Podshite: “Chai with Chopra,” featuring Peter MacKay

Ever wonder what Peter MacKay’s up to these days?

Frank neither, but the cerebral ex-Harper cabmin, now freedom-59ing on his $128K parliamentary pension, plus pin money from gigs at McInnes Cooper and Deloitte, recently washed up on the new podcast of Liberal lobby weasel Ajay Chopra (Franks passim.)

Ajay, readers will recall, was last seen mulling his “dark horse” candidacy for Liberal leader and PM – a scheme destined to meet the same success as his previous abortive campaigns for Manitoba Liberal leader and Winnipeg mayor.

That same swivel-eyed positivity persists in his latest reinvention as the rising voice of the new Canada, the comet that takes out podcast dinosaurs like David Herle and Peter Mansbingo. (Number of “Chai with Chopra” subscribers so far? Seven.)

Alas, around midpoint of the MacKay borefest, which Saltpeter refuses to enliven even when offered the subject of his rumoured bilateral, Condi Rice (“still good friends…zzz”), Ajay’s stamina starts to flag:

“I’m mindful of the time. I know you’ve got to go to lunch with your wife and family. Just a few more minutes.”

Peter, sensing that he’s losing his audience, deftly pivots to Chopra’s favourite subject…Chopra!

“Well, before we talk about my wife and family, Ajay, I got to know what’s going on with you! Like, it’s been a long time. You’ve been on the bachelor list as long as I’ve known you, and, uh, you know, I’ve been there. I’ve taken that kind of heat, but I think the most concerned is your mom, you know, so I think you need to get on, buddy.

Chopra: “You got to know the truth. You need to know the truth, as, uh, mean, doing this whole Chai with Chopra was a bit of a manic decision, right? And you know, the manic Ajay makes magic! My mother, you need to know, is a huge fan of yours. And I said ‘Mom, I’ – and were at the car. I spend a lot of time with my mother.

“As you know I moved home from Toronto in 2016 to Winnipeg. I was in Toronto 10 years as a Bay Street lobbyist, working in mining and whatsoever, great years. And as I speak to you, I’m standing in my hotel room, um, above the 38^th floor, looking at Toronto. And I left this city in 2016, Peter. And the look is very different, right?”

MacKay: “I was there ‘til 2020, Ajay, and I know what you mean, when you go now, it does have a different feel to it. Um, and that’s, you know, that’s natural. There’s lots of reasons for that, but uh, and I know you’re trying to avoid the question, but really, I mean, tell your mother to call me.”

Chopra: “I am ready to answer that! I am ready to answer! Uh, I’ve gone to India about three times. Uh, the previous attempt, the previous try, my father had someone sort of….I had a bit of a dispute with the mayor of Winnipeg. I was a taxi lobbyist against Uber, which, uh, I was concerned about because when I lived in Toronto, I was perhaps the most prolific user of Uber.

“And so I took this file on in Winnipeg because I felt for the taxis, right? Uh, they were owner-operators and these guys had families. Some of these taxis they had invested half a million in, and this dispute was going across the country and the mayor with his, uh, perfect teeth and I got into a bit of a ruckus. I was just doing my job, but, um, that being said, everything I’ve done with my life be it Indigenous, I think that you recall, I’m not sure you know how I negotiated a 19 per cent increase for truckers in Ontario, and was honoured by the Sikh association. Some of that work I’ve done in my past life, I’m proud of but, um, what comes ahead for me is, um, making my parents proud and, you know, focusing on business. But with respect–

MacKay: “Oh, well that’s, all kidding aside, I, I’m sure your parents are very, very proud.”

Chopra: “But with respect to the future Mrs. Ajay, the search continues. And so I went to Thailand for a few weeks before India, and I was in my infinity pool. I decided to call her. We spoke and then I discovered there was no English there, and then–(that’s enough unintelligible bachelors!!—ed.)