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Several prominent cabinet ministers have announced they will not be seeking re-election ahead of a major cabinet shuffle by Justin Trudeau. Among those not running again are Omar Alghabra, Carolyn Bennett and Joyce Murray. David Lametti is also reported to be out of cabinet. Do you think this is a shake-up to get rid of underperformers, or a sign of a Liberal government in disarray? True North's Andrew Lawton weighs in. Plus, key economic indicators show Canada is lagging on standard of living, with with on-paper economic growth not translating to economic prosperity in the real world. Former Statistics Canada chief economic analyst Philip Cross joins the show to break down the numbers.

A wonky constitutional debate has emerged online over who should get first crack at governing in the scenario in which the Conservatives win a minority — Pierre Poilievre as the victorious challenger or Justin Trudeau as the incumbent. While the debate technically hinges on constitutional convention, True North’s Andrew Lawton says the Laurentian “experts” are missing the most important part of democracy, which is legitimacy in the eyes of the people supposedly being represented. Also, British Columbia is still clinging to its vaccine mandate for healthcare workers despite being in the receiving end of legal challenges. Lawyer Charlene Le Beau from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms joins to discuss.

Justin Trudeau has sided with gender ideology over Muslims in Canada's latest cultural battle. While Muslim families across the country have expressed concern about what kids are being taught in schools, Trudeau says they're actually being coopted by the "far right" and "American right wing." True North's Andrew Lawton talks about parental rights with RightNow co-founded Alissa Golob. Also, a new essay in C2C Journal by researcher Gleb Lisikh reveals the two critical tools the government used in bolstering pandemic fears – overreliance on PCR tests and overreporting Covid deaths. Lisikh joins The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss the piece, which you can read here: https://c2cjournal.ca/2023/06/making-a-pandemic-a-simple-meat-potato-recipe/

From assaults on historical figures such as John A. Macdonald to cancel culture and charges that Canada is a genocidal nation-state, the country that every generation and every immigrant built is now facing routine and corrosive attacks. How did this happen? The 1867 Project is a book featuring twenty critical thinkers who argue that we are awash in relentless grievance narratives and utopians who expect Canada’s history to be perfect. They also argue that the rise of critical race theory, identity politics, and ideological politics in the education system also plays a part. To launch The 1867 Project and to discuss the current state of Canada, True North’s Candice Malcolm will host a live show with some of the authors, including Jamil Jivani, Matthew Lau and the book’s editor Mark Milke. Purchase your copy of The 1867 Project: https://amzn.to/43ZqxT2

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has said that Justin Trudeau needs to "butt out" of New Brunswick politics, to the New Brunswick Conservatives' policy requiring parental consent for a student under 16 to change their officially change their gender in school. Poilievre said provinces should decide educational policy and parents should decide how to raise children. True North's Andrew Lawton says the Conservatives need to be more forceful in their support of parental rights, especially since it's an issue that seems to extend beyond committed Conservative voters. Also, the Liberals might give even more money to bail out the media given Facebook's protest of Bill C-18. Plus, writer and retired professor Janice Fiamengo of The Fiamengo File joins the show to point out the "false numbers and shameful misrepresentations" behind a YWCA campaign on domestic violence.

Bill C-18 – one of Justin Trudeau's internet regulation bills – is now law, prompting Facebook to ban news so as to avoid having to pay out media outlets. While Facebook made the decision to block news links, True North's Andrew Lawton points out that the whole thing is Trudeau's fault, as he's the one who thinks Big Tech needs to subsidize the legacy media. Plus, 330 active duty and former members of the Canadians Armed Forces have joined a proposed class action lawsuit against the Canadian military over the vaccine mandate that either coerced vaccination or forced CAF members out of service. Valour Law lawyer Catherine Christensen, who's representing the class, joins The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss the case.

Many legal challenges against Canadian Covid restrictions and mandates have fallen flat, with judges embracing deference to government focusing more on the "reasonable limits" to Charter freedoms rather than the freedoms themselves. Beyond this, professional misconduct processes are weaponized against dissident thinkers, longstanding legal norms have been upended, and public confidence in the law impugned. Law professor and C2C Journal contributor Bruce Pardy says there's been a "descent of Canada’s legal system into Alice-in-Wonderland surrealism, a state that poses dangers to virtually every Canadian and to the future of the rule of law itself." He joins True North's Andrew Lawton to talk about his latest essay, Legal Canons and Social Fables: The Law in Canada Has Never Been Perfect but Now it is Losing its Way, and whether Canadian law can be saved. Read his essay here: https://c2cjournal.ca/2023/06/legal-canons-and-social-fables-the-law-in-canada-has-never-been-perfect-but-now-it-is-losing-its-way/

Despite previous claims that Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's office had no idea that convicted killer Paul Bernardo was getting transferred to medium security, in fact, Mendicino's staff knew for three months that the transfer was going to happen. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Mendicino to resign, though all the public safety minister is committing to is a new "policy directive" allowing for more information to be shared. Also, True North's Andrew Lawton weighs in on the Bell Media layoffs. Plus, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, head of Toronto Metropolitan University's Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence, joins the show to talk about the privacy dangers of digital ID.

