Poilievre wins dumb debate on points

In the latest episode of The Line Podcast, recorded on April 18, 2025, Matt and Jen unpack the weirdest Canadian federal election in recent memory. The race feels like it’s tightening, there are reports of massive early turnout in the advance polls, and nobody knows what it means — which, as Matt points out, usually means something is breaking, but no one can say for sure what or in whose favour. Carney remains the presumed frontrunner, despite the fact that no one is particularly blown away by him. But given that the alternatives haven't really landed a punch ... 

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Then it’s debate time. The format was bad — truly bad — but the moderators did their best with it. That didn’t stop social media from swallowing the whole thing in real-time hot takes and reaction clips. Blanchet probably shouldn’t have been there. Carney did fine. Singh was present, but seemed to waste his ammo on Poilievre. Speaking of the CPC leader, he won on points. But the bigger question is whether any of it moved a single vote.

This episode is also brought to you by TikTok Canada. For the past five years, TikTok has been investing in Canada — hiring hundreds of employees for well-paying jobs in Toronto and Vancouver, and contributing over $1.4 billion in GDP to Canada's economy. However, TikTok has been ordered to shut down its Canadian operations. This will be a chilling precedent for global companies considering investing in Canada and will cost jobs in areas like software development and ad sales, which create opportunities for Canadians to work in global tech. It's in Canada's best interest to find a way forward that keeps local teams in place to support the success of Canadian creators, artists and small businesses on the platform. Whichever party forms government, it will have an opportunity to demonstrate that we're open for business, while addressing security concerns and fostering a thriving tech sector.

Facts matter. Shutting down TikTok Canada eliminates jobs and stymies investments in Canada. Let's find a solution for TikTok that makes sense for Canadians.

In the final segment, your hosts reflect on the tension just off the debate stage — including a shouting match between various factions of the media that were present. The debate commission clearly wasn't ready for something that was honestly quite foreseeable. The legacy media is still clinging to its traditional role even as that role keeps shrinking. Jen and Matt consider whether the old guard is ready to share the stage with the new independents, even (or especially) badly behaved ones. Spoiler: probably not.

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All that, and more, in the latest episode of The Line Podcast. Like and subscribe at ReadTheLine.ca, or find us on your favourite podcast app so you never miss an episode. If you’re enjoying the show, send it to a friend, post about it online, or shout it across a parking lot. We’ll take any help.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:53 State of the (weird) race
• 37:33 The debate debacle
• 1:12:47 Media (etc) behaving badly