He Will Be Prime Minister - Kate Harrison Predicts Next Election, Slams Media Bias

All right, magic question.After the next election, who's Prime Minister of Canada?

I think Pierre's got this.

Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a very interesting political climate and there's lots of different voices in lots of different arenas.And we've spent a lot of time covering MPs and had senators on the show and even civil liberties advocates.But today we are grateful to have a different voice, one that you see quite often on CBC.don't turn off the video.Ladies and gentlemen, we are really proud and happy to have a staunch conservative voice with us today.Kate Harrison, welcome to Northern Perspective.

Thank you so much for having me on Ryan.

So we watch you on CBC.And unfortunately, right now, I think there's a lot of alleged conservative voices that are on the mainstream media that don't really come across as conservative when they're participating in some of these discussions.At least that's not the impression that they give.But yours is unmistakable.You are unapologetically conservative, and you will call it like it is.So before we get into that, Why don't you just tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be involved in politics?

Yeah, sure, happy to.So when I was in high school, which was a year I won't mention, but many years ago, a friend of mine had been a co -op student at the local member of parliament's office.And he suggested it would be a great way to burn a couple of credits in my final year of high school.And I think I've always been a fairly civically minded person.My parents weren't involved in politics or anything like that.But I thought, yeah, that's a great way idea in addition to spare all out of co -op, and I did that at the local MP's office.

My local MP was Barry Devolin in Haliburton, Quarther Lakes, Brock, and I liked it so much that Idecided to come to Ottawa for school.I kept working for Barry when I was attending the University of Ottawa.got involved through my local PC Youth Association at the provincial level.So it was John Torrey at the time that was the leader of the PCs.He actually went and then ran in Coors Lakes Brock and was defeated.

So try not to dwell on that too much, but I was always involved in Ontario PC campaigns and then federal politics through my work with the MP.I've been doing my day job as a lobbyist.I hope we didn't lose anybody there, but as a lobbyist for almost 18 years, but I've always kept a toe in conservative politics and really have been doing some of the media commentary stuff since about 2018.

And you've done really well.You're a political pundit now regularly on CBC's Power and Politics and others, and you're vice president of Summa Strategies.So you're doing quite well as a conservative woman.

Yeah, thank you.Thank you for that.And I'll add under 10 plus years of liberal governments still have managed not to get fired or fire myself.I don't think anybody can fire me now, but yeah, it's been good.And I really do enjoy the spirit and the game of politics.I like doing it from a business perspective, as opposed to being in the arena day to day, though lots of respect for those that wear that hat, of course.

So let's get to your time on Power and Politics, because there's a lot of interesting narratives that are going around right now, both on the liberal side and on the conservative side.And Just to give everybody a little bit of a feel of it, what is it like sitting on one of those panels as the questions are flying around, as David Cochran is doing his thing?What is that like?

I look at it very much like a conversation and a debate.I don't find it particularly intimidating because really often it's just you and the host or maybe you and the host and one other guest and a couple of panelists on the other side.In my experience, I find that everybody is typically respectful.Everybody is trying to find some commonality or relatability between what one another is saying.And I think that that makes for good TV.I think it makes for good conversation.

Certainly, I have felt, depending on the topic and the tone of the questioning and where the conversation is going, the need to defend.a little bit more, but I also expect that.I don't think conservatives and liberals are held to the same standard.I knew that going eyes wide open into any media commentary, CBC, I was also on CTV before, and I knew that this was how it was going to be.So if we're not being held to the same standard, our options are either complain about that or try to win.And my philosophy is to try to win.

Do you think there's not enough conservatives that are being unapologetically conservative right now, especially in the media?

I think there is a big pressure to conform to likability.And often that means being agreeable.I think that's a human nature thing.You wanna be likable, you wanna be agreeable and friendly.And sometimes on these shows, there is a pressure that is felt.I would not say applied, because certainly I have my experience, Ryan, I have never been chastised for anything I've said, or guided one way.

That hasn't been my experience at all.I truly do have the opportunity to speak freely on the show.But I also, understand that sometimes people feel they need to say what might be popular or agreeable to the Ottawa bubble.Canada is much more than the Ottawa bubble.And I think sometimes a dose of what is happening outside of official Ottawa, even though a lot of these shows are focused on what's happening on Parliament Hill, is a healthy thing to add into the mix.So that's how I really look at my role on these shows, is trying to provide a perspective that is not just steeped in what's happening inside the Beltway.

that mainstream media accountability of the government has shifted over the last 10 years.You know, we've seen some of these larger personalities like Bob Fife and some of these guys that were really, really good at holding governments to account, did deep dive exposés on them.And that environment seems to have shifted drastically over the 10 years, at least from our perspective.Is that perspective or is that Is there some merit in that?

