Gloves Off
Gloves Off is a podcast about the threat to Canada's sovereignty and how the country can thrive in the new world disorder. Hosted by journalist and author Stephen Marche, it explores the collapse of the old world order and the opportunity for Canada to move away from US dependency towards middle power alliances. The first season focused on survival, while the second season asks how Canada can win.
Episodes
Gloves Off Live: Selling Canada
Can Canada sell itself to the world without selling out?In this special live episode of Gloves Off recorded at Toronto’s historic El Mocambo, Stephen Marche tackles one of Canada’s most pressing economic questions: how do we attract the capital we need to build the country without selling off the assets, companies and infrastructure that make us sovereign?Stephen is joined live on stage by economi
Is the U.S. Abandoning Its Allies? Julianne Smith on NATO, Canada and the New World Order
As America pulls back from its traditional alliances, what does that mean for Canada and the future of the global order?In this extended interview, Stephen Marche revisits his conversation with Julianne Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and former senior Pentagon official. Smith explains how the Trump administration has transformed America’s relationships with its allies, why trust in the Unit
Ukraine and the Future of Warfare: Drone Technology, Defence, and What Canada can Learn
In this extended interview,Stephen Marche speaks with Tim Mak, Editor of the Kyiv-based publication The Counteroffensive about Ukraine’s drone war and the future of warfare. They explore how Ukraine’s decentralized defence-tech ecosystem is driving rapid innovation—and what Canada can learn as it prepares to dramatically increase defence spending.Excerpt of interview originally featured in Ep
Trade Bazooka and Other Economic Cards: Canada, Europe and New Middle Power Alliances Moving Away from U.S.
In this extended interview, Stephen Marche speaks with Anthony Dworkin of the European Council on Foreign Relations about whether Canada and Europe can build a new middle power alliance in a world increasingly shaped by U.S. and Chinese power.Dworkin explains Europe’s “trade bazooka,” the tools available to resist economic coercion, and how Canada could work with Europe and other like-minded
What's Behind Google Maps renaming Lake Ontario: The Politicization of the Tech Oligarchs Who Want to Break Democracy: Extended Interview with Gil Durán
In this extended interview, Stephen Marche speaks with Gil Durán, author of The Nerd Reich about Silicon Valley’s radical turn against democracy. They explore the rise of tech oligarchs, the political power of billionaires, the weaponization of social media, and what Canada can do to reduce its dependence on American technology.Excerpt of interview originally featured in Ep 7 "How Canada Beat
From CANADALAND: Is Carney Chinamaxxing?
From our Canadian podcast friends at Canadaland: As Canada inches closer to China’s “global swagger” to escape the US’s orbit, do we even know who we’re dealing with? Host Noor Azrieh sits down with Jonathan Cheng, The Wall Street Journal‘s China Bureau Chief, a Canadian who’s been based in Beijing since 2019, to get an inside look at China’s current confidence, its trade posture, and wh
Canada-US Trade War: What Life with Reduced Trade with America Would Look Like
In this extended interview, economist Dan Ciuriak speaks with Stephen Marche about what a trade war with the United States would actually mean for Canada—and why the bigger opportunity may be building new markets, strengthening our economy, and taking control of our digital future.Visit our website—gloves-off.ca—for more research behind the issues including four charts illustrating how Canada’s tr
Cross Check: What Are We Fighting For?
S2 Episode 8 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-Canada's 2026 Sovereignty Obsession is Unprecedented Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What Are We Fighting For?
