Presidents... of three Canadian Universities: Carr, Gertler, and Stoicheff

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

We’ve struck a brand-new panel for today’s pod that is going to be a rich conversation. 3 Presidents from 3 Canadian Universities are joining me to have a high-level conversation about: the purpose of a University.

From there, we’ll flow into issues of: Funding and accessibility … How the curriculum has changed in the last 35 years … How students learn about Western Civilization in a very different way than I did … The research function of Universities and how that fits into Canada’s efforts to spur innovation and productivity growth.

Each of our Presidents’ CVs is long and accomplished, so I’ll just apologize in advance for my brevity here.

Let’s welcome Meric Gertler, from The University of Toronto. Meric is the 16th President of the University. Prior to that, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, where he championed important innovations in undergraduate teaching and learning.   He’s authored or edited 9 book and advised governments in Canada, the U.S., Singapore and Europe as well as the OECD and European Union.

Peter Stoicheff is here, President and Vice-Chancellor of my alma mater, The University of Saskatchewan. After serving as Dean of Arts and Science, Peter was appointed the 11th President of the University in 2015. He’s led it to become one of Canada’s top research intensive medical-doctoral universities, with global impact in water and food security, synchrotron science, medical imaging and agricultural technology.

And Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University joins us. Graham’s previous leadership positions at Concordia include Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs; Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies; and Dean of Graduate Studies. He’s a member of the Research Committee of Universities Canada and sits on the Steering Committee of Montreal Climate Partnership.

Join us. Class is in session.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites. After a 3 year interregnum, my friend, former colleague, and noted Canadian economist Don Drummond joins us for a second time on The Herle Burly.

The Right Honourable Paul Martin called Don “One of the most principled and imaginative public servants with whom I have ever worked.” Mr. Drummond spent almost 23 years in senior positions in the federal Department of Finance, culminating in Associate Deputy Minister. Subsequent to his time in government, he was Chief Economist for the TD Bank. He’s still a busy, in-demand thinker, writer and commentator: Adjunct Professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, Chair at the Canadian Centre for the Study of Living Standards, Fellow-in-Residence, at C.D. Howe Institute, and member of the Expert Advisory Group to the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices.

Today, we’re going to tackle a single subject matter – one that Don has plenty of experience with and offers a ton of insight on: Federal Spending and the kind of actions it would take to get back to balance.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Today on the pod, the return of a Herle Burly O.G. When we first had an inkling about what this podcast was going to be in 2017, we launched with our first guest ever, David Axelrod. 

Our second guest ever? Well, it was this man who was kind enough to take our call and say, “Yeah, what the fuck. Let’s do it.” Nick Kouvalis said some shit that day on the pod. He was damned honest. And damned refreshing. And his episode was a large part of what told us this thing could be successful. For those who didn’t hear that show in those nascent days, Nick is a super successful political consultant and strategist. Nick knows how to win elections.

He’s a Principal at Campaign Research, a firm he co-founded in 2008. He managed Rob Ford’s winning campaign in 2010, later becoming his Chief of Staff. And then he became Chief Strategist for John Tory’s campaign to replace Ford in 2014, emerging with a victory over Rob’s brother Doug, who went on to become premier with, guess what, Nick’s help. Nick was also a key advisor to Liberal Premier Christy Clark in the 2013 B.C. election.

Today we’re going to talk about what the hell is going on in Canadian politics. Vote shifts. And the reason for those vote shifts.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright Herle Burly-ites, a pod subject today I’ve wanted to dig into for quite a while now. It both fascinates and troubles the hell out of me. We’re going to explore the current state of the U.S. Republican Party and how Donald Trump – walking straight off celebrity television — could affect such a complete takeover of the Party?

With me to do that is a conservative politico who’s not only had a front row seat to it all, after initially supporting Trump, he’s since become a loud and leading voice in opposition to him. A “NeverTrumper” Conservative.

Former Congressman and Presidential candidate, author, nationally syndicated conservative talk radio host, and prolific social media commentator, Joe Walsh is here.

Mr. Walsh is seen regularly on CNN and MSNBC. He’s the author of “F*CK Silence: Calling Trump Out for the Cultish, Moronic, Authoritarian Con Man He Is”. And he’s the host of the “White Flag Podcast” in which Joe surrenders the urge to fight and has conversations that aim to find common ground with guests who have vastly different viewpoints from his own.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites, we have an official “friend of the pod” on the show today. John Stackhouse is here, making his 4th appearance on The Herle Burly. 

He’s a bestselling author. One of Canada’s leading voices on innovation and economic disruption. A former Editor-in-Chief of the Globe and Mail and Editor of Report on Business. A senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Today, John is a Senior Vice-President, office of the CEO, at the Royal Bank of Canada, leading the bank’s research and thought leadership on economic, technological, and social change. In December, he attended COP 28 – the “Conference of the Parties” UN Climate Conference in Dubai. He and his team at the bank have just published a new report on the state of Canada’s climate progress: “Climate Action 2024 – Double or Trouble.”