There is merit.There's a few things that are going on here.Number one, newsrooms have been hollowed out.Reporters are stretched very thin.I think there are a lot of journalists in Canada that are working very hard, trying to get to the bottom of stories.There may not be enough hours in the day.

That is a failure of mainstream media, in my view, to adapt to changing circumstances, maybe to adapt to the the wills and the desires and interests of their viewers, but it does have an impact on newsrooms.And I have to be honest, I think part of the accountability shift that you're talking about does come down to state funding.When the media receives a paycheck from the government, it is really hard to suggest there's not a quid pro quo.And again, I'm not putting that on individual journalists, but part of the reason we see other countriesa thriving media ecosystem with a lot of questions for government, for opposition, really digging into things, is because they fund their news ecosystem differently than how Canada funds it.So I think that creates a mix and a perfect storm of reduced time, less of a desire to hold politicians accountable, and that is not a good thing for Canadians and for democracy.

So there's a lot of opinions from conservative viewers about David Cochran.What is he like off camera?You don't have to give us any private conversations, but what is he like off camera?

Yeah, I get along with David.David is a Newfoundlander and my office is actually predominantly Atlantic Canadian.And so I have a friendly relationship with David off camera.On camera, I think he knows that I like a debate and I'm happy to engage in it.So again, CBC has always been very good with me.Shortly after I had kids, they approached me about having a regular spot, which was really welcome, frankly, from a family perspective, because I was lugging car seats around all the time, trying to make my spots happen.

I had both my kids during a federal election campaign, so it was quite a bit to manage.

Was that strategic?

Certainly not.No, you should talk to anybody I did a radio interview with with a screaming baby in the background during the 2019 campaign.I'll never forget that.they've been great to me.And they they let me say my piece.And I know I'm probably saying something that maybe viewers won't agree with.

And that's okay.Because again, the way I look at it is that conservatives need to show up everywhere.We've had an awesome explosion of independent media, and center right media that's happened in Canada.It's been fantastic.fantastic to see come online.And it gets a lot of attention.

Organizations like yours and productions like yours are fabulous.But if conservatives want to win, I think we need to be everywhere.We can't shy away from stages and screens that might not be the most friendly to us because even if we're successful in convincing a small part of the Canadian population to look at something differently or to maybe ask more questions, I think that is time well spent.

And one of the major themes that is going on in Canadian politics right now is trust.There's a degrading trust in the mainstream media.We've done some exposés on that on CBC's own numbers.There's a mistrust in government.And unfortunately, a lot of these are starting to be linked together.What is mainstream media doing wrong?

I don't think that there's been an adaptability to what Canadians across Canada are interested in seeing and viewing.I think the media market is driven very much by the urban centers.Certainly Ottawa's media market is driven by whatever is happening kind of up the street on Parliament Hill.And again, Canada is so much bigger than that.I think they were late to embrace digital.And I think in some cases, there is too much conformity on some of these networks.

There is too much same speak in the journalism and the views that are presented.And so if you are not, seeing your views reflected in coverage, or you're feeling like you're getting an imbalanced product from what we have always been expecting to be a fair assessment of facts, you're going to start opting out of the mainstream media ecosystem.So I think that there's been some stumbles along the way.I think that'slot of these networks are wise to have a multitude of diversity and perspectives.That's not just gender or race, but that is also regional.

Whenever we are talking about Alberta succession, my God, put an Albertan on the panel, right?Interview an Albertan and talk to them about what's happening in the province rather than a bunch of Central Canadian, know it all, so I'm pointing to myself here, but rather than having them comment on something that is not in their own backyard, we need to be better about bringing in those more regional perspectives.

There's a lot of talk about polarization in Canada as well on the political side.I remember 15, 20 years ago in conversations I would have with people, and I would say, one of the things I like about Canada is our political arena isn't polarized like the United States.We'll fast forward to now, and I think we're catching up rapidly.Originally, I thought I attributed a lot of that to the liberal government and the rhetoric that came out of it, but recently I've been, really reflecting on that and I think we need to lay a lot of that responsibility at the feet of the mainstream media as well.for those points that you're raising, because if they're not showing a balance of opinions and even a balance of shows with different slants on it, then you're going to drive away a segment of that population because they're seeing virtually nothing that they agree with.Is that something that you think needs desperately corrected?

Yes, I think this really accelerated during the COVID pandemic.there was such a groupthink that happened during COVID in terms of, and I'm not talking about the first, you know, three, four months where everybody was uncertain about what was going on.And, you know, those first very scary weeks, even where, you know, you weren't sure how contagious this thing was.But as time dragged along,the world was moving on, and yet Canadian media failed the public.They kept people afraid.