Justin Trudeau blames "far-right political actors" over what he says is a rise in "hate" against trans kids, referring to a policy in New Brunswick that teachers must notify parents if they learn a child of theirs under 16 seeks to change their gender. New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs has pushed back, saying Trudeau doesn't support parents. News Forum host and parental rights advocate Tanya Granic Allen joins True North's Andrew Lawton to discuss. Also, Justice Russell Brown has resigned from the Supreme Court of Canada, meaning Trudeau will soon be able to appoint his sixth judge to the bench. Plus, Maxime Bernier says True North is "like CBC" for asking him about his past attendance at Davos. Andrew weighs in.

A group of Canadian corporations – including Desjardins and Telus – have co-authored a white paper not only endorsing digital ID, but calling it a "necessary evolution for society." True North's Andrew Lawton says there's no denying it's coming, so people have to start desisting the digitization of identity now. He talks about it further with Luke Neilson of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. Then, Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano joins to discuss today's Bank of Canada interest rate hike and what it means for Canadians.

Among the World Health Organization's plans to "better protect citizens" is to globalize the European Union's vaccine passport, making an international standard for proving vaccination status as a ticket to board plans and visit other countries. This comes as the World Health Assembly continues to move towards a global pandemic treaty, which it hopes to finalize next year. True North's Andrew Lawton talks about what's at stake with former congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Also, the federal government is leaning into carbon capture to meet its lofty "net zero" ambitions. Will it work? Fraser Institute senior fellow Dr. Kenneth Green joins the show to weigh in.

Pride Month – or Pride Season, as the government of Canada now calls it – has begun, meaning corporate logos have been cloaked in rainbows and the the Toronto Transit Commission has even replaced its subway chime with a "2SLGBTQQIA choir." True North's Andrew Lawton says much of these proclamations amount to little more than virtue signalling. Also, what does Danielle Smith's win mean for Albertans and Canadians? Kris Sims from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation joins to discuss.

"Eminent Canadian" and Trudeau family friend David Johnston has published his first report into foreign interference in Canada's elections, and – shocker – Trudeau comes out clean, but the media and public service are the problem. Johnston says there shouldn't be a public inquiry, but he should keep on going with his investigation so that Canadians don't see the classified documents he says exonerate the government. True North's Andrew Lawton breaks down the report. Also, members of parliament are trying to force banks and pension funds to only invest in "climate-aligned" businesses. Gina Pappano from InvestNow joins to discuss.

UCP leader Danielle Smith and NDP leader Rachel Notley will go head-to-head in the only Alberta Provincial Leaders' Debate tonight – and True North will be covering it live! True North’s Andrew Lawton will be joined by Rachel Emmanuel and William McBeath to discuss the top issues in the Alberta election, offer their predictions for the debate and the election and review the leaders’ performances. Our coverage begins at 5:00pm MT / 7:00pm ET.

New figures show Gov. Gen. Mary Simon expensed $38,000 on clothes in a 16-month period, including ceremonial clothing and casual wear – this despite making over $340,000 per year. True North's Andrew Lawton points out that this office keeps breeding entitlement among its occupants. Also, Chrystia Freeland thinks it's "fear-mongering" to ask about the debt. Plus, People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier joins to talk about his campaign to get back into the House of Commons in the upcoming Portage—Lisgar byelection.

A London, Ontario library is banning a free speech talk being hosted by an academic freedom group from renting its theatre, despite having a commitment to "intellectual freedom" and opposition to censorship. This type of no-platforming is becoming more and more common, however. True North's Andrew Lawton discusses with Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship president Mark Mercer. Also, weeks after we learned Volkswagen is getting $13 billion in taxpayer subsidies to build an electric vehicle battery plant, Stellantis is halting construction on its Windsor factory because it wants more money from the government. Aaron Wudrick from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute weighs in.

The longtime king of cable news ratings, Tucker Carlson, has announced he'll be relaunching his show on Twitter just a couple of weeks after being abruptly fired by Fox News. Elon Musk has positioned Twitter as being a platform for content creators and free speech. Despite claims by journalists and media outlets that they'd be boycotting the platform, most have remained. Even CBC, which stopped tweeting after its accounts were labelled "government-funded media," has resumed. True North's Andrew Lawton weighs in on the future of independent media. Also, Canada has finally expelled the Chinese diplomat at the centre of accusations of intimidating Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family. The Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Brian Lee Crowley joins to discuss the China-Canada relationship.

