It's election season, basically Christmas for politics nerds who have no life. So instead of wallowing in the news about the campaign trail, the candidates and the polling, we're going to breakdown some election coverage. Eric Wickham, Ontario reporter for PressProgress joins to discuss CTV News having to right-wing flak, incredible reporting about a mass punishment at "Wong-tanamo Bay," and a general discussion about the state of the 2025 federal election.

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https://readthecatch.ca/breakdown-mostly-election-special-2025-ft-eric-wickham-the-north-state-podcast

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Facing worrying rhetoric by US President Donald Trump, news has turned its attention to Canada's military, with a notable trend of pointing towards the positives of conscription. Two of these articles, published from both sides of the political spectrum, suggest mandatory service as a partial solution. But even the best version of this argument plays into jingoist nationalism. Not only does it not address the situation at hand, it directs the popular will to strengthen sovereignty into misplaced nationalist militarism. Ian Barclay, editor-in-chief of Avant-Garde Press, journalist and veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, joins Scott to discuss the historical context of conscription in Canada, the faults in these arguments and how they miss the mark.

Avant-Garde Press

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading at:

https://readthecatch.ca/when-ya-get-drafted-ft-ian-barclay-the-north-state-podcast/

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Since late last year, Donald Trump began a very public habit of musing on making Canada the 51st state. Throughout posts on his social media feeds, press conferences about the US' trade relations and even an appearance at the World Economic Forum, Trump has threatened high-tariffs against Canada and expressed a desire to integrate it into the USA. While news coverage has been breathless, it omits the reality of Canada's foreign policy and how it's aligned with the US throughout some of its darkest chapters. Tyler Shipley, professor of political economy an author of Canada in the World: Settler Capitalism and the Colonial Imagination, joins Scott to discuss the historical and political context of Trump's rhetoric and how the Canadian political system is ill-equipped to combat these plans.

Canada In The World: Settler Capitalism and the Colonial Imagination by Tyler Shipley

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Intro Music: Vigilante - Cross Dog

Artwork by Zo at Studio Bonjourhi

Sources and further reading available at:

https://readthecatch.ca/51st-state-blues-the-north-state-podcast

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