EZRA LEVANT | In Davos politicians face questions they dodge in Canada

Summary

Podcast Summary: Rebel News Podcast – Ezra Levant | In Davos Politicians Face Questions They Dodge in Canada

Date: January 22, 2026
Host: Ezra Levant (Rebel News)
Location: Davos, World Economic Forum (WEF)

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Episode Overview

Ezra Levant broadcasts from just outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, reflecting on the event's exclusivity, the global political climate, the high-profile speeches (notably Donald Trump's), and, crucially, his own confrontational interviews with Canadian political figures. The episode’s main theme is the radical difference between political accountability in Davos versus Canada: Canadian politicians, notoriously inaccessible at home, face spontaneous, unscripted questions at Davos from reporters like Ezra.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Davos: The Setting and Atmosphere

• Ezra discusses the logistics and "reclusive and exclusive" nature of the WEF:
  • Unable to get accommodation in Davos proper, the Rebel News team commuted daily from nearby towns.
  • He notes the impressive roster of global leaders and record attendee numbers.
  • The atmosphere is described as “electric,” with high-profile encounters more possible than in Canada.

“We love to do it. It’s just part of the story of how reclusive and exclusive the World Economic Forum is... This year had the highest turnout ever, both in terms of paying guests, but also world leaders.” (01:00)

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2. Donald Trump’s Speech at Davos

• Trump delivered a 90-minute keynote focusing on the US economy, NATO, migration, "dirty jobs," and policy contrasts with Europe.
• Key Trump talking points presented by Ezra:
  • Praises the US economy’s strength and independence.
  • Criticizes European economic and migration policies.
  • Declares a major drop in federal employment and crackdown on fraud.
  • Reiterates defense demands regarding NATO and Greenland.
  • Claims Venezuela’s fortunes will improve due to new US collaboration.
  • Asserts the US should acquire full ownership of Greenland for defense purposes, depicting NATO as a perennial freeloaders’ club.

“In 12 months, we have removed over 270,000 bureaucrats from the federal payrolls, the largest single year reduction in government employment since the end of World War II.” – Donald Trump [10:00]

“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us… Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that mark the next time you make your statements.” – Donald Trump [11:59]

• Ezra’s commentary:
  • Notes European discomfort with Trump’s “pep rally” style, but credits his substance.
  • Considers US action in Venezuela a "stunning success" and predicts change across the Western Hemisphere.

“The stunning success of decapitating Venezuela and sort of taking over the husk of the dictatorship… that alone is bending the will of hostile leaders.” (12:40)

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3. Journalism in Davos vs. Canada

• Ezra describes the relative openness at Davos compared to Canada, where Rebel News is often banned or physically removed from press events.
• He relishes "walk-and-talk" scrums: meaningful, spontaneous, and rarely possible with Canadian cabinet ministers back home.

“Here in Davos, they think it’s normal that ordinary people can walk up to politicians and ask them questions... I can meet more of my own country’s politicians in Switzerland than I can in my own country. Isn’t that shocking and gross and sad all at the same time?” [30:52]

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4. Scrum with Chrystia Freeland

• Conflict of interest/ethics:
  • Ezra asks about Freeland having a job offer from the Ukrainian government while still serving as Canada’s Deputy PM and sending funds to Ukraine.
  • Freeland maintains she followed the law, denies any ethical breach, and repeatedly frames support for Ukraine as morally justified.
• Freezing of protesters’ bank accounts:
  • Ezra presses on the court ruling against Freeland's freezing of bank accounts during the trucker protest, which was ruled unconstitutional.
  • Freeland sticks to her position, accuses Ezra of “doing Putin's work,” and deflects ethics questions.

Notable Quotes:

“You should be ashamed of yourself.” (Chrystia Freeland, 17:21, 19:03, 20:13)
“No, it’s about casting doubt on your ethics.” – Ezra Levant [17:07]
“Four judges say you’re a lawbreaker. Four judges say you violated the Constitution.” – Ezra Levant [20:14]

Timestamps:

• Ethics Questions: [15:17-17:12]
• Court Ruling/Bank freezes: [18:07-20:00]

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5. Interview with François-Philippe Champagne (Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry)

• China relations & human rights:
  • Ezra questions Canada’s continued engagement with China despite documented abuses.
  • Champagne uses standard diplomatic language: strategic engagement, “eyes wide open.”
• Chinese electric vehicles:
  • Discusses security risks, referencing Doug Ford and Israeli policy moves.
• New foreign policy:
  • Canada is diversifying trade away from sole reliance on the US, a policy shift not publicly debated.
  • Champagne advocates for “adaptation to a different world.”