Our government leaders kept people afraid.And I think that there was either in the case of the politicians, a political vote motivation to do that because you don't run to something new when you're feeling afraid.And then for the media, it's about clicks, right?I think we see the same thing happening right now with the Trump paranoia and the incessant articles and news coverage of what's happening south of the border.you turn on a lot of Canadian media programming and it's just what's happening with Donald Trump.Well, there's again, Canada is a big place.

There's lots happening here.There's lots of important stories to be telling here.So because it's a race to the bottom for clicks, the media then of course cater their coverage to what is going to get the most clicks and engagement.And for the mainstream media that is coming largely from an older demographic who are very concerned about Trump, who have the time to invest in having 24 -hour news on in their paid -for homes while they relax on their pensions.So I think that until there's... a shift in, again, how media are funded in the country or perhaps not funded by the government.We're gonna see a lot of this.

My glass half full on it is that we'll hopefully continue to see more independent media stand up and take the risk and the gamble to start an entrepreneurial journey of news journalism, because that has been great to see and more work needs to be done.

And as independent media evolves, do you think The independent media also has to be careful of, let's just say, repeating the sins of the father, because you have mainstream media that has beenbasically one side and independent media with far fewer resources, so very limited in what they can focus on, ends up focusing on, call it the other side, and then you end up with these echo chambers.

Yes, I think journalism is at its best when, if you have a bias, you're wearing the bias.Say what you will about the Toronto Star, their bias is written into their mandate, right?There should be no mistaking, for a media literate Canadian, the lens that is applied to their stories.Where we run into trouble, in my view, is when journalism is presented as fair and balanced and unbiased, when it is evidently not, and objectively not.And so the biggest piece of advice I would have, and I know that your viewers and listeners are already on top of this, but you need a balanced media diet.You cannot rely just on one source of information as truth, because there's a lot of bad information out there.

There's also a lot of good information out there, and that's probably not going to change.We're gonna have more information sources.AI is going to change how people consume information, which information is out there, incredible, and so we really need to do a good job as adults and parents of knowing how to navigate that and teaching younger generations how to navigate that too.

What do you think tomorrow's media landscape might look like given everything that's going on?

I would say there's certainly a trend towards formats like this.I think people are on the go, podcasts, clips, social media is driving so much of the news conversation.If I'm thinking I've got an almost seven -year -old and a five -year -old at home, if I'm thinking about, you know, 20 plus years when, 25 years when they're around my age, I don't know that we have a national newspaper.I don't know that we have newspapers.They will find that online.I am concerned about how much journalism will be conducted by AI.

Now, it's a double -edged sword.On the one hand, AI can pull a lot of information together very quickly from a variety of sources.On the flip side, not all of that is trustful information.A lot of that is out there and we see interference campaigns constantly being run to flood the internet with bad information so that your AI grabs stuff that's not there.So I do like to think that there will always be a human element to journalism and to news media.People connect with stories, not just with facts.

People connect with emotion.I really hope that's not something that AI ever replaces.

Now, just ending on misinformation and pushing back on different things.I think that's where your clips end up going most spiral on CBC is when you're pushing back against something that you feel is either incorrect or false narrative about the conservatives or the liberals.How do you know how far to push?

That's a good question.I think it's really important to stick to the facts.My personal feelings have really nothing to do with, you know, a point that I might make.I think when we're talking about things like China and Taiwan, for example, you need to be pretty clear -eyed about what it is is that's happening in Canada and the gamble that is being made by our government to pursue deeper relationships with a country and an entity that has known interference in Canada and will exposevulnerabilities.So when I see a glossing over of some of these very big changes happen, Ryan, I think it's important to say, well, wait a minute, like let's interrogate that a little bit further and some of the downside risk that comes with that.

So, you know, I consider it an honor to be able to be on and talk about it.providing a bit of that interrogation when it happens.And I'm appreciative for them to let me do it.And if people like engaging with it and they like what I have to say, then that brings me joy as well.

All right, magic question.After the next election, who's Prime Minister of Canada?

I think Pierre's got this.I think we're already starting to, I don't know that it's being reflected in the polling, but I think Ryan, Canada is becoming a place of haves and have -nots.And the haves have it really good.They don't have to worry about their mortgage payments.They're older Canadians.They're the voter that will leave their community because their community is changing and diversifying, and they'll go elsewhere.

And life's pretty good for them, and life is not good for a huge number of Canadians.I don't think this next election is going to be about how many MOUs we sign.our international partnerships that we have.I think it will be about affordability in the economy.This government has not done near enough on that issue.And I think the Conservatives have consistently been focused on domestic concerns of people.

And I believe that at the end of the day, young people and those that are have -nots will put their faith in the Conservatives to give them a shot at being haves.