Male bravado, tearing up friendship contracts and begging your enemies for support. Canadian politics – or the new season of Love Island? Tune in to make sense of the messy year ahead.

He’s given Donald Trump tips on removing makeup stains from his suit collars, advised Boris Johnson on how to not dress like a schlub, and now The Menswear Guy sets out to rank the sartorial splendor, or lack thereof, of Trudeau, Poilievre and Singh.

Mattea kicks it with esteemed Backbencher and political journalist David Moscrop at a café in Ottawa to talk about the current climate in Canadian politics, the impact of social media on discourse, the state of Canada’s political left, and are we in for an election next year?

It’s that time of the year again! Budget season… AND, the story about Chinese government influence just keeps getting even more complicated. This week Mattea Roach is joined by Murad Hemmadi, Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Stuart Thomson to unpack how the complex issue of government interference is being seized on by various parties, and how feasible Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland’s proposed budget is for this country’s future.

A proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit has been reached between the federal government and 325 First Nations, which applies to Indigenous children who attended residential schools during the day—students who were left out of the 2006 residential schools settlement. This episode gets into the legal elements of this lawsuit, how we got here, and what impacts it might have going forward. And, all 13 provinces and territories are calling for “immediate action” to strengthen Canada’s bail system in the wake of the death of an Ontario Provincial Police officer in late December. What does the bail system look like in Canada? How is this specific moment being politicized?  And, what would the consequences of bail reform be?

The Chinese state has infiltrated Canadian democracy at all levels, according to a bombshell report from investigative reporter Sam Cooper of Global News. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued a stern denial, throwing cold water on the story. Who's telling the truth? And exactly what is Beijing up to in Canada? Sam Cooper explains his work. 

McKinsey is on everyone’s lips, but it’s just one of the many consulting firms the government is spending millions on. And as the provinces and federal government battle it out when it comes to healthcare, whose side are we supposed to be on? Nora Loreto co-hosts.

Armed conflicts across the world are increasingly demanding the attention of Canadians and prompting the federal government to get involved. This episode, host Mattea Roach is joined by Emilie Nicolas, Arshy Mann, and Steven Chase to talk about what Canadian intervention in Haiti could and should look like, and they also tackle the existential questions we have about our military: What is the state of our military? Are we prepared to take on an expanded role? Should we?

On December 14th, we brought The Backbench to you LIVE and in-person from the Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto. It was an evening of “serious” political discourse and endless laughs. Our host Mattea Roach and our expert panelists, Emilie Nicolas, David Moscrop, and Murad Hemmadi unpacked the seriously eventful year that was 2022 – from faulty infrastructure, to the Pope’s visit, to our 2023 political wish list, and more.