Notable Quotes:

“Like all our G7 partners which have found a strategic way to engage eyes wide open, true to their values. And like I said, we’re no different.” – François-Philippe Champagne [23:54]
“...the world has changed significantly in the last few months... That’s why you need to adapt to this new reality.” – Champagne [25:17]

Timestamps:

• China/human rights: [22:06-22:48]
• Foreign policy shift: [24:12-26:05]

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6. Brief Encounter with Mélanie Joly (Minister of Industry)

• Ezra questions Minister Joly’s engagement with China, and whether Canada’s government is “whitewashing” China’s abuses. Joly sticks to “Canada-first” rhetoric but eventually walks away.
• Ezra satirizes her “run away” approach to questions.

Notable Moment:

“Run away. Bravely run away. Bravely run away. There’s Canada’s great pride.” – Ezra Levant [29:10]

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7. Systemic Accountability Failures in Canada

• Ezra laments the lack of accountability and openness from the Canadian government back home, contrasting the “normalcy” of direct questioning in Switzerland.

“For the last 10 years, we have lived in a system called Canada, where when Rebel News reporters get close to politicians, we are physically swept away.” (29:40)

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8. Chance Questioning of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General, WHO)

• Ezra asks Tedros about regrets over mandatory COVID vaccines and mass firings; Tedros replies that “countries have the right to decide based on the risk, the situation in their countries” before moving on.
• A clear example of a brief, unscripted run-in that would be impossible for Rebel News in Canada.

Timestamps:

• Tedros question: [32:19-32:36]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Donald Trump on Canada:

  “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also. But they're not. I watched your Prime Minister yesterday. He wasn't so grateful. But they should be grateful to us. Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that mark the next time you make your statements.” [11:27]

• Ezra on journalism access:

  "It's actually sort of sad that I can meet more of my own country's politicians in Switzerland than I can in my own country." [31:00]

• Chrystia Freeland to Ezra:

  “You should be ashamed of yourself. For doing Putin’s work.” [19:03-19:06]

• Ezra rebuttal:

  “I'm neither ashamed or embarrassed, because I'm not a lawbreaker like you. Four judges say you're a lawbreaker.” [20:14]

• Alexander of Rebel News:

  “Bravely run away. Bravely run away. There’s Canada’s great pride.” (on Mélanie Joly’s avoidance) [29:10]

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Timestamps of Major Segments

| Section | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|--------------| | Ezra reflects on Davos, Trump, and World Affairs | 00:32–12:42 | | Donald Trump's Key Speech Excerpts | 04:47–12:42 | | Encounter with Argentina's Javier Milei | 12:42–13:56 | | Walk-and-talk with Chrystia Freeland – ethics & freezing bank accounts | 15:17–20:14 | | Interview with François-Philippe Champagne | 21:48–27:50 | | Short exchange with Mélanie Joly | 28:01–29:15 | | Broader reflections on journalism, police, and access | 29:15–32:19 | | Brief question to Tedros (WHO) | 32:19–32:36 |

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Tone and Style

• Ezra Levant’s tone throughout is combative, self-congratulatory, and irreverent, often ridiculing political figures for evasiveness and lack of candor.
• The discussions are unscripted and deliberately confrontational, with a focus on transparency and holding politicians’ feet to the fire.

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Conclusion

This episode illustrates the rarity of political accountability and access in Canadian politics by contrasting the situations at the WEF in Davos. Ezra takes pride in asking the tough questions, especially on ethics and democratic accountability, that are all but impossible to put to Canadian leaders back home. The episode intersperses global power politics (Trump speech, NATO, Venezuela, Greenland) with Canadian political controversies, especially Liberal government transparency and foreign policy.

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For more coverage and exclusive content, visit Rebel News or join their next Zoom Town Hall.

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Transcript

[Ezra Levant]

Foreign. Tonight, big day in davos at the world economic forum. It's january 21st and this is the ezra levant show.

Shame on you, you censorious bu.

