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The Grand Parade

Matt Stickland
Halifax
Halifax, Canada
Property Taxes
Budget
Halifax Regional Municipality
Road Safety
Integrated Mobility Plan
Road Safety Halifax
Halifax Transit
Halifax City Council
Road Safety Strategy
Portland
Andy Fillmore
Transit
Transportation Utility Fee
Vision Zero
Budget Season
Bus Rapid Transit
Wanderer Grounds
Board Of Police Commissioners

A Halifax city hall podcast, hosted by reporter Matt Stickland. An irreverent look at city hall, the policies they put forward and the people who decide on them for us.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes134Founded4 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
PoliticsNews

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for The Grand Parade

Latest Episodes

This week is a field trip where host Matt Stickland goes on someone else's podcast to talk about city politics.

The Community Game Plan podcast is put on by two real estate agents and they wanted to have Matt on to talk about municipal politics. Wh... more

This week, Matt sits down with Paris Marx to talk about the parallels between tech and transportation and how big tech companies are ruining transportation.

Here is that survey I mentioned in the intro: forms.gle/48LYfyq5LCsBZYgx8

Halifax's old CAO Cathie O'Toole quit a while ago, and Halifax's long-suffering public servant Brad Anguish has been filling in until a suitable replacement could be found.

Well, that replacement was found!

Marnie Cluckie, the former CAO of Ham... more

Sorry, ran out of time for a real EP this week!

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Joey Coleman
City hall reporter, Hamilton.
thepublicrecord.ca
Episode: A scouting report on Halifax's new CAO with Joey Coleman
Nick Ferenchak
Ph.D., Professor in Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico; lead author of the traffic safety study
University of New Mexico
Episode: Exposure to driving with Nick Ferenchak
Thi Nguyen
Author, The Score: How to Stop Playing Someone's Game
Author, The Score
Episode: Book club bonus show: Interview with Thi Nguyen
Marnie Dicker
Executive Vice President, Infrastructure and Chief Legal Officer
CPL/Grand Parade collaboration
Episode: An award winning podcast episode
Ben Hamer
Transit KPI presenter
Halifax Transit (representing own concerns)
Episode: What if we had a plan to integrate our mobility?
Aisha Abdush
Youth poet, writer and student with Ethiopian roots
Youth Poet Laureate program (Halifax)
Episode: David Hendsbee progressive tax champion
Daniel Park
Municipal Youth Poet Laureate for 2026, 16-year-old writer and gardener
Halifax Youth Poet Laureate program
Episode: David Hendsbee progressive tax champion
James O"Loughlin
Laborers 483 field representative, Portland native
Laborers 483
Episode: Jurisdictional scan: Portland's transportation utility fee
Millicent Williams
Director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation
Portland Bureau of Transportation
Episode: Jurisdictional scan: Portland's transportation utility fee

Host

Matt Stickland
Host and City Hall Reporter for Grand Parade Newspaper

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 62 ratings
  • i’ve never been to halifax but this is fun

    it’s like tolkien where the hobbits are battling cars. here the battle is against the 108 ATV club who want to allow ATVs on the green belt, we don’t have a podcast though and i only kind of know how green belt governance works through the CRD

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    jegomc
    Canadaa year ago
  • We genuinely need TGP… but:

    For the love of god … we get that you are a bike enthusiast, and that appropriately designed bike lanes are beneficial in any number of ways. BUT… many of us ‘non bikers’ have lives that because of age, or physical limitations, or any number of other factors requires or at least prefers the use of a personal vehicle. Can we just stipulate to your POV on the issue? Maybe stop screaming? Like it or not, laws of physics or not, the personal vehicle is here for years to come.

    Thanks for your consi... more

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Crannogman
    Canadaa year ago
  • Great podcast.

