Select the most powerful exchange from the conversation. Listen for:
CHRIS:
"Welcome to Barney's Tavern.
This is a show about Canada—and the ideas worth slowing down for.
I've got strong opinions. This is where I question them.
The format is deliberate: one guest, one long conversation. No panels. No hot takes. No rush toward tidy conclusions.
I sit down with thoughtful, interesting Canadians—generals, entrepreneurs, policymakers, artists, builders—people shaping this country in visible and invisible ways.
The goal isn't debate. It isn't performance. It's curiosity.
Canada feels like it's entering a moment of acceleration. Technology is reshaping how we live and work. Institutions are evolving. The future feels less certain than it once did.
Instead of reacting loudly, we slow down. Because some ideas are worth sitting with. And some conversations are worth having properly.
I'm Chris LaBossiere. And this... is Barney's Tavern.
Pull up a chair."
CHRIS:
"My first guest is someone I've known for over a decade. His name is Todd Babiak.
Todd is a novelist—eight books and counting. He's a journalist. He's worked in place branding and storytelling—helping cities figure out their identity, how they talk about themselves, how they show up in the world.
We met in Edmonton in the early 2010s. We worked together on a city branding campaign called 'Make Something Edmonton'—part of the mayor's task force to help the city tell a better story about itself.
Todd is also the person who officiated my wedding to Lisa.
And yes—his romantic storytelling works. We're still married.
[PAUSE, SMILE]
But Todd hasn't lived in Canada for the past five years. He's been in Australia.
And that's partly why I wanted to talk to him first.
Because sometimes you need distance to see clearly. And right now, Canada is going through something—an identity shift, a sovereignty moment, maybe both.
Two days ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney returned from Australia, where he announced a new partnership—what he's calling 'strategic cousins.' Canada and Australia, together controlling 34% of global lithium, 32% of uranium, 41% of iron ore. A middle-power coalition to counter American and Chinese pressure.
At Davos in January, Carney said something that stuck with me:
'Middle powers must act together because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu.'
He also said: 'Nostalgia is not a strategy.'
That line—nostalgia is not a strategy—it's been rattling around in my head. Because Todd is a storyteller. And storytelling uses nostalgia. It uses history, memory, identity.
So I wanted to ask him: Can you build a new national identity without nostalgia? Or do you just have to use it differently?
Todd has a new book coming out in June called What Gentlemen Do. It's about struggling cities—how they come back to life. Not from top-down policies, but from the ground up.
Richard Florida—the American urbanist—just read it. And this is what he said:
'Funny, furious, and quietly devastating. What Gentlemen Do gets at something most people miss about struggling cities—that they come back to life not from top-down policies but from the ground up, from a kid in a used bookstore, a song played in an empty downtown, a philosophy class that won't let you quit. Against the most depressing backdrop, Todd Babiak has written one of the most hopeful things I've read about our relationship to cities and place in years.'
And Terry Fallis—who writes political novels about Canada—said this:
'Few writers can bring together humour, heart, and hope more thoughtfully and powerfully than Todd Babiak, even in a story set against a very bleak but all too real societal landscape. Brilliantly written, this novel tears you down and then lifts you up. Masterful.'
So the question I want to explore with Todd is this:
If cities come back from the ground up—can countries? Can Canada build sovereignty from the ground up? Or does standing up to Trump require Carney's top-down moves?
What does it mean to be Canadian right now?
Not the polite, peacekeeping Canada of the past. But the Canada that's redefining its identity as a sovereign middle power.
Let's find out.
Todd Babiak—welcome to Barney's Tavern."
CHRIS:
"Todd, thanks for being here. And thanks for making it official with Lisa—we're still going strong."
[Let Todd respond, laugh, settle in]
"You heard my intro. You've been away for five years. You're watching Canada transform from a distance. And two days ago, Carney comes back from your adopted country talking about strategic cousins and middle-power alliances.
So before we dive into the big questions—what's your first reaction? What does it feel like to watch Canada from Australia right now?"
[Let Todd talk. Don't rush. This is the warm-up.]
CHRIS:
"Todd, you've been in Australia for five years. You're watching Canada from 10,000 miles away.
What do you see when you look at Canada right now? Not policy—the identity. Who are we becoming?"
CHRIS:
"Carney says 'nostalgia is not a strategy.' But you're a storyteller—nostalgia is powerful. It connects people to place, to history, to meaning.
Can you build a new national identity without nostalgia? Or do you need to use it differently?"
CHRIS:
"Your book says cities come back from the ground up—from a kid in a used bookstore, a song in an empty downtown.
Can Canada build sovereignty that way? Or does standing up to Trump require Carney's top-down moves?"
CHRIS:
"Put on your place branding consultant hat.
If you were hired to help Canada figure out its identity story—what would you tell them? What's the story Canada should tell about itself that's both true and inspiring?"
CHRIS:
"Todd, last question—and I'll keep it simple.
You left Canada five years ago. You're coming back to visit soon.
What do you hope to find when you get here?"
[Let Todd answer. Don't interrupt. This is the emotional landing.]
"Todd Babiak—thank you for being here. And thank you for making Lisa and me official. We owe you one."
[Wrap naturally, thank him, say goodbye to Brynn/tech team]
CHRIS:
"Todd Babiak.
[PAUSE]
[Pick 2-3 key insights from the conversation. Examples:]
"I'm optimistic about Canada. Not blindly—intentionally. But I also know we're in a moment where the future feels less certain than it once did.
That's why this show exists. To slow down. To ask better questions. To sit with ideas that don't have easy answers.
Todd's book—What Gentlemen Do—comes out in June. I'll link it in the show notes. If you care about cities, place, and how communities come back to life, read it.
Next time on Barney's Tavern... [tease next guest if you know, or say 'stay tuned'].
Thanks for pulling up a chair.
I'm Chris LaBossiere. And this is Barney's Tavern."