Season 2 wraps with a look at what the future could hold for a middle power alliance and what Canada’s role might be in it.The people applauding Carney’s Davos speech were the same people who built and ran the system that led to Brexit, Trump, and more. How can middle powers win without returning to globalization and the same old system? How can they not just gain power but exert that power, and t
Cross Check: How Canada Beats Tech Influence
S2 Episode 7 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-Big Tech’s CUSMA Wish List Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How Canada Beats Tech Influence
Host Stephen Marche traces the rise of a global right-wing influence project — funded by tech billionaires like Elon Musk and philosophically rooted in anti-democratic thinkers — that is actively working to end liberal democracy worldwide…and Canada is not immune. Paris Marx (author of Hyperscale, and host of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast) and Gil Duran (author of Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley
Cross Check: How Canada Wins at Tech
S2 Episode 6 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-A Day in the Life Without American Tech Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How Canada Wins at Tech
Like most of the world, Canada overrelies on and is beholden to American digital entities like Google and Amazon. But now movements are underfoot, in Europe especially, to decouple from the American tech giants. Host Stephen Marche explores how those efforts could inform the growth of a native Canadian tech sovereignty with Cristina Caffara, a driving force behind Eurostack; Margarethe Vestager, f
Cross Check: How Canada Wins at Defence
S2 Episode 5 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-From Jets to Quantum – Canada's History of Dual Use Technology-How to Think About Canada's 5% Defence Commitment Hosted on Aca
How Canada Wins at Defence
As recent events in Ukraine, Russia, and Iran have demonstrated, the nature of modern warfare is changing fast (think: drones). Canada will get left behind if it doesn’t start innovating quickly. Host Stephen Marche explores the advent of drone warfare with Tim Mak, Kyiv-based publisher of The Counteroffensive; and Cameron Chell, a Canadian defence tech entrepreneur at Draganfly, shares how t
Cross Check: How Canada’s Economy Can Thrive
S2 Episode 4 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-Case Study: Canada's Quantum Advantage-Case Study: Why Can’t Canada Make Cans? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more
How Canada’s Economy Can Thrive
In part two of how to build a thriving economy, Stephen Marche weighs the tension between maintaining economic efficiency—making convenient trade deals for short term gain—and building economic resilience—an economy less reliant on external partners. He first speaks with Brazilian economist Monica de Bolle about the drawbacks of her country’s trade relationships with China and America. Then econom
Cross Check: How Canada Wins at Trade
S2 Episode 3 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-Canada’s Automotive Value Problem in Four Charts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How Canada Wins at Trade
First episode of a two-part look at Canada’s economy and the opportunity to thrive in a new world order. With CUSMA being renegotiated at the moment, Stephen Marche reviews Canada’s trade relationship with the United States and explores what some consider the drawbacks of economic efficiency: making convenient trade deals for short term gain.Economist Dan Ciuriak makes the case for doing away with
Cross Check: How Canada Wins at Alliances
S2 Episode 2 aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research:-Map outlining the number of international agreements Canada has made since Carney took office -Mapping Carney's Pivot Hosted
How Canada Wins at Alliances
If a middle powers alliance could create a third pole of power to offset China and the United States, what would that look like in practical terms? What kind of alliance would enable Canada and other middle powers to thrive in a new world order? Host Stephen Marche catches up on Carney’s latest alliance-building moves with former Canadian Diplomat Colin Robertson, and learns from Anthony Dworkin o
Cross Check: The Rupture
Gloves Off’s aftershow with Stephen Marche, Vass Bednar and Jon Shell. The trio dives deeper into the issues of each Gloves Off episode, bringing a mix of insight, expertise, and strong opinions (held at varying degrees) to their lively discussion.Canadian Shield Research: -Glossary of Trade War Jargon -U.S. Policy Shifts and Implications for Canada Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more
The Rupture
A clear eyed assessment of Mark Carney’s vision of middle powers creating a third pole of power, providing alternatives to a fraying reliance on the United States. Since his famous speech at Davos, he has been travelling the world meeting with likeminded politicians to shore up support. But the reception to his idea has raised doubts in Canada. Host Stephen Marche hears bipartisan caution from for
The Gloves Come Off Again, Canada Day
Gloves Off is about the threat to Canada’s sovereignty and how the country can thrive in the new world disorder. Because it’s not just about surviving as a nation. It’s about winning. Hosted by journalist and author Stephen Marche.The Gloves come off Canada Day, 2026. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and follow us on YouTube where you can watch our aftershow Cross Check with Vass Bednar a
Stephen Marche & Margaret Atwood Extended Interview
In this extended interview, Margaret Atwood joins Stephen Marche for a wide-ranging, sharp, and often darkly funny conversation on what we can learn from the past when Canadian sovereignty has been threatened by America; how this moment is exceptional; what we might expect in the future. From draft dodgers to free trade, red bonnets to AI servers, Atwood weighs in on where we are—and where we migh
What Does The New Normal Look Like?