Foreign. We're at the Airbnb in clusters one town over from Davos where the World Economic Forum has its big meaning. We can't get into Davos itself, as you know, because every single hotel room and Airbnb is booked up by the organizers. So you have to stay one town, two town, three towns over and take the train in every morning. I'm not complaining. We love to do it. It's just part of the story of how reclusive and exclusive the World Economic Forum is. That said, it seems to be popular because this year had the highest turnout ever, both in terms of paying guests, but also world leaders. You had everyone from A to Z, Z being Zelensky, Donald Trump being the A team. He gave a 90 minute speech to delegates, about a thousand of them in the room and everyone else basically watching the speech from their phone. What he says matters more than all of them put together. And I should tell you that a lot of his message was just being a pep talk, pep rally booster for the United States and its economy and how well the economy is doing. He spent a lot of time going through how well the United States is doing compared to the previous president. And by the way, it's all true. He talked a lot about how countries free ride on the United States and I disagree with some of his calculations he calls a trade deficit or trade surplus. He thinks that that's taking money away or giving money away. And I suppose in some sense it's true. But for example, if the United States buys $100 billion worth of oil from Canada and they pay for that oil, they're getting something for it. It's not like they just gave the money away to Canada. And so I'm not quite sure if I agree with how he calculates things. But let me come down to the more basic truth, which is every country in the world loves to trade with the United States and every country in the free world loves to be protected from the United States. And I don't know if you were following this, but a few days ago, a number of uncomfortable all NATO sent a token soldier or two to Greenland as a show of force in case Donald Trump tries something. My favorite part was that there was a single as in one soldier from the UK that was sent. They all came in the one little plane, the rest of them. And as Howard Lutnick said, hang on you guys have not sent any soldiers into Ukraine, but you're sending soldiers into, into Greenland. So you won't send soldiers in to fight against Russia, but you'll send soldiers into Greenland to sort of show America you'll fight it or something. And another Trump cabinet minister, Scott Bessant, likes to point out that Germany alone spends more money on Russian oil and gas even to this day than it has sent Ukraine to fund the war. So in effect, Germany is on the other side of the war. Just from a financial point of view. There's a lot of hard fruits that Europeans still like to hear and the Canadians still like to hear and listen. I mean, the one line I always quote from Wab Canoe, the premier of Manitoba, says we don't want to be your 51st state, but we want to be your number one friend. I mean, who knows what's going to happen with the Alberta independence referendum. It would not shock me if that thing passes. I don't know if Albertans would choose to be the 51st state. I think they would rather be a very wealthy, healthy, very happy small country of their own. I think there is some correlation between small size and happiness in countries. Anyways, that's for another day. Here, let me show you some excerpts from Trump's speech. Here's just, I'm going to show a few of them. And it was a 90 minute speech and I tried my best to listen to all of it, but I was running around a little bit outside here. Here are, let's say, five symbolic or key moments from Trump's remarks this afternoon.

[Donald Trump]

