Elias Makos starts the week off with Dan Delmar, Co-founder of the content marketing firm TNKR Media and co-host of the podcast Inspiring Entrepreneurs Canada, and Jimmy Zoubris, former special advisor to the mayor of Montreal.

• The federal government is bracing for a razor-thin confidence vote on the budget Monday, with Liberals scrambling behind the scenes to lock down enough opposition support to avoid triggering an election.
• The Parti Québecois is proposing to give the province its own currency if it were independent.
• It's weekday launch day for the new REM line in Deux-Montagnes. So far there have been no issues with the new line this weekend or this morning. That being said, REM employees staged a small protest on Saturday against their working conditions.

Joining Elias on The Big 5 were Jonathan Kalles, Vice President at McMillan Vantage, a national public affairs firm, and former advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. and Alain Vaillancourt, Former Montreal City Councillor and Executive committee member.

Among the subjects discussed were

• Soraya Martinez Ferrada was officially sworn in as Montreal mayor last night. What’s her first challenge?
• Three critical mineral extraction projects, a nickel mine in Ontario and a transmission line on the northern B.C. coast are among the new initiatives added to the growing list of projects referred to the Major Projects Office.
• Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge is reiterating his threat to cut social assistance for asylum seekers.
• A Quebec man says he can only place 93-cent bets in Loto-Québec’s sports betting app because he was winning too much money.

Elias Makos is joined by Caroline Codsi, Founder & Chief Equity Officer, Women in Governance, and Paul Gott, Lead singer and guitarist for Montreal Punk Rock band the Ripcordz and a journalism professor at Concordia.

• Is Mark Carney’s honeymoon with voters coming to an end? Quebecers are seemingly not impressed with Mark Carney’s first budget.
• Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre spoke to reporters yesterday for the first time since two MPs announced they were leaving his caucus.
• As it stands right now, there will be no bus or metro service this weekend.
• Doctors leaving for Ontario may not be getting the better lifestyle that was promised to them.