Conservative Like Me: Recent Episodes
Jennifer Sanford
Welcome to Conservative Like Me: a voice for the conservative movement that isn’t totally nuts. Or untruthful. Or dangerous. Or irresponsible.
Conservative Like Me is a podcast for center-spectrum conservatives. You know, the ones that rarely get any airtime. In this podcast, we explore, issue by issue, how Canada's federal conservative party can remain true to its foundational mission while also building good policy that's aligned to the progressive momentum of Canada, the needs of our Canadians, and our full national potential.
Hosted by Jennifer Sanford.
Seasons drop Nextflix style--all at once.
We don't want to say we don't you so, but we said inflation and the cost of living would be a real challenge come spring 2022. Well, spring has sprung. In an episode for everyone, we walk you through the economic challenges now--and ahead.
What would it take for Erin O’Toole Conservative Party to win the election? This is our answer.
Episode Rundown:
3:11 Reality therapy on both sides – (a.k.a WTF is going on?!?)
29:24 The 10 political ideas that get you there
1:02:45 Selling the CPC brand to Canadians
Bill 96, currently tabled in the National Assembly, calls for Quebec to achieve nationhood—forever changing the makeup of Canada and how we define national unity. This will create unchecked power for one province over the others. All party leaders are on board—and of course they are—you can’t win an election without the support of Quebec.
So, it begs the question: If we are no longer interested in equality and unity as Canadian values, then what opportunities exist for the West?
We unpack it all: what Quebec wants, what the West deserves, can this happen, and who can stop this madness.
Plus, Jenn gets very close to using some NSFW language when talking about taking votes for granted.
And John does his classic “disappointed dad dialogue” with Erin O’Toole (and, yes, it’s triggering).
Caution to our listeners in the West: We say a lot of kind things about Pierre E. Trudeau so you may not want to operate heavy machinery while listening.
Share your comments on Twitter @thejennsanford.
We covered Alberta in our first season.
Nothing changed.
We decided to try it again with feeling.
Here something you might not know: if the current conservative leader is elected as Prime Minister, he’ll be the first since Lester Pearson with military experience. In this pod, we talk about the fate of our Canadian Armed Forces, the possibility of a National Guard model, and fighting wars in the digital space. We also talk about the culture, diversity, and trauma compensation for those willing to die in service for this country.
Plus, Jennifer wants to talk about who owns the Northwest passage while unilaterally deciding it’s Canada.
Conservatives have continued the rallying cry to defund the CBC. John and Jenn are a house divided on this. But the fate of the CBC is only the visible tip of a very big iceberg. What lurks below is the integrity and reliability of today’s news landscape, a growing epidemic of information bankruptcy, and the difficult challenge to intersect policy that helps with the integrity of our civil liberties.
Plus, Jenn honours the legacy of Mr. Dressup. RIP Ernie Coombs.
One woman speaks for all women – what could possibly go wrong?
The Conservative Party of Canada has a problem attracting women voters – and given that women are more than half of our population, that’s a problem. So, we start from scratch. We talk about why conservatives should embrace and promote equity and intersectionality—and we make the case for good policy that addresses early childhood biases, relevant affordable education, and the long-overdue need for a national childcare program. Jenn, despite her very best efforts, gets verklempt.
Plus, John tries to figure out what, exactly, traditional family values are.
Napoleon famously said, “Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.” Well, she’s awake—and ready to roar.
We dissect China’s incredible economic rise and explain how their Belt and Road Initiative is the nexus point between trade dominance and world dominance.
We ask: How does Canada manage the wolf warrior diplomacy tactics of China? Do we need to do business with China—and should we do business with China? We also talk about the fate of Meng Wanzhou, the two Michaels, and our 5G play with Huawei.
Plus, Jenn wonders why we don’t have a national film—but is pretty sure this is a problem for Dan Levy to solve.
In this pod, we break open the space between feelings and facts. We’re talking about the true purpose of our nation’s immigration program (it’s a whole lot more about purse strings than heartstrings), what to do about illegal immigration at the US border, how to hold on to our intellectual potential with foreign post-secondary students, and the imperative of climate-based human migration. And just because we’re suckers for punishment, we try to make sense of why conservative leaders keep talking about values tests. Please don't cancel us.
Plus, Jenn tries to get into the mind of Maxime Bernier. It doesn’t go well.
When it comes to the carbon tax, we exhaust too much energy (see what we did there?) on the tax part and not nearly enough on the carbon part. In this episode, we unpack the new, constitutionally supported carbon tax structure by showing what this means—in real numbers—for our economy. Then, because we ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT and BELIEVE CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL, we talk about all the things that get no airtime: natural infrastructure, a strategy for trees, water equality, green manufacturing, and sound pollution, food waste—and more.
Plus, Jenn readies herself to get a lot of angry letters from farmers.
In this episode, we have more questions than answers. Sorry.
We’re talking O’Toole’s commitment to create 1 million jobs, the fate of foreign investment to Canada, the mythical quest to define and manifest “green jobs,” and the role of unions in rebuilding the economy. We also talk about why the long-held conservative drumbeat to balance the budget might be a loser strategy (right now).
Plus, Jenn still thinks a national pharmacare program gets us a great balance of an economic driver and a vital social service—and is pretty unapologetic about it.
At the recording of this podcast (April 2020), the Conservative Party of Canada cannot win an election and form government. That sucks.
In this first episode of season 2, we lament.
Then, we talk about the consequences of not having a strong counter-narrative for Canadians, the outcome of the policy convention, what part of the spectrum should speak the loudest for conservativism, and what we think are the real goals for O’Toole as the leader.
Plus, Jenn openly wonders if she can be a conservative champion AND also employable.
Alberta, once part of the energy now needs new energy.