Among the nearly two dozen policy resolutions passed by Liberal members at their party’s convention on the weekend was one calling on the government to restrict “disinformation” and ban online content whose source can’t be “traced.” True North’s Andrew Lawton says free speech is on its way out, especially with Ofcom, the CRTC of Britain, coming down today on broadcaster Mark Steyn and author Naomi Wolf. Also, True North’s Rachel Emmanuel joins the show to give an update on the Alberta election and the NDP’s decision to continue campaigning while the province declares a State of Emergency due to the ongoing wildfires.

The Liberals have offered up amendments to their sweeping firearms legislation, Bill C-21. The new changes will outsource firearms classifications to a committee rather than codifying the Liberals’ ban on specific models. However, firearms advocates point out that this doesn’t protect law abiding gun owners. Rod Giltaca of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights joins The Andrew Lawton Show to weigh in. Also, despite the Public Order Emergency Commission vindicating Justin Trudeau, there are still legal challenges of the Emergencies Act underway. Christine Van Geyn of the Canadian Constitution Foundation joins to discuss the “last guardrail of accountability” and her article in the C2C Journal, which you can read here: https://c2cjournal.ca/2023/04/the-last-guardrail-of-accountability-the-legal-challenge-to-the-trudeau-governments-use-of-the-emergencies-act/

Ontario trucker Harold Jonker must report to Ottawa next week to face four charges for his participation in the Freedom Convoy, which left Ottawa more than 14 months ago. Jonker, who has been an outspoken advocate for the freedom movement, will be charged with mischief, blocking a highway, and two counts of counselling an "uncommitted indictable offence." Jonker joins True North's Andrew Lawton live to discuss the charges, which he's vowed to fight. Also, as predicted last week, the federal government has folded and is shelling out millions to bring public sector workers back to work. Plus, True North Alberta correspondent Rachel Emmanuel joins for an update on Alberta's 2023 election campaign.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada's strike continues, and has escalated into blocks of government buildings and other infrastructure. Union president Chris Aylward even said striking public servants may go to ports of entry to maximize the economic impact of the labour action. In spite of this, no one in the federal government is talking about the Emergencies Act, True North's Andrew Lawton points out. Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano joins to talk about the latest strike news. Also, a new docuseries exposes the truth about Canada's assisted dying regime. MAiD in Canada producer Andrew Kooman and director Daniel Kooman join The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss the series, which you can watch here: https://maidincanada.org/

The federal and Ontario governments are putting up $13 billion in subsidies to get Volkswagen to build an electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, working out to $4.3 million for each of the 3000 jobs the plant is expected to create. This is the largest piece of corporate welfare in Canada's history, but it's not clear how or if taxpayers can recoup that money. Macdonald-Laurier Institute domestic policy director Aaron Wudrick joins The Andrew Lawton Show to discuss. Also, Trudeau is practicing historical revisionism to gloss over his government's Covid vaccine mandate. Plus, is it time Alberta ditches the RCMP and starts its own provincial police force? Journalist Doug Firby from the C2C Journal joins to discuss his piece making the case for the Alberta Provincial Police, which you can read here: https://c2cjournal.ca/2023/04/crime-and-mismanagement-why-its-time-to-drop-the-rcmp-and-create-an-alberta-police/

A report prepared for Dr. Theresa Tam identifies "climate change" and "capitalism," and "colonization" as part of a "public health emergency" in need of "collective social and political action." True North's Andrew Lawton points out the eerily similar language being used to talk about other political issues as were used to discuss Covid. Climate Depot's Marc Morano joins the show to warn of the impending climate lockdown.

Leaked Pentagon documents reveal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told NATO officials privately that Canada was never going to meet the commitment it previously made to NATO to spend no less than two per cent of its GDP on defence. Also, Feminist Current founder Meghan Murphy joins to talk about a bepenised "woman" accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Windsor women's shelter. Plus, lawyer Lia Milousis on the case of a mother fighting in court for the right to make medical decisions for her family without the government's intervention. All this and more on another live edition of The Andrew Lawton Show.

Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, appeared before members of parliament to supposedly answer questions about China's interference in Canadian elections and what the government and Liberals new about it. Yet Telford's testimony was far more about what she couldn't say or claimed to not know, making it a big snoozefest. True North's Andrew Lawton breaks down the testimony that produced no news. Also, a discussion of history and civilization with Michael Bonner, author of the new book "In Defense of Civilization: How Our Past Can Renew Our Present." Plus, another instalment of Fake News Friday.