a level to the expressway in order to develop urban gardens, and acoustic screens. 
• STM service is gradually resuming today after the public transit body’s maintenance union halted their strike. There’s no deal, but there is hope that negotiations can start back up. Who gets the credit for this development?
• Apple has released a $320 sock to carry your iPhone. 

Elias Makos is joined by Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Trudie Mason Veteran newscaster here at CJAD 800.

• Does Canada need some sort of mandatory national service, be it military or otherwise? 
• The Quebec government says it has no plans of backtracking from Bill 2 after the mass protest by the province’s doctors at the Bell Centre over the weekend.
• Premier François Legault presented his economic vision yesterday. 

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Lionel Perez, Former city councilor and leader of the Official Opposition at Montreal City Hall, and Jimmy Zoubris, special advisor to the Mayor.

• More than 12 thousand doctors packed into the Bell Centre to denounce the Quebec government’s law overhauling physicians’ work and pay structures. 
• As we enter the second week of a month-long maintenance worker strike at the STM, the Journal de Montreal’s investigation bureau decided to take a closer look at the STM’s current collective bargaining agreement.
• Months after being suspended from baseball, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted on charges of taking bribes from sports bettors.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 this morning were Sue Smith, Montreal journalist and broadcaster and Alain Vaillancourt, out-going Borough Councillor in the Sud-Ouest borough.

Among the topics discussed were

• Would you take the bus or metro more often if it were free?
• Tesla shareholders have signed off on a massive pay package for Elon Musk
• Another Conservative MP has decided to resign from caucus… eventually

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, 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.

• Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada has given a 10 day ultimatum for the STM and its maintenance workers to strike a deal 
• There has been a record amount of complaints filed this year against STM bus drivers for being on their cellphones while driving
• Netflix and YouTube are not happy with the proposed Quebec law that would set their apps to French by default

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, commentator at Noovo and RDS and Jimmy Zoubris, Montreal businessman, longtime activist and former special advisor to Valerie Plante on The Big 5.

• Despite last night’s loss to the New Jersey Devils, it is a great time to be a Montreal Canadiens fan right now.
• Over the past five years, the number of people in Quebec who say that the main cause of their financial problems was gambling addiction has increased by 45%.
• The Liberal government is pushing back on criticism of its $90-billion ALTO high-speed rail projec

Elias Makos welcomes back Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Anne Lagace-Dowson, political analyst.

• It was hyped as a “generational budget,” but did it live up to that hype? Prime Minister Mark Carney tabled his first ever budget yesterday.
• The budget cuts the luxury tax on yachts and private jets and boosts funding to the CBC while giving them a super-specific new goal: bringing Canada into the Eurovision contest. Is this what Canadians were asking for?
• The federal liberals are now one step closer to a majority while the federal Conservative are screaming treason towards a former party MP that has crossed the floor.
• The city of New York has a new mayor.
• NFL football legend Tom Brady says his new dog Junie is a clone. Would you you do the same?

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 Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil.

• It is budget day for the Carney government, but could it also be the start of another federal election?
• Not even 24 hours after being elected the new mayor of Montreal, Soraya Martinez Ferrada may already be breaking one of her promises.
• The Premier of Manitoba Wab Kinew stirred up controversy yesterday after saying that child pornography offenders shouldn’t just be jailed, but buried underneath prisons.
• You soon could be eating cloned animal meat without even noticing.

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• Soraya Martinez Ferrada is the new mayor of Montreal, defeating Projet Montreal’s Luc Rabouin by around eight percent at last count.
• Martinez Ferrada set herself some lofty goals during the campaign, including priorities for the first 100 days. What should she get done first as she attempts to quickly transform the city?
• The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that one-year mandatory minimum jail sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography is unconstitutional.

Joining Elias in studio for The Big 5 were Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom

• Some Quebec doctors have taken up the offer to call the Premier of Ontario Doug Ford and apply to move to Ontario to continue practicing medicine. 
• Quebec’s labour tribunal has authorized bus drivers and metro operators with Montreal’s transit agency to hold a one-day strike on Saturday, with no essential services other than paratransit
• With three days away before the election, a new poll from Pallas Data has Soraya Martinez Ferrada of Ensemble Montreal 15 points ahead of their next closest rival

Elias Makos welcomes back Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Political analyst Karim Boulos.

• Quebec Premier François Legault is hopping mad with his Ontario counterpart, Doug Ford. With many doctors in Quebec up in arms over Bill 2 and how it will change the way they work and are paid, Ford took the opportunity to roll out the red carpet for Quebec’s doctors
• Today marks the 30th anniversary of the 1995 referendum. We came close to losing this country - but in the end, the No camp won the referendum with 50.58% of the vote compared to 49.42% for the Yes side. What do you remember most of that time? 
• A sign that we’re headed towards an election? The parties are courting women voters. Despite all indications being there will be a massive cutback in spending in next week’s federal budget, the government announced new money to support women

Elias Makos is joined by Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church, and Trudie Mason, veteran Newscaster here at CJAD 800.

