Real Talk Ryan Jespersen

The temperature's turned up at the Canada-U.S. border, as Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls President Donald Trump a "loser" and tells him to “kiss (his) ass.” With the trade war getting increasingly personal, we talk to journalist Stephen Maher about his feature "Carney's FAFO Moment" in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West. 

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"You're at war when you get attacked. We were attacked." That from Prime Minister Mark Carney after negotiations collapse between Canada and the U.S. The two nations are now staring down a full-blown trade war, with 50 per cent tariffs, retaliation, and a whole lot of uncertainty on the table. Supriya Dwivedi joins in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West to unpack what happened, whether Carney was right to...

Optimus says Alberta police chiefs need to stand up for themselves; Fat Dave, Brent, and Sean have lots to say about our August 12 hate speech/hate crimes episode; and James is thinking long-term on AI data centres. It's The Flamethrower proudly presented by the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park!

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Ten years ago, nearly twelve million people tuned in across Canada for the Tragically Hip's final concert at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario. In a special episode of the show, we celebrate the tour that brought a nation together, that historic night that remains one of the most unforgettable moments in Canadian history, and Gord Downie's enduring legacy nine years after his death. GEDfest organizers ...

Donald Trump says Canada and the U.S. have a deal, but Mark Carney says there’s still work to do as a three-day pause buys negotiators more time. What’s actually on the table, what hangs in the balance, and could Canada emerge stronger (or weaker) from the next round of talks? We check in with former Poilievre senior staffer Ben Woodfinden and former Morneau senior staffer Sharan Kaur in our feature interview (5:00) pre...

The world's best women golfers are in Alberta's capital for the CPKC Women's Open. Canada’s National Women’s Open Golf Championship won't just wow golf fans from across the country and showcase Edmonton's Royal Mayfair Golf Club - it'll have a huge impact on the Stollery Children's Hospital's billion dollar fundraising campaign. We tee up the big tourney with Stollery CEO Karen Faulkner, CPKC's Vince Lambert, and Explor...

A couple of days out from another deadline, Canada is facing a new round of pressure from Donald Trump, with key sectors pushing for relief from U.S. tariffs. Is Mark Carney taking the right approach or does Canada need to toughen up and take a harder line with Trump? We get into it with Supriya Dwivedi in our feature interview (3:00) presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West. 

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Real Talkers Optimus, Wayne, and Rob C. are fired up over Premier Danielle Smith chastising Edmonton Police, Leslie's fighting for small family farms, and Cyrus says Canada needs to go nuclear. It's The Flamethrower presented by our friends at the DQs of Northwest Edmonton and Sherwood Park!

THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO SUPPORTED MIRACLE TREAT DAY ON AUGUST 13. SHOUT OUT TO THE DQs of NORTHWEST EDMONTON AND SHERWOOD PARK, WHOSE DONATION...

Caylan Ford was a rising political candidate in Alberta in 2019. The UCP nominee was running under new leader Jason Kenney in Calgary-Mountain View and was considered a serious contender. Then, about a month before Alberta's election, PressProgress published excerpts from private Facebook conversations Ford had nearly two years earlier. The story accused her of expressing sympathy for white supremacist terrorists and lamenting "the...

Downtowns are booming across Canada. Except for Alberta's capital city, that is. Why is Edmonton's core unable to attract and tap into the same energy enjoyed in so many other urban centres? We hit the issues (and solutions) head on with three people who truly "give a shit" - Jay Downton, Cheryll Watson, and JoAnne Pearce - in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West. 

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A bit of a wild situation in Alberta, as Premier Danielle Smith and her Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis clap back at an Edmonton Police campaign encouraging citizens to report hate speech and hate crimes. "We believe law enforcement should...not police opinions or 'hurt feelings,'" tweeted Minister Ellis in response to the EPS initiative. Meantime, StatsCan says hate crimes are up in Alberta year-over-year, and have doubled acros...

More than 90 active wildfires are burning across British Columbia, with tens of thousands forced from their homes (many of which are destroyed). It's prompted a province-wide state of emergency, yet B.C.'s not alone. More than 300 wildfires are active across Canada as we record this conversation with award-winning environmental journalist Arno Kopecky (3:00), who lays out the reality of the situation, what it'll take to turn around...

Should Canada lift its restrictions on American alcohol as part of a deal with the Trump administration? Jespo and Supriya Dwivedi break down the latest polling, provincial implications, the trade-off facing Ottawa (and whether giving Washington what it wants could actually be worth it) in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West (3:00). 

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Don calls out Jespo's flippant comment about separatists claiming the "old" Canada flag, Joe from Alliston calls out Danielle Smith's interference, Mr. T argues there's a double standard in Alberta, Ryan sticks up for the Ag industry, Claire says big corporations are killing local Ag producers, and Mark riffs on our August 6 interview about the Vulcan County AI data centre. It's The Flamethrower proudly presented by the DQs of Nort...

What if business and labour actually agree on more than they admit? Following our August 5 conversation with Edmonton Chamber CEO Doug Griffiths, Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan weighs in on the "Norway model" a system where business, labour, and government work together to minimize work stoppages while protecting collective bargaining. Gil pushes back where it counts, but winds up finding (surprising?) areas of ...

Vulcan County residents are taking their Council to court, alleging rules were broken with the approval of a controversial AI data centre to be constructed on 600 acres of farm land. Little Bow AI Data Centre Committee members Sylvia Farrant and David Anderson lay out their argument in our feature interview (3:15) presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West. 

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WestJet and its flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement, with flights beginning to resume and thousands of disrupted travellers hoping to get home soon. But the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce says the bigger issue isn't over, and CEO Doug Griffiths joins us in our feature interview (3:50) presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West to explain why Canada needs to treat reliable transportation as an economic priority, not jus...

The union representing 32,000 Alberta grocery workers has filed a grievance against Sobeys, arguing the grocery chain's use of Alberta flags to promote locally made products is "reckless and inappropriate" amid the province's separatist movement. Jespo says they might as well fly a white flag instead, and digs into the debate with Supriya Dwivedi (3:00) in our feature interview presented by Mercedes-Benz Edmonton West. Where do you...

Crazy Fast Eddy takes toilet talk to a whole new level with his climate change commentary, Sheldon D has questions about that $13B AI data centre, Gail says people are missing the point about the "Fuck Your Fascist Pancakes" movement, Tyler's got thoughts on our July 23 AI interview, AJ's sick of selfish hikers, and Neil's looking for balance on "restaurants closing" coverage in Edmonton. It's The Flamethrower presented by the DQs ...