There are very cool things happening in clean energy here and around the world. But, as the title suggests … too little … and too slowly.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright Herle Burly-ites, we’ve got a Minister in the House today! It’s the 2nd time he’s been on the pod in just over 6 months:  The Honourable Marc Miller is our guest.

Near the end of July, he came on here to talk about his work as Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations. Two days later the Prime Minister shuffled his cabinet and Mr. Miller into one of the most politically sensitive, highly pressurized portfolios … Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Now that he’s sitting squarely in the sights of both the opposition and the media, never more so than right now, I’m thrilled that Minister Miller is back to talk about both the challenges and the opportunities, including our actual and perceived capacity to increase immigration levels, exploitation of temporary foreign workers, and capping international student permits.

Finally, we’ll talk about the Liberal Party of Canada’s re-election chances and his take on Pierre Poilievre.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Today on the pod, a guest who makes me feel like we’re doing something right around here at Air Quotes Media. Or, at least, not altogether wrong. That’s because she keeps coming back to the show, pretty much every time we ask her. 5 times now! And that makes her the all-time record holder for appearances … taking her out of a tie with Peter Weltman.

I want all our listeners to know, I’ve offered her the coveted full-time position as Herle Burly In-House Economist, but for some weird reason, she prefers to remain in her current job: Global Chief Economist and Strategist at Manulife Financial.

Frances Donald is with us today!

So today, a tour of most of the economic hot button issues:

• What’s the outlook for the next 18 months?
• Canadian Fiscal Policy and the role of low deficits.
• Immigration and the economy.And why is there a shortage of skilled trades to build the housing we so desperately need?

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright, you Herle Burly-ites,  I’m always chuffed when we’re able to put a journalist panel together. And goddammit, I feel just a huge amount of power putting questions to people who do it for a living! But let’s face it … they’re far better at it than me.

Vassy Kapelos, Aaron Wherry and Campbell Clark are here today!

Just a brief bio for each because you plugged-in Herle Burly-ites know these 3 pretty well:

• Vassy is CTV News’ Chief Political Correspondent. The Host of their weekly political journal of record, Question Period, and Host of CTV News Channel’s weekday show, Power Play.
• Aaron is Senior Writer at CBC News. He’s covered Parliament Hill since 2007. And he’s the author of “Promise and Peril”, a deep dive into Justin Trudeau’s years in power.
• Campbell is Chief Political Writer for the Globe and Mail, with their Ottawa bureau since 2000. Before that, he wrote for the Montreal Gazette and National Post.

#BREAKING This is going to be a politics show. I want to get our panellists’ thoughts on the 3 major parties and leaders. Where they stand now in the minds of the electorate and how they got there. How current events and polling are shaping their strategies and their messaging. And what the “gallery” makes of the different approaches, and how best to cover it.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

We’re coming back strong with our first show of the year because of the history and political perspective we’re going to get over the next 60 minutes. Former multi-portfolio Cabinet Minister and over quarter century Member of Parliament, Carolyn Bennett is our guest.

Ms. Bennett is political wonder.  Winner of 9 straight elections in Toronto-St. Paul’s. Family Physician by training. The first-ever Minister of State for Public Health where she led the establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada and appointed our first Public Health Officer. She was appointed Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs in 2015. Then, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. And in 2021, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. Ms. Bennett announced her retirement from public life just about a month ago. 

So today on The Herle Burly: The Carolyn Bennett Exit Interview. We’re going to talk about the evolution of the Liberal Party over close to 30 years. Where the country’s at on Indigenous relations and how that’s changed. Similarly, Healthcare and Public Health.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail.

Alright you holiday Herle Burly-ites, welcome to our last pod of the year. We’ll be back week of January 8th , 2024, as I’m heading to my prairie homeland during the break for a little L-H-R in R time. That’s a Herle acronym for Lemon Hart Rum in Regina time. But getting back to today’s show …

This is just a fantastic way to send out our podcasting year: Jason Kenney is our guest! The 18th Premier of Alberta. Former Leader of the United Conservative Party and the last leader of the Alberta PC Party. MP for the Reform Party and Canadian Alliance. And a multi-portfolio Cabinet Minister for Prime Minister Harper’s Conservatives from 2006 to 2015. Just a highly distinguished political career. Which is where you might expect me to take the bulk of this conversation. Except that, I won’t.

Instead, today I want to talk to Mr. Kenny about the Conservative movement and modes of thinking on a larger scale and on a number of issues. Global Affairs. Russia and Ukraine. China. Israel and Gaza. Climate Change and different ways to grapple with it. The future of the U.S. Republican Party, and more.

Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podcast app.

Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.