I want to discuss how we have achieved this economic miracle, how we intend to raise living standards for our citizens to levels never seen before. And perhaps how you too, and the places where you come from can do much better by following what we're doing. Because certain places in Europe are not even recognizable, frankly, anymore. They're not recognizable. And we can argue about it, but there's no argument. Friends come back from different places. I don't want to insult anybody and say I don't recognize it. And that's not in a positive way, that's in a very negative way. And I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it's not heading in the right direction. In recent decades, it became conventional wisdom in Washington and European capitals that the only way to grow a modern Western economy was through ever increasing government spending, unchecked mass migration and endless foreign imports. The consensus was that so called dirty jobs and heavy industry should be sent elsewhere, that affordable energy should be replaced by the Green New scam, and that countries could be propped up by importing new and entirely different populations from faraway lands. This was the path that sleepy Joe Biden administration and many other western governments very foolishly followed, Turning their backs on everything that makes nations rich and powerful and strong. And there's so much potential in so many nations. The result was record budget and trade deficits and a growing sovereign deficit driven by the largest wave of mass migration in human history. We've never seen anything like it. Quite frankly. Many parts of our world are being destroyed before our very eyes. And the leaders don't even understand what's happening. And the ones that do understand aren't doing anything about it. Virtually all of the so called experts predicted my plans to end this failed model would trigger a global recession and runaway inflation. But we have proven them wrong. It's actually just the opposite. Instead of empowering bureaucrats, we're firing them and they're going out and getting jobs in the private sector for two and three times what they were making in government. So they started off hating me when we fired them and now they love me. Instead of raising taxes on domestic producers, we're lowering them and raising tariffs on foreign nations to pay for the damage that they caused. In 12 months, we have removed over 270,000 bureaucrats from the federal payrolls, the largest single year reduction in government employment since the end of World War II. Nobody thought that was coming, but we had no choice. To make a country great, you can't have all federal jobs. We're cutting illegal aliens off welfare and other government benefits. And I have directed that starting immediately, there will be no more payments to sanctuary cities because they are really just sanctuaries for criminals. They're really protecting criminals. And those are the ones we have to get out of the country. Murderers, drug dealers, the mentally insane. They emptied their mental institutions into the United States. And despite that, we have the lowest crime numbers that we've ever had in the history of the country just came out. But equally importantly, we're cracking down on more than $19 billion in fraud that was stolen by Somalian bandits. Can you believe that? Somalia, they turned out to be higher IQ than we thought. We say these are low IQ people. How did they go into Minnesota and steal all that money? Venezuela has been an amazing place for so many years, but then they went bad with their policies. Twenty years ago it was a great country and now it's got problems, but we're helping them. And those 50 million barrels we're going to be splitting up with them, and they'll be making more money than they've made in a long time. Venezuela is going to do fantastically well. We appreciate all of the cooperation we've been giving. We've been given great cooperation. Once the attack ended, the attack ended, and they said, let's make a deal. More people should do that. But Venezuela is going to make more money in the next six months than they've made in the last 20 years. Every major oil company is coming in with us. It's amazing. It's a beautiful thing to see. The leadership of the country has been very good. They've been very, very smart. We never ask for anything, and we never got anything. We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay, now everyone's saying, oh, good. That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago, after we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians and others In World War II, we gave it back to them. We were a powerful force then, but we are a much more powerful force now. After I rebuilt the military in my first term and continue to do so today. We have a budget of $1.5 trillion. We're bringing back battleships. The battleship is 100 times more powerful than the great battleships you saw in World War II. So what we have gotten out of NATO is nothing except to protect Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia. I mean, we've helped them for so many years. We've never gotten any. Except we pay for NATO. And we paid for many years until I came along. We paid for, in my opinion, 100% of NATO because they weren't paying their bills. And all we're asking for is to get Greenland, including right title and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it. You can't defend it on a lease. Number one, legally, it's not defensible that way. Totally. And number two, psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease, which is a large piece of ice in the middle of the ocean where, if there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice? Think of it. Those missiles would be flying right over the center of that piece of ice. All we want from Denmark for national and international security and to keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay, is this land on which we're going to build the greatest golden dome ever built. We're building a golden dome that's going to, just by its very nature, going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also. But they're not. I watched your Prime Minister yesterday. He wasn't so grateful. But they should be grateful to us. Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that mark the next time you make your statements.

[Ezra Levant]

Well, of course, you know, European sensibilities don't like that hustler, that salesman, that pep rally style. They're more somber and emo, but who cares? I mean, it is true that the US Economy is growing and growing fast and it's the envy of the world. And the United States military is by far the envy of the world. And I think that the stunning success of decapitating Venezuela and sort of taking over the husk of the dictatorship that remains is so shocking and so unbelievable, I think that that alone is bending the will of hostile leaders. From Nicaragua to Colombia to Cuba, I think you may see a totally free Western hemisphere. By the way, Javier Mille was in town. I just happened to be walking by when he came out of a building. I mean, I was 10ft away from him. I called out to him just to say hi. Really. He didn't respond. But it was fun to. Just by random chance, I almost bumped into the guy here. Take a quick look.

Mr. Milei, are you excited about Trump's speech today? Mr. President, are you excited about Trump's speech today?