In the final pod of season one, we talk about controlling the outcome of taxpayer money at the provincial level, a provincial sales tax, a pension plan of our own, and the value of selling our intellectual property. We also fight a little more about interprovincial trade and making deals that work for Alberta.
What we don’t talk about are pipelines.
Plus, Jennifer learns she probably won’t be hired by a union in the near future.
I want to hear from you. Tweet your thoughts to @thejennsanford. Remember that with 1,000 likes, a second season is on the way.
This podcast is not affiliated with the CPC. In fact, they have a podcast of their own. For more about The Blueprint, hosted by MP Jamie Schmale, visit http://podcast.conservative.ca/.
Are people good and society makes them bad? Or are people bad and the laws of society make them good? Think about your answer, because it likely informs your feelings on how we police guns—and gun owners—in this country.
We talk about our very different views on guns and the right to gun ownership, how hard it is to get a firearm in this country, and why—it seems—we place the blame of gun violence on the gun, and not the person committing the violence.
This was an issue that the conservatives had a strong, albeit unsexy, plan. Why didn’t we talk about it? Will it stay as a new leader emerges?
Plus, Jennifer explains her inability to calculate risk.
I want to hear from you. Tweet your thoughts to @thejennsanford. Remember that with 1,000 likes, a second season is on the way.
This podcast is not affiliated with the CPC. In fact, they have a podcast of their own. For more about The Blueprint, hosted by MP Jamie Schmale, visit http://podcast.conservative.ca/.
Yes, you can be a conservative in Canada without being a full-steam-ahead Trump supporter.
Oh, sorry, we’re you looking for a longer description?
Okay, well, we ask whether Canadians could have a leader like Donald J. Trump. We wonder if there are similarities between non-dog-whistle Trump voters and Canadians who feel left behind by our current government. And we also talk about running a campaign where conservatives make a case for being the first choice to govern.
How important is the courage to be unpopular?
Plus, Jennifer works really, really, really hard to make it abundantly clear that the only time she comes to the table on Trump is on economic issues.
I want to hear from you. Tweet your thoughts to @thejennsanford. Remember that with 1,000 likes, a second season is on the way.
This podcast is not affiliated with the CPC. In fact, they have a podcast of their own. For more about The Blueprint, hosted by MP Jamie Schmale, visit http://podcast.conservative.ca/.
At a trillion dollars in debt, “paying off the debt” can no longer be the central argument for the conservative party. So why not pivot into some new, bold ideas?
We talk green energy, infrastructure, a national pharma care program, ending childcare desserts, regulatory burdens, tech, and interprovincial trade. And, just to torture ourselves, we also talk about the environment.
Who is the conservative leader with the courage and vision to do this?
Plus, Jennifer makes the case the key to economic prosperity means unleashing the economic power of women. Gender-balance cabinet? No, thanks. I’ll take a gender-balanced economy instead.
I want to hear from you. Tweet your thoughts to @thejennsanford. Remember that with 1,000 likes, a second season is on the way.
This podcast is not affiliated with the CPC. In fact, they have a podcast of their own. For more about The Blueprint, hosted by MP Jamie Schmale, visit http://podcast.conservative.ca/.
“If you want my vote, you’ve got to move to the left on social issues.”
This is largely the takeaway of the last federal election. If we want a conservative party that’s relevant to the momentum of Canadians, then the party has to get clear—and progressive—about issues like abortion and medical assistance in dying.
We make the case.
Plus, Jennifer points out the odd conservatism of “if at first you don’t succeed, try making it harder for yourself.”
Difference of opinion is democracy in action, but with the rise of cancel culture, free speech this becoming an increasingly difficult platform for any political party—let alone the conservative party—to manage.
What, exactly, is freedom of expression in this country? When does free speech become hate speech? What does this mean on our college and university campuses? And how has the current state of discourse made this issue so complicated? Have “identifiable groups” helped or hindered our ability to get to a marketplace of ideas? John asks, what happens to the social fabric of our society if people feel they cannot express their opinion?
Plus, Jennifer explains why she can’t mind her own business at the museum.
I want to hear from you. Tweet your thoughts to @thejennsanford.
Remember that with 1,000 likes, a second season is on the way.
This podcast is not affiliated with the CPC. In fact, they have a podcast of their own. For more about The Blueprint, hosted by MP Jamie Schmale, visit http://podcast.conservative.ca/.
If we want a moral society (and who doesn’t?), then it’s easy to see why religion creates that moral construct. But we have a separation of church and state in this country and Canadians, less and less, want religion in their politics. So, what happens when the conservative party’s members continue to view policy through the lens of the gods? Perhaps the story of how the party embraced marriage equality offers the hope we need for change. Maybe it’s time for reckoning in our big blue tent.
We also ask: Can the next leader have a strong religious purview? And what do we with the social capital of religious groups? It’s the answer a peace offering?
Plus, Jennifer appeals for you not to eat your family dog. Oh, and for the love of god, get rid of votes of conscience on social issues.
As promised: the public consensus was 47% for marriage equality when the Liberal gov’t asked the Supreme Court to rule on it.
I want to hear from you. Tweet your thoughts to @thejennsanford. Remember that with 1,000 likes, a second season is on the way.
This podcast is not affiliated with the CPC. In fact, they have a podcast of their own. For more about The Blueprint, hosted by MP Jamie Schmale, visit http://podcast.conservative.ca/.
Let me just start with the obvious: I am a Canadian and I am a conservative.
As the Conservative Party of Canada selects a new leader, a silent sentiment grows for people like me who want the big things conservatives stand for but no longer see themselves represented in this party.
And that’s what this podcast is; it’s the conversation, conservative to conservative, that we’re not having about who we are and who we can be to represent what a changing Canada needs.