Over the past seven episodes, we’ve tracked Canada’s shocking, painful, and necessary awakening. The threat from America is no longer theoretical—it’s here, it’s real, and we’re not ready.But something else is happening too. Canadians are responding. Travel boycotts. A rise in patriotism. A new spirit of sovereignty. Because our old relationship with America is over. Our final question to close th
How Do We Not Lose The Information War?
In 2013, a Russian journalist walked into a St. Petersburg startup looking for a job. What he found was the frontline of a new kind of war—an information war fought not with bullets but with online chaos.Today, those tactics have gone global. Online disinformation floods our social feeds, shapes our politics, and fractures our societies. Authoritarian states are waging an invisible war against dem
How Do We Fight Back?
What if we end up in the nightmare scenario: America invades Canada and our military isn't strong enough to resist. Canada gets annexed by force. How do we fight back? What would a Canadian insurgency look like? Stephen Marche explores the unthinkable: a military occupation of Canada and the resistance that would surely follow. He speaks with International Security scholar, Aisha Ahmad.
How Do We Defend Ourselves?
For most countries, the military is key to national identity. But Canada's identity has been tied to military contributions to the global order and peacekeeping. Now that's all changed. The world is heating. The North is thawing. The South is melting. How do we defend Canada and not get overtaken?Stephen Marche heads to the Arctic with Canadian Ranger Neil Kigutaq and speaks with Retired Major Gen
How Much Can We Learn from Ukraine?
Living next to a dangerous country is new to us but many countries bordering authoritarian states have a lot of experience. Ukraine has lived in the shadow of a monster its entire existence. What can they teach us?Ukrainian refugee Viktoriia recalls fleeing war-torn Kherson—offering a sobering reminder of how quickly peace can vanish. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Alexander Vindman and war correspondent Tim Mak
How Do We Not Go Broke?
A Canadian toy company is on the brink because of US tariffs. Millions in unsold stock. But this isn’t just one company’s problem—it’s Canada’s. Stephen Marche digs into the economic war we’re already in with the US. How can we fight against an economy ten times our size, where the tariff goal posts keep moving, and where any brokered deal is a tweet away from becoming meaningless? What
How Unprepared Are We?
A middle-aged graphic designer joins the Canadian Reserves, but her story reveals something bigger: our greatest friend and most important ally, the US, is now threatening our country. How prepared–or unprepared–are we to deal with this threat? Stephen Marche asks a range of Canadian leaders to grade our readiness – politically, economically, militarily. What are our strengths as a country? What a
How Much Trouble Are We In?
Until the second Trump Administration, Canada's relationship to the US has been Robin to its Batman. We've trusted and counted on the US for trade, security, defence, global leadership, and so much more. But now those days are gone. As American democracy unravels and chaos grows, Canada is left exposed and vulnerable not only to the US but to bad actors around the world. With insights from Civil W
The Gloves Come Off on Canada Day
Welcome to Gloves Off, a podcast about the threat to Canada’s sovereignty and what we can do about it. Hosted by Stephen Marche. Gloves Off is Canadian Realpolitik – what are the dangers we face and how do we avoid them? We break down the critical issues with outspoken experts and thinkers, as well as everyday Canadians.The Gloves come off on Canada Day, Tuesday, July 1st. Subscribe wherever you g