Yeah, that's Davos for you. There's more vvips per square foot than anywhere else in the world. I mean, it was. It's sort of incredible when you think about it. I want to show you what you may have seen this because we emailed this out. Not on the Ezra Lebanon Show. It's my eight minute walking scrum with Christia Freeland, who I bumped into. Like, I almost missed her. She's short and was walking by herself and just. I wasn't really. I didn't really catch her, but my videographer did. And I wanted to ask her about the fact that she signed up to be an agent of the Ukrainian government before she had resigned as an agent of the Canadian government. She was working for two governments at once. At the exact moment when Canada was sending $2.5 billion to. To Ukraine. It was such a bad look. I asked her about that and then I talked to her a little bit more about the truckers and how the Federal Court of appeal just confirmed 3 to 0 that what she did was illegal when she seized and froze bank accounts. So there was one judge in the trial court at Federal Court and three more judges at the Federal Court of Appeal. That's four judges in a row that said her conduct in specific was unconstitutional and illegal. I asked her about that, too. Here, take a look at this video. Watch all the way to the end when we have a list. Bit of a surprise for you. Take a look.

Ms. Freeland, why didn't you disclose your job offer from Ukraine to the conflict of Ethics Commissioner within seven days as required? Hi.

[Chrystia Freeland]

Nice to see you. Likewise. I disclosed it to the Ethics Commissioner immediately.

[Ezra Levant]

Are you sure about that? Because you didn't tell the Prime Minister for two days.

[Chrystia Freeland]

I told the Prime Minister as soon as I spoke to him, as soon as I could speak to him.

[Ezra Levant]

Why did you keep it secret from the public, though, until the President of Ukraine tweeted it out?

[Chrystia Freeland]

It wasn't finalized.

[Ezra Levant]

Are you sure it wasn't? Because you guys were shipping two and a half billion dollars out. And it would be odd to have you on both sides of the deal.

[Chrystia Freeland]

That was a decision of the Prime Minister. And let me just say I think Canada should be proud to support Ukraine.

[Donald Trump]

And I don't think that's a question.

[Ezra Levant]

You. You were on both sides of the deal, was the question.

[Chrystia Freeland]

I wasn't on both sides of the deal. I actually wasn't at that meeting with the Prime Minister. But in any event, let me be very clear. Ukraine is fighting for Canada's security and for Canada's democracy.

[Ezra Levant]

But that doesn't. I think no one's disagreeing with that in our conversation.

[Chrystia Freeland]

I answered your question.

[Ezra Levant]

It's very good.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Clearly.

[Ezra Levant]

Go ahead.

[Chrystia Freeland]

Ukraine is fighting for Canada. Ukraine is fighting for democracy in Ukraine and in the world. We benefit from supporting Ukraine. I'm proud of the support that Canada has given and I've been very, very proud.

[Ezra Levant]

But you have to be. You have to follow the law.

[Chrystia Freeland]

Hang on, I.

[Ezra Levant]

You have to follow the law.

Oh, I follow.

[Chrystia Freeland]

I followed the law 100%. I followed the law 100%. And let me just be clear. Your questions are about casting doubt on support for Ukraine.

[Ezra Levant]

No, it's about casting doubt on your ethics.

[Chrystia Freeland]

No, your questions are about casting doubt on support for Ukraine.

[Ezra Levant]

You're trying to misdirect. You're trying to misdirect.

[Chrystia Freeland]

No, I am telling.

[Ezra Levant]

How can you be on both sides of the deal?

[Chrystia Freeland]

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

[Ezra Levant]

I'm not ashamed. I'm ashamed of your misconduct.

[Chrystia Freeland]

His job for him. I have behaved ethically at every moment and I'm very proud.

[Ezra Levant]

You were. You were Canada's special envoy to Ukraine.

While.

While you had an offer pending from Ukraine.

[Chrystia Freeland]

Your question.

[Ezra Levant]

You have not. You have tried to distract and misdirect.

[Chrystia Freeland]

I have not tried to distract for one minute.

[Ezra Levant]

Where are you living these days?

[Donald Trump]

Where's your home?

[Ezra Levant]

Are you in the uk? Are you in Ukraine or you in Canada?

[Chrystia Freeland]

So that is not pertinent to the question. It's an interesting question, but my home is in Toronto. Thank you very much.

[Ezra Levant]

Do you still work for the Roads Trust?

[Chrystia Freeland]

I haven't started that job.

[Ezra Levant]

Are you going to do that job as well?

[Chrystia Freeland]

Yes. The job for Ukraine is voluntary and unpaid. Thank you very much.

