In this episode, I am pleased to host Meidas Canada’s Charlie Angus, a former Northern Ontario Canadian MP. I have been working as an Alberta correspondent for him on Meidas since he came to Alberta in January of this year to support the Remove Nicolaides recall campaign of Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta’s Anti-Public Education and anti-Certified Childcare Minister.
Charlie recounts for me his accidental entry into politics, beginning when he dropped out of high school to play in a punk band, then worked with the homeless in Toronto before moving to Northern Ontario. There, he became a carpenter and started a magazine with his wife, which led him to cover the Adams Mine garbage proposal—a scheme to dump Toronto’s trash into abandoned mine pits at a geological tipping point where water flows both north to the Arctic and south toward the St. Lawrence. This fight transformed him into an activist, where he discovered his talent for confrontation and organizing, eventually leading to a 21-year career in Parliament starting in 2004.
The discussion highlights Angus’s philosophy of trusting ordinary people over political elites and hired consultants. He emphasizes how farmers and miners understood groundwater science better than degreed experts working for developers, and how organized citizens successfully fought technical battles against large corporations and government spin. After retiring from Parliament, Angus launched Meidas Canada following Trump’s election, recognizing the threat of extremism and feeling that mainstream media wasn’t adequately addressing it.
Angus draws alarming parallels between Alberta’s current situation and Brexit, noting similar patterns of Russian interference through the Internet Research Agency, Cambridge Analytica-style disinformation, and manipulation of online platforms. He criticizes the lack of political leadership in addressing these threats, while praising Canadians’ grassroots response—including a 30% drop in purchases of American-built vehicles through boycotts. He concludes by urging citizens to take direct action, attend rallies, create music for the movement, and trust that their neighbors will do their part—arguing that empowered citizens genuinely frighten the political establishment.
“I know people are afraid. I know people get worried. Don’t doom scroll. Take the fight to them because it really freaks them out. So that’s what we got to do.”
—Charlie Angus
You heard that right, PICK A FUN FIGHT with Charlie and me.
Check out Charlie’s IRAN LEGO NEWS video.
