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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
