WATCH IT NOW: The Line Live on Trudeau, the fate of the LPC, and what the CPC does now
The Line (and guests) try and wrap their heads around yesterday's huge announcement.
Last night, hours after Justin Trudeau announced that he would resign as Liberal leader, Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson hosted the latest installment of The Line Live on YouTube, where they and their invited guests (plus members of our audience) discussed just what the hell is going to happen next.
Last night’s The Line Live event was brought to you by Innovative Medicines Canada. Leadership changes are a part of politics. But one thing that shouldn’t change is Canada’s commitment to patients and innovation in health care. Innovative Medicines Canada is focused on continuing its work with policymakers at every level to improve access to life-saving medicines, and advocate for a health-care system that prioritizes patients, fosters innovation, and drives economic growth. Canada’s innovative medicines sector plays a critical role—not just in health outcomes, but in keeping us competitive on the global stage. That’s why, even during a moment of political change, Innovative Medicines Canada is staying focused on the priorities that matter most to Canadians. Visit innovativemedicines.ca to learn more.
The event lasted three hours, and was an absolute blast. We really do have the best audience, which stayed highly engaged right until the very end. Thousands of ‘em. We were also so fortunate to be joined by three fantastic guests. Jamie Carroll is a former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, and now a consultant and entrepreneur. John Wright is a veteran pollster and a distinguished fellow at Queen’s University. Michelle Rempel-Garner is a Conservative member of Parliament. All of them shared their insight into the events of the last 24 hours.
If you missed it live last night, good news: the YouTube livestream converts to a normal video after the event ends, so it’s now available for your viewing pleasure. Click below to enjoy, and if you haven’t already, subscribe to our YouTube channel here.
(The first 30 minutes of the feed is dead air, which is because the livestream opened before we began the broadcast. We’ve set the link above to start at the correct time, but if you encounter any issues, just scroll the feed forward to the 30 minutes and roughly 30 seconds mark, which is when we actually went live.)
Thanks again to our sponsor Innovative Medicines Canada, our guests, and Friend of The Line Phil McBride, who helped us on the backend and with question moderation. It was a huge success. We will do more.
And now, your Line editors are off to try and figure out what the hell to do next!
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Watching the show live yesterday, I just realized that there is actually no other show in all of Canada that provides a platform for people like your guests who can speak relatively freely. Yes I do wish there was a lot less interruptions from all, but the quality of the conversations was there to see. I sincerely hope that the idiotic laws that prevent The Line making themselves known on Facebook are revoked at the earliest by CPC.
Thanks guys, that was awesome! I really appreciate the time and effort it takes to pull something like that together. I also liked the guests... informative and to the point. Good work.
Two things I'd like to note though... despite the irreverent and relaxed tone of things, and in a landscape of limited objective coverage of Canadian politics, this is a serious business. And so, and I say this with a light tone and full support of what you do, it doesn't serve your efforts or your paying subscribers if you get drunk on air. That's not what I'm there to experience. Jokes about Jen's alcohol intolerance aside, you undermine your program when drinking and jokes get in the way of making your points. I count on you to bring your A game to your work, and yes, with irrevernce and humour, but your critical insight is your strenght and you are awesome at it. But it's not a drinking game, and when that gets in the way of holding your own in a debate, well, that's a concern.
Which leads me to my second point... I did not appreciate the exchange with Michelle Rempel Garner... MRG came across as a bully and as someone who is not willing to listen to others. Yes, of course, pocketbook matters are a significant focus of many if not all Canadians, but I felt the point that Jen was making was on the nose too - after almost a decade of trying to eradicate what it means to be Canadian, we need someone who will build it back up, and MRG did not listen to this relevant point but stayed in her partisan lane and did not listen. The vision for the country right now matters, and matters big. It sets the tone and underpins the decisions made going forward. MRG, whom I don't know well but have been reading her SubStack (and I'll say this same partisan flavour is in her writing, to it's detriment) appeared to me to be the same as the Libs at not listening. She's got legit points, but the uber partisan fervour is hard to take. I feel the same about their leader.
And if that is the kind of government that they will be, then we are all truly lost. Political leadership should not be a game of "tit for tat" but, especially these days, politics is a serious business. Just because the Liberals put this thing, insert policy here, doesn't mean it is bad. The bully approach of "just talk louder" does not give me confidence, as a voter who has voted for basically all the options over time, that the Conservatives under this current leader have the ability, the willingness, to listen to other voices than their own.
Thanks again for last night. I've caught all The Line's lives, as well as those done by Paul Wells. You guys rock. Thank you.