• There is a spike in the amount of doctors leaving the province for New Brunswick.
• Quebec’s Health Minister Christian Dube wrote an opinion letter in the Journal this morning defending the new legislation towards doctors.
• The province’s food banks say they handled nearly 3.1 million requests for help in March 2025 according to the 2025 Hunger Report released Monday. 
• Ahead of next month’s global climate summit in Brazil, COP30, Bill Gates has dropped a new memo that rattles the consensus of the climate movement.

Joining Elias on today's Big 5 were Akil Alleyne, Reporter and commentator with extensive experience analysing legal, political, and social issues and Manager of the GemStar Circle of Excellence Scholarship Program & Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy.

Among the topics discussed by Andrew and Akil,

• Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Prime Minister Mark Carney saw the controversial TV ad that pushed Donald Trump to walk away from trade talks and threaten new tariffs against Canada
• A month after saying he might leave Quebec, businessman Andrew Lutfy has returned to the fray with his criticism of the François Legault government
• The Alberta government will use the notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to work

Elias Makos kicks off 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.

• Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa and Washington were "close to an agreement" before Donald Trump ended negotiations on Thursday.
• The Quebec government adopted special legislation in the early hours Saturday to force a new remuneration system on doctors.
• After telling voters they were a party that had “no slogans, only solutions,” Projet Montréal changed its tune over the weekend, with party leader Luc Rabouin telling reporters on Sunday that he would be the "mayor of 514, not 450."

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Sue Smith, Montreal journalist and broadcaster and
Christina Chough, Spanish teacher and Chair of the modern languages department at Dawson College.

• U.S. President Donald Trump says he is terminating trade negotiations with Canada following new anti-tariff ads from the Ontario government that features the voice of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan
• Internal documents obtained by the New York Times this week reveal that Amazon plans to replace – or rather, avoid hiring – more than half a million U.S. workers by the end of the decade… by letting robots do the work instead
• In the first nine months of this year alone, food safety inspectors issued $150,000 in fines to Quebec grocery stores, bakeries and butcher shops

Elias Makos is joined by Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance.

• Was it a pre-budget speech, or a pre-election stump speech? Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed Canadians last night ahead of the upcoming budget.
• Transition Montreal leader Craig Sauvé is standing up for one of his candidates despite extreme, violent, rhetoric posted online. 
• Michel Leblanc, the former head of the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, says he is supporting Soraya Martinez Ferrada to win the Montreal municipal election.
• 36 percent of this year’s municipal election candidates in Quebec are women. While it's a slight increase compared to 2021, big cities like Laval, Montreal and Quebec cities saw a decrease this election period.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 today were Sue Smith, Montreal journalist and broadcaster & Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom.

Among the topics discussed on The Big 5 were

• The Quebec government has unveiled a new tool to track fuel prices across the province.
• And as gas prices reach those historic levels, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for federal gas taxes to be scrapped for the rest of the year, arguing the tax holiday would bring immediate relief to drivers facing rising fuel prices
• Add Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet to the list of people against the high speed rail project
• Add Maple syrup to the list of things you can’t trust. Radio-Canada’s Enquête program began investigating the sweet stuff when a journalist opened a can that “seemed off.”

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 Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government.

Elias Makos is joined by Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS, and Andrew Caddell, a town councillor in Kamouraska, and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. 

• So, do we all have Blue Jays fever? And your predictions for the big Dodgers vs. Blue Jays World Series?
• The Federal housing minister is once again proposing magical thinking to solve the housing crisis.
• The federal government is introducing a new tracking system in order to make sure that federal workers are meeting the three day in office mandate.

Elias Makos kicks the week off with Trudie Mason, veteran Newscaster here at CJAD 800, 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.

• As we approach the 30th anniversary of the 1995 referendum, a new poll from Leger says close to two thirds of the population do not want Quebec to be independent.
• Yesterday was the 10-year anniversary of Justin Trudeau's big win. How’s the last decade gone for Canada? Are Trudeau’s Sunny Ways a distant memory?
• Former Stephen Harper aide and political commentator Dimitirs Soudas dropped a bomb on Pierre Poilievre saying Poilievre is actively dismantling the “principled and trustworthy” Conservative party that was built under Harper’s leadership.

Elias Makos is ends the week that was with Political analyst Karim Boulos, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada.

• Yesterday was our big municipal debate on CJAD800 between Projet Montreal Leader Luc Rabouin and Ensemble Montreal leader Soraya Martinez Ferrada. What did you think of the debate? Who won? Who lost?
• It seems like Projet Montreal has one more card to play - and it’s Valerie Plante.
• Prime Minister Mark Carney says new bail reform aimed at cracking down on violent and repeat offenders will be tabled next week. 
• The Canada Border Services Agency found four undocumented workers after searching the construction site for Calgary’s new event centre. 

Elias Makos welcomes in Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor, and Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom.

