Canada has a doctor shortage. Many of you are living it right now/ For most of the past few decades, the brain drain for physicians has gone one way" Canada to the United States. It's not the only reason so many of us can't find a family doctor, but it's been a big part of the problem.

The past couple of years, however, have shifted that. From restrictive abortion legislation to a near-total disregard for medical science from the Trump Administration, thousands of American doctors are looking for somewhere else to practice. And for a lot of them, Canada is a preferred destination. John Philpott, CEO and founder of CanAm Physician Recruiting joins Jordan and Laura to explain why we've lost so many doctors, what physicians and medical professionals are looking for right now, and how Canada can set our health care system up for a generation by making sure we're their destination of choice.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

Last week's meeting between Canada's new prime minister and his counterpart in Washington was, by recent standards, civil and non-confrontational. Mark Carney was firm in his dismissal of the 51st state rhetoric, and Trump was mostly accepting of that reality. Broadly speaking, nothing much happened, though it was good to hear a simple, "No. Never," from Canada's leader.

But if you happened upon social media in the hours following the summit, that's likely not what you saw. Depending on your platform and feed, Carney was either a Canadian hero slapping down a bully, or a pathetic clown who was "owned" and "humiliated".

Canada gets vast majority of its media from the United States. And that media, especially the social kind, has become increasingly distorted and unreliable. Meanwhile, our own media struggles with resources and—increasingly—public distrust. How can we protect our citizens from the distortions they're exposed to every time they—by accident or necessity—venture beyond a handful of reliable Canadian sources?

After Jordan and Laura break down the Oval Office meeting, Jordan speaks to Taylor Owen, the Chair in Media, Ethics and Communication at McGill University, the founding Director of The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and principal investigator at the Media Ecosystem Observatory, to try to get a handle on the firehose of falsehoods we're blasted with today.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

More than 120,000 Canadians work in Canada's auto industry...for now. As tariffs imposed by the US President kick into gear, only to change and then change again, plants and shifts are adjusting by the day, and some have already shut down some production lines, at least temporarily. Right now, we're at the mercy of these tariffs, as our production is so entwined with the US and Mexico's that cars cross the border several times before they're finished.

But does it have to be that way? What does Canada need to make our auto industry less dependent on America? Could we even, perhaps, make our own cars here at home? The whole car, from start to finish? Or is that an impossible dream. Jordan talks to Lorraine Sommerfeld, a longtime auto journalist about how to keep Canadian jobs safe from American tariffs, and how to keep our plants running despite the trade war—including the possibility of a totally Canadian-made automobile.

Then, Laura grills Lorraine about how, exactly, a Canadian needing a new car should navigate the current situation. Buy now? Wait a while? Go used? Forget the whole thing? This is your guide to auto tariffs, from the macro down to the micro.

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

These might feel like unprecedented times, with the US President dropping his latest annexation proposal on Canada's election day—but in truth, we have been here before. Sort of.

While the chaotic, bullying approach of the current administration may be unique, Canada's faced threats of tariffs leading to financial ruin and eventual annexation before. And we survived. We've faced down America on a few occasions without blinking, and as some newly elected MPs and their parties get ready to do it again, Jordan and Laura are sitting down with Craig Baird, host of Canadian History Ehx, to learn a few thing we might have forgotten—and yes, to talk about that whole 'burning down the White House' thing.

(Note: this episode was recorded before this weekend's horrifying tragedy in Vancouver cast a pall over final days of the election.)

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

The past five years have featured one global upheaval after another, so it's no surprise every Canadian's nerves were a little frayed even before Donald Trump began to talk about annexing Canada. But now that the Prime Minister has said the relationship is "over", and since the White House has refused when given the opportunity to back off the 51st state rhetoric, we think it's a good time to try to process this new reality.

Our guest today is Stefanie Peachey , a therapist and mediator whose specialties include divorce, intimate partner violence and workplace mental health—all of which are applicable in their own way to what Canadians, and some Americans, are dealing with right now. So in the middle of an election, it's worth breaking out the big feelings and trying to grapple with them. Because this isn't going away, and it's not gonna get easier when our next government has to reengage with the White House...

Also, Laura and Jordan discuss the assertion that asking about Trump's recent rhetoric is "provoking" the administration, if the divorce metaphor actually applies, and JHR breaks down our very first one-star review!

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

If you've seen American television discussing Canada's response to the Trump administration's trade war and annexation rhetoric, you've probably seen Charlie Angus. The longtime NDP MP (who chose to step down this year rather than seek reelection) has been the face of Canada's defiance to many Americans—and especially to his fellow Canadians. Angus has been meeting thousands of his fellow citizens at events around the country, encouraging them to stand strong and united.

What have they heard from him? What kind of message does he want us to send to Americans? How do these kind of events come about, and how can anyone organize one? Jordan and Laura speak to Charlie and ask him everything Canadians need to know about what he calls "The Resistance".

You can learn more about The Resistance at Charlie Angus's Substack: https://charlieangus.substack.com/

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

Have you seen a lot of Maple Leaf stickers and signs in your grocery store lately? Maybe even next to products you know are sold by American companies that are "prepared in Canada"? Wondering what that actually means?

There are any number of designations that can be placed on food products, but only a couple of them are specific and actually mean a food item was what we would think of as truly "made" or "produced" in Canada. In a minisode of Elbows Up, Laura quizzes Jordan, who has been studying the government guidelines, about just what all these claims mean and how companies can use them to 'Maplewash' your grocery shopping.

For reference:

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's guidelines around identifying the origin of food products: https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/industry/origin-claims#s1c5

The Department of Canadian Heritage guidelines around the use of the official Canadian Maple Leaf on commercial products: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/commercial-use-symbols-canada.html

The CFIA's Frequently Asked Questions around product origin claims and labelling: https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/industry/origin-claims/frequently-asked-questions

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.

From intelligence services to border control to the military and everything in between, Canada has designed its national security infrastructure to work in concert with the United States, not in opposition to it. It's now clear this could be a really big problem. This episode is about how Canada can stand on its own two feet and plan to protect ourselves.

First, Jordan and Laura examine just how many Americans now see Canada as "unfriendly" or an "enemy". Then (4:00) Stephanie Carvin, a national security expert, former government analyst and the author of Stand on Guard, walks us through how entwined our two countries are, what that means to Canada if the US truly does become a threat, or (14:33) if this will all go away tomorrow. We also (25:21) discuss what role Canadians can play and (28:55) the unthinkable conversations she's been having with people in her field.

Also (20:00)...do we need our own secret agents? We should have some, right?

Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us: hello.elbowsup@gmail.com.