Liberals flex, Conservatives reflect | Rachel Curran
Podcast: Playbook CanadaPublished On: Thu Feb 05 2026
Description: It’s been referred to as “Harperpalooza” in Ottawa this week: a prolonged celebration of the 20th anniversary of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first election victory. Conservatives celebrated past glories at reunions and a swanky gala, but present-day obstacles loom. On this episode of the Playbook Canada podcast, co-hosts Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric examine how Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party is still searching for a winning message, while Mark Carney’s Liberals project confidence — perhaps even hubris — by tapping MPs for diplomatic posts, brushing off House vacancies, and moving quickly to lock in candidates ahead of looming by-elections. Also on the show: what that confidence could mean in the weeks ahead, from cross-party cooperation on affordability to Canada’s renewed focus on the Arctic. Plus, Rachel Curran, a former top policy adviser to Harper and now a senior executive at Meta, joins the podcast to reflect on working for Harper, the evolving tech-policy landscape, and whether news could soon return to Facebook and Instagram in Canada. Nick Taylor-Vaisey is POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter Mickey Djuric is a reporter and co-author of POLITICO’s Canada Playbook newsletter Alex Keeney is Playbook Canada's executive producer Steve Bone composed the music used in Playbook Canada.
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