• CJAD 800 and The Elias Makos Show is hosting a live Montreal mayoral debate today, the timing for this debate couldn't be more perfect, as the campaigns got nasty yesterday.
• Merchants in the Chabanel & Garment Districts say they weren’t properly consulted on the bike lanes added to the area
• Quebec will allow patients who have been waiting for surgery for more than a year to turn to the private sector. 

Elias Makos is joined by Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Graham Singh, Pastor at St-Jax Church.

Elias Makos is joined by Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies.

• After helping broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, even some of Trump’s fiercest opponents are offering rare praise for the former president
• The province has seen an overall decrease in international students by 12%. That’s according to the most recent report by the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire
• City cleanliness has been a big issue this municipal election

Elias Makos is kicks off the week with Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 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.

• Hamas has officially released the 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war.
• China's ambassador to Canada says his country will remove its tariffs on Canadian agriculture, including on canola products, if Canada scraps its levies on Chinese electric vehicles.
• The Blue Jays lost the first game of their American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners last night

Elias Makos ends the week with Daniel Tran, Director of Communication and governmental relations at Casacom, and Meeker Guerrier, Commentator at Noovo and RDS.

• U.S. President Donald Trump’s hopes of winning a Nobel Peace Prize have been dashed once again.
• CJAD 800 and The Elias Makos Show will be hosting a live Montreal mayoral debate next Thursday, October 16, right after the conclusion of The Big Five.
• According to TIME Magazine, BIXI Montreal is one of the world’s 25 top inventions of the past quarter century. 

Elias Makos welcomes back Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Justine McIntyre, Strategic consultant and former city councillor.

• A woman is in critical condition after being mauled by three dogs outside a garage in Saint-Léonard
• It looks like the Carney government might be falling back into reality. A new poll out from Leger shows the Liberals at 44 percent of the vote, which is three percent drop since the last polling numbers
• Santé Quebec says that the summer period in the health network has been a positive one this year. However, a new report from Montreal Gazette’s Aaron Derfel explains that things aren’t as rosy as portrayed

Elias Makos is joined by Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies.

• Reporters used an unrelated announcement to press the Prime Minister on whether or not China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority amounted to genocide
• CAQ leadership candidate Christine Fréchette has sent a clear message to her opponent Bernard Draiville this morning through a Leger poll conducted on behalf of her team.
• We are heading to the moon today!

Joining Elias on CJAD 800 this morning were Bonnie Feigenbaum, Conservative Party of Quebec candidate in last provincial election and a lecturer at Concordia & McGill University, media & government relations consultant  & Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance.

Among the topics discussed were

• Mark Carney left Washington last night without a deal after meeting with U.S President Donald Trump for two and a half hours
• A recent piece from The Globe and Mail on Canadian happiness is getting a lot of attention
• Denmark wants to ban social media for kids under the age of 15

Elias was joined on the Big 5 were Raphaël Melançon, political analyst for CTV Montreal and CJAD 800, columnist for the Montreal Gazette, and president and founder of Trafalgar Strategies &
Neil Drabkin, is a lawyer who served as federal prosecutor and a political commentator who was a chief of staff in the Harper government.

Among the topics discussed were 

• Concordia University has closed their downtown campus and cancelled all classes today, citing “potentially obstructive protests.”
• Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Washington where he will meet and speak with U.S President Donald this afternoon.
• A new poll out from Leger for CTV News Montreal for this year’s municipal election shows that the leaders in the election are… the undecided.

Elias Makos kicks off the week with 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.

• The federal government has slapped a Toronto Canadian Tire franchise owner with more than $100,000 in fines for violating rules under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program
• Québec Premier François Legault has been hosting Ontario Premier Doug Ford as well as the governors of New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in order to strengthen their relationships.
• As the municipal election campaign continues across the province, some mayors and town councillors have already been re-elected.

Elias Makos is joined by Sue Smith is a Montreal journalist and broadcaster, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada.

• A new Léger poll shows François Legault’s popularity plunge is continuing, while Éric Duhaime is reaping the rewards of the CAQ’s rightward shift
• A crack pipe was found and handled by two young children on the grounds of the elementary school next to the supervised injection site
• Nobody knows who’s running for mayor. Journal de Montreal went out and asked random people on the street about the upcoming Montreal election 

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil.

• A brazen daytime shooting that left one dead at a Starbucks in Laval appears to be linked to organized crime, says the province’s public security minister
• Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is pushing back against his critics and taking aim at some of the language used against him and his party 
• The day after François Legault denounced what he called an “onslaught of radical Islamism,” Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge urged people on Wednesday to wake up to the threat.

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 is joined by Victor Henriquez, Public affairs and crisis management specialist at Public Strategy and Conseil, and Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada.

• Over the weekend, a video went viral showing an interaction between a man and a police officer. The man was pulled over by police for having window tints suspected of being too dark. The video shows him verbally berating a female police officer with the most vile language imaginable.
• The Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Quebecois are now tied in the polls.
• CBC reports on an 85 year old Montrealer is angry with the justice system after her scammer was only sentenced to 18 months of house arrest.
• If you are planning to go see the Habs at the Bell Centre before the end of the season, get ready to pay a fortune.

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…