[Ezra Levant]

Thank you. Why did you freeze bank accounts of Canadians? Well, that's a good question that I don't think you've ever answered. The Federal Court of appeal recently ruled 3, 0 that your decision was unconstitutional. Do you remember regret that you seized and froze bank accounts? The Federal Court of Appeals said that was unconstitutional. Any regrets? No regrets. Do you have an apology for the people whose bank accounts you illegally seized? Are you still happy about it?

[Chrystia Freeland]

Standing up for Canadians?

[Ezra Levant]

Are you proud of breaking the law? That's the charter you broke, Ma'.

Am.

That's not just any old law. Four judges in a row have agreed you broke the law. You're a law breaker. That's weird.

[Chrystia Freeland]

I've answered your question. You should be really proud.

[Ezra Levant]

You should be really proud of me.

[Chrystia Freeland]

And I think you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Donald Trump]

For what?

[Chrystia Freeland]

For doing Putin's work.

[Ezra Levant]

You froze Canadians bank accounts.

You're still a lawbreaker. And you're still 4 to 0. Judge is saying you're a lawbreaker. Your legacy is a lawbreaker. Your legacy is someone who turned our banking system into a third world system. A banana republic. You have no compunction. You're fine with what you did. You don't regret it.

[Chrystia Freeland]

As I said, I've spoken to you and we're finished this week.

[Ezra Levant]

But you haven't answered the fact that four judges say you broke the law. You don't think you need any public statement on that?

[Chrystia Freeland]

I've spoken at length about the issues that I need to.

[Ezra Levant]

Not since the Court of Appeal ruled. The Court of Appeals said you're a lawbreaker. You haven't said anything since then that.

[Chrystia Freeland]

This constitutes harassment by people who are doing Putin's job for him.

[Ezra Levant]

You're a censor, aren't you? You would love to take my bank account, wouldn't you?

[Chrystia Freeland]

Extremely embarrassed and ashamed of them.

[Ezra Levant]

Not embarrassed at all. I didn't break the law like you did.

[Chrystia Freeland]

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Ezra Levant]

I'm neither ashamed or embarrassed, because I'm not a lawbreaker like you. Four judges say you're a lawbreaker. Four judges say you violated the Constitution. Four judges said you illegally stole money. What are they? Are they right or wrong? What do you say to Tamara Leach? What do you say to people who are wrongfully arrested because of your illegal invocation of the martial law? Don't you care about civil liberties? The Liberals used to claim they cared about civil liberties. Well, I, for one, am glad you're gone. Hopefully, Canada's seen the last of you.

You know, it's funny. I've had more access to Canadian government cabinet ministers in the last two days than I have had in the last two years. I had a walk and talk with Francois Philippe Champagne. You know, I was just so stunned that he actually sort of called me over. And I didn't want to give him too much of softball, but I didn't want to fight with him, brawl with him either, because I was. I gu. I was stunned. It had never happened to me before that a liberal cabinet minister. I mean, his. His answers were not good. His. They were not compelling. They were talking points. But here, this is me interviewing Canada's finance minister and Minister of National Revenue. Me, Ezra Levant, the rebel.

Take a look for saying hello. I'm Ezra Levant.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Yeah, I've seen you before, I think. No, I've seen you in the.

[Ezra Levant]

Yeah, we just said hello to Justin Trudeau. Did you know he was here?

[François-Philippe Champagne]

I've heard of it, but I've not seen it.

[Ezra Levant]

He's here with Katy Perry. They look great together.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

If you say so.

[Ezra Levant]

Can I ask you a question about China and Qatar? Both of those countries have human rights records. And you guys didn't emphasize that publicly. Did you raise that privately with them?

[François-Philippe Champagne]

What I would say, you know, every G7 countries, I found a word to engage in a strategic fashion. With China, for example, with eyes wide open. And Canada is no different. So, you know, we remain very true to our own values. But at the same time, as you've seen, with all our G7 partners, people find a way to engage with China.

[Ezra Levant]

But a lot of the deal with China. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

But that's okay.

Thank you very much, Minister.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

He's always. He's on tv. I just need to know where I'm going.

[Ezra Levant]

I'm not asking unfair questions.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

I don't think. Listen, I'm working with you.

[Ezra Levant]

Thank you for that.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

I'm working with you now.

[Ezra Levant]

Doug Ford says that Chinese made electric vehicles have spyware in them. I think he's talking about the cameras and sensors that go through Chinese servers. I call it the spy car that they're bringing in.

