In a special edition of Qualified Opinions, host Veronique de Rugy hosts an insider roundtable discussion featuring three AIER scholars: David Hebert (Director of Economics and Economic Freedom), Julia Cartwright (Senior Research Fellow in Law and Economics), and Thomas Savidge (Research Fellow) .

Together, the panel tackles three pressing geopolitical and economic developments :

• Canada's European Pivot: How tariff threats, trade tension, and rhetoric from Washington are driving Canada to explore an unprecedented "associate membership" with the European Union .

• The New Era of Populist Handouts: An analysis of high-dollar political promises—from a proposed $5,000 citizen dividend to $9,000 stay-at-home child subsidies—and how populist policy is blurring the traditional lines between the political left and right .

• AI Panics and Regulatory Capture: A critical look at recent doomsday warnings from tech whistleblowers and industry CEOs calling for AI regulation, exploring whether "pacing" innovation is genuine risk mitigation or a classic move to entrench market leaders against open-source rivals .

The episode wraps up with recommended reading from across the institute on central bank independence, international commerce, Gen Z spending habits, and inflation .