    Please Matt I’m begging you to raise the volume level of this podcast. It’s near impossible to hear over the sound of the ferry engine.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    cbeau166
    Canadaa year ago
  • A personal, professional take on municipal government

    Matt Stickland reports on the goings on of Halifax Regional Council, not because it’s exciting, despite Matt’s best efforts to make it so, but because he really cares about how people use the power that has been entrusted to them.

    Having power and not using it to help others is almost as bad as abusing that power.

    I have been warned about Matt by a local councillor, which means he’s doing a great job. Keep up the good work.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    JehanebetIshak
    Canadaa year ago
  • Great HRM podcast

    Listened to Matt when he was doing the Glue Factory. Glad this podcast was started. I really enjoyed the HRM Votes series. Always looking forward to the next episode dropping.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Nick McPink
    Canada2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners appreciate candid reporting on budget and transit debates.
Guests and topics are generally relevant to Halifax civic life.
Some episodes feel heavily opinionated, which may polarize.
Shows strong local governance insight and practical policy critique.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#75
South Korea/News/Politics

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Exposure to driving with Nick Ferenchak
Q: Can you walk us through the methodology and what you found?
We analyzed roughly 227 urban areas in the US, examining mode share, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), education, enforcement, and speeds, and then used a large statistical model to see how these factors relate to safety. The standout result was that driving exposure was the strongest predictor of safety outcomes—more cars mean higher risk, even when other factors are favorable.
Exposure to driving with Nick Ferenchak
Q: Why did you approach road safety by focusing on exposure to driving rather than traditional methods?
The core idea is that the amount of driving itself is a fundamental driver of safety outcomes; reducing exposure tends to reduce crashes more broadly than relying solely on education, enforcement, or speed management, especially in car-dependent cities.
BUDGET SEASON IS BACK BABY, a Nov 17-21 council recap
Q: What are councilors hoping to achieve out of budget season?
Councilors express a mix of affordability, preserving services, and advancing priorities like transit, infrastructure, and smarter fees, with an emphasis on reducing the long-term fiscal shortfall while keeping taxes palatable for residents.
Do you wanna build a book club?, a Jan 19-23 ctee recap
Q: What is the Green Network Plan update and why does it matter for council decisions?
The update demonstrates how the plan's implementation depends on provincial rules and local governance, and it highlights the need for better fiscal reporting and cost allocation so council can make informed decisions.
An award winning podcast episode
Q: Why did you decide to make this episode an award-winning rerun and travel piece?
The host explains that the rerun format allows revisiting a particularly strong episode while also showcasing the behind-the-scenes effort and collaborators who helped shape it, and ties it to the broader celebration of the show's achievement.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
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Frequently Asked Questions About The Grand Parade

What is The Grand Parade about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A Halifax city hall-focused show with a sharp, irreverent voice that analyzes council decisions, budget fights, and transport policy through a local-government lens. Episodes frequently feature deep dives into road safety, transit planning, and funding mechanisms, often peppered with insider commentary, data-crunching, and guest perspectives from policymakers, engineers, journalists, and occasionally youth poets. A standout is how it blends rigorous policy critique with accessible storytelling, satirical takes, and calls for civic participation, making complex municipal issues feel tangible for listeners who care about local democracy and urban planning.

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How many listeners does The Grand Parade get?

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Which podcasts are similar to The Grand Parade?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Grand Parade:

1. Down the Pub Podcast- A Soccer Podcast
2. Sandy and Nora talk politics
3. This is Nova Scotia
4. The Zach Lowe Show
5. The Tides Pod: A Hfx Tides Podcast

How many episodes of The Grand Parade are there?

The Grand Parade launched 4 years ago and published 134 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact The Grand Parade?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for The Grand Parade?

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What guests have appeared on The Grand Parade?

Recent guests on The Grand Parade include:

1. Joey Coleman
2. Nick Ferenchak
3. Thi Nguyen
4. Marnie Dicker
5. Ben Hamer
6. Aisha Abdush
7. Daniel Park
8. James O"Loughlin

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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