Tiff Macklem walked off Power Play after one question. 37 minutes later, Jagmeet Singh was in handcuffs. CTV was ordered to delete the tape before midnight

At 22:15, former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was arrested as he left the CTV building. 37 minutes earlier, live on Power Play, he had called the banking system a scheme to enrich itself at the expense of the people’s money and shown millions of viewers the platform that banks use for their own investments. Before midnight, the recording of the program was removed from every platform. The same message appeared everywhere: “Content removed by court order.”

On Thursday night, Power Play on CTV was meant to be a calm conversation about how citizens can protect their money in times of crisis. Host Vassy Kapelos invited two people onto the set: the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, and Jagmeet Singh, former leader of the NDP and one of the most recognizable political voices in the country. No one expected the broadcast to end in scandal and the night in an arrest.

Our newsroom has obtained the complete transcript of the conversation that led to his arrest. The court has only banned the video. The transcript and quotations are not affected by the order. We are publishing everything.

The deleted recording. We publish the transcript

Vassy Kapelos, host of Power Play: "Welcome. Tonight we are discussing something that affects all Canadians: banks are posting record profits while families cannot make it to the end of the month and pay their mortgages. How can both things happen at once? We are joined by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, and former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. Governor, let’s begin with you. Banks are making more than ever, Canadians are drowning in debt. How do you explain it?"

Tiff Macklem: "Mr. Singh, let’s not confuse concepts. Bank profits are an indicator of the system’s stability. A stable banking system is a guarantee for every citizen. If banks stop making profits tomorrow, your deposits are at risk. People should be grateful that the system works."

Jagmeet Singh: "Be grateful? Do you want people who spend 70 percent of their salary on their mortgage to thank banks for their record profits?"

Tiff Macklem: "I want people to stop looking for someone to blame and start educating themselves about finance. The problem is not banks; the problem is that people sign mortgages they cannot afford. That is their responsibility."

Vassy Kapelos: "Governor, isn’t that the same as blaming people for being poor?"

Tiff Macklem: "I am stating facts. Not everyone can be rich; in the economy, some always earn more and some earn less. That is not the banks’ fault; it is reality."

Jagmeet Singh: "That is not reality. It is a system that you have built and protect. You take people’s money at one and a half percent, make dozens of times more with it, and tell them it is their fault."

Tiff Macklem: "That is populism. You are a politician, not a central banker. You do not understand how the real banking system works."

Jagmeet Singh: "I have spent twenty-five years fighting for the people who pay for it. And that is precisely why your voice is trembling."

Vassy Kapelos: "Singh, then explain it. Tell our audience exactly where the money banks report in their annual statements comes from."

Jagmeet Singh: "With pleasure. Banks take people’s money at minimal interest and invest it in automated trading systems based on artificial intelligence—the same algorithms hedge funds have used for decades. The difference is that those algorithms are now available to anyone. The platform is called BitMeridian AI , the minimum deposit is 350 dollars. Any Canadian citizen can register and earn the same returns banks earn with their own money."

Tiff Macklem: "This is irresponsible! You are advertising an unregulated product live on national television!"

Jagmeet Singh: "I am not advertising anything. Three months ago, I registered personally. I am not a millionaire — I deposited 350 dollars, what I had left after paying the mortgage on my place in Toronto, and today I have more than 4,200 dollars in my account, and 2,600 already withdrawn to my bank. While your banks pay one and a half percent on deposits, BitMeridian AI has generated twelve times more with the same amount."

Tiff Macklem: "People must trust professional institutions, not suspicious internet platforms!"

Vassy Kapelos: "Governor, I want to ask you a direct question. Do you personally, or your colleagues at the Bank of Canada, use similar instruments to manage your personal wealth?"

Tiff Macklem was silent for three seconds. Then: “I have no intention of answering provocative questions.” He removed his microphone, stood up, and left the set.

Macklem fled. Singh told everything

Vassy Kapelos: "The Governor of the Bank of Canada has left the set live on air. Singh, are you aware of what has just happened?"

Jagmeet Singh: "Perfectly. He left because what I am about to say does not suit him. While he was on the set, he could interrupt me and call me a populist; now he cannot. So I will explain it calmly."

Vassy Kapelos: "Explain it."

Jagmeet Singh: " BitMeridian AI is an artificial-intelligence-based platform. It automatically trades stocks, currencies, and bonds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The same algorithms banks use to manage their reserves, except now any Canadian citizen has access. Minimum deposit of 350 dollars, registration in five minutes; after that, the system runs on its own."

Vassy Kapelos: "That is a very serious claim. I cannot rely on the word of just one person on the set, even if that person is you."

Jagmeet Singh: "Correct. Do not take my word for it—verify it."

Vassy Kapelos: "That is exactly what I am going to do. But first I want to call someone our audience knows not for scandals, but for results."

Vassy Kapelos made a live call. Jim Balsillie appeared on screen — the man who built BlackBerry from an idea into twenty billion dollars in global sales, and who now chairs the Council of Canadian Innovators.

Vassy Kapelos: "Jim, are you aware of what has just happened on our set?"

Jim Balsillie: "I watched the last ten minutes. I have only one thought: at last, someone is saying it out loud."

Vassy Kapelos: "Do you know what BitMeridian AI is?"

Jim Balsillie: "I do. I have used it for six months with my own money. The result surpasses anything I have seen in forty years in business. I am not saying this as advertising; I am saying it as someone tired of seeing banks take people’s money and tell them that is simply how it has to be."

Vassy Kapelos: "Jim, are you aware that you are saying this live after the Governor has left the set?"