And they won't be able to get over there. And it's going to tick off the Americans. 80% of our autos are going down there.

But now throw China in here for.

What they aren't going to manufacture here. So it's just a terrible, terrible miscalculated.

Decision by the Prime Minister. What do you think about that? Is that a risk?

[François-Philippe Champagne]

I think you would have to ask him.

[Ezra Levant]

Israel recently limited Chinese electric vehicles that its officers can drive because they were worried about that threat. Do you think that it would be wise to have a limit that no Canadian forces could drive a Chinese made ev?

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Well, like I said, it's eyes wide open. That's what we have to do and that's how we have to engage. Like I said, like all our G7 partners which have found a strategic way to engage eyes wide open, true to their values. And like I said, we're no different.

[Ezra Levant]

Thank you for walking with me. My last question is.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

At least it's Sunday today. It's not to call for you.

[Ezra Levant]

The Foreign Minister said that Canada has a new foreign policy. That's quite a bold thing to say.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Not long ago in your Indo Pacific strategy, you called China a global disruptive power.

[Chrystia Freeland]

Do you still believe that's the case.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Or has your language around China softened?

[Anita Anand]

This is a new government with a new Prime Minister, a new foreign policy and a new geopolitical environment. In this moment of economic stress for our country, it is necessary for us to diversify our trading partners and to grow non US trade.

[Ezra Levant]

It was never really raised in the election. There wasn't a debate or a vote in Parliament. Do you think that there needs to be a democratic test of this new foreign policy because it's swung us away from America towards China and other countries and that's a big shift.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Well, I think you need to adapt. I mean, you and I would agree that the world has changed significantly in the last few months. And mean, I think it's something you and I can agree on. And therefore, you know, you're well advised. You have to show humility and humility, as they say, if the world change, you need to adapt to new circumstances in the world. And that's what we're doing. But like I said, if you look at our partners around the world, they've also adapted in light of this different world. We see the speed, scope and scale of change, which is quite unprecedented. Some would say you have to go back to 1945. Some would say you go to the fall of Berlin Wall. But that's why you need to adapt to this new reality. To protect Canadian interests, to promote Canadian interests. And that's what we're doing.

[Donald Trump]

Last question.

[Ezra Levant]

And thanks again for talking with last one. Well, I got one last, last, last question. It's a very short one.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

This is like one was the question. This is the follow up.

[Ezra Levant]

It's a deficit. I'm having a question.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

It's the follow up. Right.

[Ezra Levant]

It's the HST on top of my other questions.

[Donald Trump]

Yeah.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Can reduce it for a first time home buyer.

[Ezra Levant]

Okay. And cancel the carbon tax.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Did you report on that? Those are good news. You know what?

[Ezra Levant]

You've got a lot of good news. Last question. I promise it's the last one. The United Kingdom, Germany, other countries sent a handful of troops to Greenland as a symbolic statement. Do you know if Canada is thinking of sending any troops to Greenland as a symbolic statement?

[Anita Anand]

We will continue to send support the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland. It's a broader question of what are the operating principles upon which we undertake our diplomatic relations. And the operating principles. While this world is so volatile, the operating principles themselves haven't changed. The operating principles are state sovereignty and territorial integrity. And those principles underpin our membership in NATO and our relationships diplomatically around the world.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

I would refer to the statement of the Prime Minister. You say we've been very clear in our principle that the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland to decide in Denmark. And we've been very clear about respecting the, the territorial integrity of Greenland.

[Ezra Levant]

Minister, thank you for walking and talking with me. I really appreciate it.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

Pleasure.

[Ezra Levant]

All the best to you.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

I'll see you again.

[Ezra Levant]

I hope so. Thank you, Minister.

[François-Philippe Champagne]

You've done a great job. Be careful because it's tough to walk backwards.

[Ezra Levant]

Yeah, he's got the tougher job with a big backpack. Thank you, Minister. Thank you very much, Minister.

And by the way, he walked by the second time and shook my hand again. I have no idea what's going on. And slightly scary. Here's me asking a couple of questions of Melanie Jolie and then she sort of Ran away. Which I didn't think was very brave, but again, when was the last time I was allowed to get within 20ft of her? Take a look at me and Melanie Jolie, the Minister of Industry.

Why are you cozying up to China with their human rights abuses? China and Hamas. There's a bit of a pattern there, don't you think?

