Paul Wells

1 month ago | paulwells.substack.com | Jenni Byrne |Paul Wells

A colleague forwarded this email, which was sent out today to news organizations by the Conservative campaign. I’m printing it here, verbatim. I’ll expect some clarity on the Liberals’ plans in the next day or two, and will have much to say about all of this as a campaign approaches and progresses. But here’s what the Conservative Party of Canada told Canada’s mainstream media (picture me making air quotes as big as barn doors when I say that) today.

Jan 15, 2025 | paulwells.substack.com | Paul Wells

On Saturday, two days before Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration as President of the United States, David L. Cohen will fly home to Philadelphia with his law-school sweetheart and wife of 47 years, Rhonda. The flight will mark the end of David Cohen’s term as U.S. ambassador to Canada. When he came to the National Arts Centre, a couple of blocks from the immense embassy building, for our interview, his staff gave me an idea of the schedule he’s been keeping in his last days on the job.

Jan 14, 2025 | paulwells.substack.com | Paul Wells

On Monday, Dec. 9 at the cozy Fourth Stage of Canada’s National Arts Centre, I kicked off the second annual instalment of The Paul Wells Holiday Show. It was twice as big as the first edition. It will take two episodes of this podcast to bring you all of it. Here’s the first instalment. I love making these shows as much as anything I have ever done, and I am so proud to bring them to you. The title of this week’s instalment is drawn from my opening monologue.

Jan 14, 2025 | paulwells.substack.com | Paul Wells

I like to be first with the news as much as anyone in the business, but this week I’m behind the trend. People who spend a lot of time taking issue with wokeness released their podcast interviews with Musa Al-Gharbi weeks ago, including Tara Henley and Andrew Sullivan. I’m a less frequent combatant in the culture wars. I’ll use your pronouns, I’ll do a land acknowledgment, and I harbour no particular nostalgia for the “free-speech” ’80s, when bullying and exclusion were hardly uncommon.

Jan 14, 2025 | paulwells.substack.com | Paul Wells

It’s Christmas. If you’re reading this on the day the post goes live, it’s literally Christmas. But I still didn’t want to leave you entirely without good content. Fortunately Jesse Brown at Canadaland wrote to me a few weeks ago to propose a “feed drop:” He’d post an episode of The Paul Wells Show to his subscribers, and I’d send you an episode of Canadaland. Everyone wins: His listeners find out about me, mine find out about Canadaland, and you get your regular podcast fix.