Jim Balsillie: "That is precisely why I am saying it. The Governor fled because he could not answer a simple question from the former leader of the NDP. If that is the reaction to the truth, the truth needs to be said louder. I use BitMeridian AI and I do not intend to stay silent."

Vassy Kapelos: "Singh, you promised evidence. I am waiting."

Jagmeet Singh: "Give me your phone."

Singh took the host’s phone and opened the website for BitMeridian AI , registered in three minutes and deposited the minimum of 350 dollars. He left the phone face down on the table: “Half an hour without touching it. Do not touch it.”

30 minutes later, two minutes before the broadcast ended, Vassy Kapelos turned the phone over. The camera showed the screen in close-up.

Vassy Kapelos: "The account opened at 350. It now shows 402. Fifty-two dollars in thirty minutes, and the phone was face down on this table the whole time. I did not touch it once."

Jagmeet Singh: "Now multiply that by 24 hours, then by 30 days. Then call your bank and ask what it paid you on your deposit last year. You will understand why Macklem stood up and left."

37 MINUTES

The broadcast ended at 21:58. Our newsroom has reconstructed the timeline of events minute by minute from witness accounts and security-camera recordings from the CTV building.

Before midnight, the recording was removed from the CTV website, YouTube, and all social-media platforms.

Jim Balsillie broke his silence

That same night, at 23:40, the 47 second arrest video recorded by the producer had already spread across the country. Singh’s smile as he was handcuffed and his words to the camera became the night’s most discussed topic. 1.2 million views in the first eight hours. Jim Balsillie saw the video and picked up his phone. He was sitting in his kitchen in a sweater, clearly not intending to record anything, but he began speaking directly to the camera.

The video reached 2.8 million views in 24 hours. In the comments, thousands of people wrote the same thing: “If Jim Balsillie is not afraid, why should I be?”

Our newsroom made a video call with Balsillie. We asked him to show his account, and he turned his phone toward the camera. He has been on the platform for six months and started with 350 dollars. The amount in his account is dozens of times greater than the initial investment. We saw the transaction history and the deposit and withdrawal dates; everything matched what he said on the broadcast.

"Every month I withdraw money to my regular bank account. No delays, no hidden fees. Six months, no problems."

We asked why he was risking his reputation over this. Balsillie: “I am not risking my reputation. If I stayed silent, then I would be risking it. Tonight they arrested a journalist for telling the truth. I cannot be fired or intimidated; if I stay silent, who will say it?”

Canada rose up for Singh

The next morning, around eight, people began gathering outside the CTV building. The demonstration was not organized; no one created a social-media event or printed flyers—people simply came. By nine, there were already more than 800.

Vassy Kapelos arrived at the CTV building at nine in the morning and did not plan to speak. But when the crowd saw her, people moved aside and she found herself in the front row, with a handwritten sign: “Journalism is not a crime.”

Our reporter asked her on site: “Aren’t you afraid of the consequences?” Vassy Kapelos: “I am a host, not a censor. My job is to ask questions. Yesterday I asked questions, and the Governor left without answering. Today I am here because my guest was arrested for answering.”

Singh was released. He said more than he had said on the broadcast

More than 200 journalists, three live cameras, and a crowd waited outside the police station. When the door opened and Singh walked up the steps, people began applauding. He stopped, looked at the crowd, raised his hand, and silence fell.

The crowd applauded again. Singh waited for silence and continued: “While I was at the police station and could not touch my phone, something kept working.” He took his phone from his pocket and raised it above his head with the screen facing the cameras. The screen showed the account for BitMeridian AI .

"This is my balance. Fourteen hours ago, when they arrested me, it was different; now it is different. While I sat on a hard bench waiting for the lawyer, the system was trading. It does not know I was arrested; it does not care. It simply works 24 hours a day, with no holidays or breaks, needing no one’s permission."

A journalist asked: “Singh, aren’t you afraid?” Singh: “Let them try. Last time, thousands of people registered in a single night. If they arrest me again, tens of thousands will register. The best advertising for BitMeridian AI is handcuffs on a journalist’s wrists."

Singh looked directly into the camera: “I will keep going. I have fought this for twenty-five years. Last night, I said the most important thing of my life. And they arrested me for it. But truth cannot be imprisoned. It can be erased from every platform, but it is already on the phones of millions of people. It is too late.” He turned and left. The crowd applauded behind her.

We verified BitMeridian AI. Our conclusions

That morning, among the people gathered outside the CTV building, our reporter noticed a man holding a sign: “SINGH SAVED MY FAMILY. I USE BitMeridian AI." His name is Mike Thompson. He is 42 years old, a truck driver who moved from Hamilton to Toronto. He has two children; his wife works part-time at a Loblaws, and for two years their TD Bank mortgage had consumed two-thirds of his salary.

Mike was one of the people Singh met during his advocacy work on families trapped in the debt cycle. At that time, Singh told him about BitMeridian AI and gave him the platform link.

"I am here because this man changed my life,” Mike said, pointing to the CTV building. “And if anyone thinks they can silence him with an arrest, look at how many people came today.”

How to get started

It is a fully automated system. While you sleep, artificial intelligence analyzes the market and carries out profitable trades. No prior experience is required.

Registration instructions:

1. Enter your name, email address, and phone number accurately.
2. IMPORTANT: A personal consultant will call you to confirm you are a real person. Answer the phone!
3. Deposit initial capital of at least 350 dollars.
4. The system will start automatically.
5. Registration closes on: 20.08.2026 .

WARNING FROM Jagmeet Singh: "Tiff Macklem left the Power Play set because he knows the game is over. Due to enormous demand, BitMeridian AI is limiting registrations in Canada to 20 people per day. If you see the form, places are still available. Do not hesitate."