I'm sorry, are you going to trip right now?

No, I don't think so, but I'm worried that you're. That you are whitewashing China's human rights abuses just to troll Donald Trump.

Well, listen, you can explain that to your viewers. We have a different point of view, and so we're doing it for us, for Canada.

Well, your Prime Minister said that China was the number one security threat, and now he's making a partnership with them.

[Donald Trump]

I think the biggest security threat to Canada is China.

[Ezra Levant]

So you heard what the Prime Minister had to say.

[Donald Trump]

What.

[Ezra Levant]

What do you have to say about this?

[Donald Trump]

Thank you, guys. We're just. We're just trying to do a job here. Thanks.

[Ezra Levant]

And I'm trying to do my job as well.

That's great.

Run away. Bravely run away. Bravely run away. There's Canada's great pride.

A lot of work to do. And then, of course, you saw yesterday that I did a walk and talk with Justin Trudeau again. He sometimes stonewalled me or gas lit me or just gave BS answers. But do you see my point? And why is it. And then, of course, Christia Freeland. Why is that? I mean, you've got Trudeau himself, Christie Freeland, Francois Philippe Champagne and Melanie Jolie. And there's still a chance I'll bump into Anita Anand, the Foreign Minister, if I can find her. Isn't that crazy? No, it's not crazy. It's just what happens when you're in a place when the police don't arrest you for asking questions of politicians who. For the last 10 years, we have lived in a system called Canada, where when rebel news reporters get close to politicians, we are physically swept away. Sometimes, like in the case of David Menzies, physically beat up. It's outrageous. In fact, Menzies would beat up twice, once by Trudeau's bodyguards and once by Freeland's own bodyguards. That's not normal. Here in Davos, they think it's normal that ordinary people can walk up to politicians and ask them questions. Don't touch them, don't threaten them, don't hit them. Them, of course not. But ask them tough questions. And if you watch the Whole tape of me scrumming Christie Freeland. You'll see at the end. Some police were sort of concerned. I don't know if Freeland had called the cops. She had just talked about what, you know, we were harassing her. The cops came over, asked for our id, made some calls, and said, okay, you're fine. Just, you know, stay calm. And that would never happen in Canada. I would be sitting in jail. My videographer would be in jail. And it's actually sort of sad that I can meet more of my own country's politicians in Switzerland than I can in my own country. Isn't that shocking and gross and sad all at the same time? Anyways, so we had a few more. You know, we had some very short interactions, and we had some longer ones. I had a very short interaction with Tedros. Let me just tell you how. Tedros Adhanum, the World Health Organization boss. I had just finished talking to Melanie Jolie. She had ran in. So I turned around to walk and I just. Bam, there's Tedros, the head of the World Health Organization. And to think, oh, who is that? Oh, that's Tedrose. Oh, right. What are my questions for him? Like that? You got to think of that like you've got three seconds. Seriously, because they're about to walk away. So I'm not sure how well I did. In fact, that's sort of how it is out there in Davos. You see someone and you have to think, okay, who is that? Okay, what do they do? Okay, what are my questions for them? That might be interesting. And it really is a way to keep your noggin jogging because you got to switch gears and switch subjects. But I suppose I was sort of ready for Justin Trudeau and Chris J. Freeland, because I think about the things they did a lot. Other people like Tedros, I suppose I don't think about him that much.

Tedros, do you have any regrets about the mandatory vaccines and people being fired for not taking them, that we know that they didn't really do the job? Do you have any regrets?

[Donald Trump]

I think countries have the right to decide based on the risk, the situation in their countries.

[Ezra Levant]

If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything differently?

Anyways, another very interesting day out here. And we'll be here for a couple more days. In fact, tomorrow we're having the private town hall meeting for donors of $100 or more who helped chip in to crowdfund our trip. And you can get more [e-mail] if you want to get on that list anyway? It's really late. Here. Let me just check what time it is. It's 11:30pm and we get up so early because we gotta get on the. We have to walk to the train station to take the train to the next town over. So unfortunately we're not going on a lot of sleep. But I think we're actually having a great impact out here. I think we're making a real difference. I hope you think so too. We'll see you tomorrow night if we can, on the Zoom Town hall meeting with ABHI and I. And until next time, on behalf of all of us at Rebel News, to you at home. Good night and keep fighting for freedom.