Mike Smyth
Radio Host
Currently the host of The Mike Smyth Show, Mike has been a fixture on the ‘NW airwaves for more than 20 years.
Mike came to radio while pursuing a long career in print media. He worked at daily newspapers in Ontario before becoming a legislature correspondent at The Canadian Press, Canada’s national news agency, a role he held for eight years. In 1996 Mike became a political columnist for the Vancouver Province where his column ran for 24 years.
Mike began as a regular commentator on 980 CKNW providing political analysis to The Rafe Mair Show for over a decade. In addition, he hosted weekends and overnights before landing his own show, Nightline BC, the top night-time talk show from 2004 to 2007. Mike also hosted The Mike Smyth Show in 2010 and 2011, stepping in after regular host Christy Clark returned to politics.
Mike is married to Mary Griffin, a reporter at CHEK TV in Victoria. They have two teenage sons, Declan and Seamus, and a dog named Scout.
The Mike Smyth Show airs Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Contact Mike Smyth
Author Archives
-
Jagmeet’s flip-flop: A pandemic election was just fine last yearMike Smyth says Trudeau's federal Liberals are clearly on a snap-election footing, with regular spending announcements and cross-country road trips by key cabinet ministers.CommentaryAug 12, 2021
-
Some of Canada’s e-scooter programs are hitting a potholeE-scooters are a common sight in Vancouver, zipping along side streets and scooting through the city’s ubiquitous bike lanes. But they're causing issues, Mike Smyth says.CommentaryJul 21, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
How will Justin Trudeau clean up his military mess?Critics are stepping up their attacks on how Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has handled the deepening crisis in the country's military leadership.CommentaryJun 25, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
To beef or not to beef? Views are split on the future of red meat in CanadaWhat some see as a 'war on meat,' others see as a larger struggle to save the planet and human health. Mike Smyth explains.CommentaryJun 15, 2021
-
British Columbia’s cruise ship industry continues to navigate choppy watersFirst it was COVID, Mike Smyth writes. Now the sector is worried about another hit if American cruise ships are allowed to bypass B.C. ports on their way to Alaska.CommentaryMay 20, 2021
-
Leader of the nomads: The amazing journey of Bob WellsWells came to the attention of filmmaker Chloe Zhao after he was featured in the book 'Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century,' on which the film 'Nomadland' is based.CommentaryApr 29, 2021
-
British Columbia’s ‘war in the woods’ is flaring up againAnti-logging protestors in B.C. are facing some criticism from a surprising source, Mike Smyth says.CommentaryApr 22, 2021
-
COMMENTARY: Premier Horgan’s generational blame game riles young British ColumbiansYoung people were not following social-distancing rules and allowing COVID-19 to spread throughout the province, Horgan said — and reaction to the premier was swift.PoliticsApr 8, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
By sanctioning Michael Chong, China may have made a mistakeChong was singled out by China for his criticism of Beijing's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang province — and he's not alone, Mike Smyth writes.CommentaryApr 1, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
What’s it like to be jailed and tried in China? Ask those who’ve been through itThe ordeal of Kevin and Julia Garrett is eerily similar to that of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians arrested in China and recently tried on spying charges.CommentaryMar 25, 2021
-
Alberta takes aim at Netflix kids’ movie over oil concerns. Is it overreaction?That's the debate that erupted in Alberta this week after the Jason Kenney government set its sights on Bigfoot Family, an animated children's movie currently popular on Netflix.CommentaryMar 18, 2021
-
The clues pointing to Justin Trudeau’s electoral ambitions are piling upThe days of opposition parties looking for their moment are a thing of the past, Mike Smyth writes. Now, it's Trudeau's minority Liberals who seem eager to face the voters.CommentaryMar 11, 2021
-
Gas-price politics, from British Columbia and beyondAn extra-nasty case of gas-fuelled road rage is going on in B.C., home to North America's highest gasoline taxes, Mike Smyth says.CommentaryMar 5, 2021
-
Dispute over beach carving is one of many miseries at Royal BC MuseumThings got worse when Jack Lohman — the museum's then-CEO who announced and then un-announced the discovery — was forced to resign over accusations of institutional racism.CommentaryFeb 23, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
Former United Nations envoy Stephen Lewis takes on Big PharmaFor Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations, the situation involving vaccines and the developing world paints a disturbing picture. Mike Smyth explains.CommentaryFeb 12, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
For the mother of Amanda Todd, it’s been a long quest for justice'All I wanted was a trial and see justice served,' said Carol Todd, who has been campaigning for that justice for eight years. Now the judicial wheels are starting to turn.CommentaryFeb 10, 2021
-
Could Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine supply be key to an early election call?If the vaccine supply continues to sputter, Trudeau may decide against an election call in the spring, Mike Smyth says. But what if it picks back up again?CommentaryFeb 2, 2021
-
The great Yukon vaccine caper — not exactly the perfect heistHow Rodney and Ekaterina Baker expected to waltz into a remote Yukon village and demand a COVID-19 vaccination meant for Indigenous elders is hard to comprehend, Mike Smyth says.CommentaryJan 28, 2021
-
With Sloan’s expulsion, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole hopes to turn the pageSloan's expulsion was triggered by O'Toole, Mike Smyth says, who was 'outraged' to learn Sloan had accepted a campaign donation from Paul Fromm, a notorious white supremacist.CommentaryJan 21, 2021
-
Don’t call me Canada’s Donald Trump, Erin O’Toole saysWith a snap election possible in the spring, get ready for Justin Trudeau's Liberals to brand Conservative leader Erin O'Toole as 'Trump North,' Mike Smyth says.CommentaryJan 14, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
COMMENTARY: For Canada’s Parliament Hill hero, the U.S. Capitol attack triggered memoriesThe people involved in the Oct. 22, 2014, attack on Parliament Hill still carry emotional scars, Kevin Vickers tells Mike Smyth.PoliticsJan 12, 2021
-
Advertisement
-
Professional athletes should wait their turn for vaccines, just like everyone elseMike Smyth has a word of advice to sports teams and leagues of all disciplines: don't be like the Calgary Flames of 2009.CommentaryDec 15, 2020
-
B.C.’s shuttered churches prompt coronavirus-era theological debateWhy in B.C. are you allowed to go to a bar or a restaurant or a crowded Walmart, but you can't go to church on Sunday? Michael Smyth tries to find an answer.CommentaryDec 10, 2020
-
Justin Trudeau got his COVID-19 vaccine Xmas gift, but the Grinch still loomsDon't kid yourself, Mike Smyth says: the issue of a COVID-19 vaccine is still a politically vexing one for Trudeau and the Liberals.CommentaryDec 8, 2020
-
Does Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have an election in mind for the new year?The numbers have been looking good for Justin Trudeau lately, and Mike Smyth says many signs point to the prime minister testing that popularity.CommentaryDec 3, 2020