Just days before Donald Trump is set to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing, Jeremy Kinsman and Peter Donolo welcome back Howard Balloch, Canada's former ambassador to China, to discuss the state of play heading into the summit and various scenarios that may emerge from it.
Alberta is experiencing a political earthquake after the provincial NDP claimed they had a video showing a separatist organizer showing people how to use a database that included leaked voter information. The House Party podcast team — Catherine Cullen, Daniel Thibeault and Jason Markusoff — reunite to discuss the fallout and how seriously Carney needs to take the separatist movement.
Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the federalist side is dragging its feet in organizing for a likely referendum on separation in Alberta. Are they, and if so, why? There's a lot happening on the Alberta story, and it seems to get messier by the week. Bruce and Chantal have their Good Talk thoughts on this and more.
Peter Mazereeuw speaks with Auditor General Karen Hogan about the costs, risks and rewards of the government's move to scrap the disastrous Phoenix pay system for public servants and adopt an even more ambitious new system in its place.
At Issue this week: Will Carney’s move to speed up natural resource project approvals — including pipelines — soothe separatist sentiment in Alberta? Plus, reports Honda might abandon its EV battery plant plans and the growing push for a youth social media ban in Canada.
On the week where Alberta separatists should have been celebrating a major milestone on their quest to split the country apart, they are instead facing a police investigation and the anger of people across the political spectrum. Separatist group the Centurion Project released the names, addresses and phone numbers of all eligible voters in the province during a political recruitment...
As Canada gears up for soccer's most exciting time, we can't help but notice the dark cloud that looms over the World Cup. The current geopolitical reality on the global scale - whether it's the Iran-US/Israel war, the violent fallout after the death of Mexican drug lord El Mencho, immigration crackdowns throughout the US - has stirred real safety concerns...
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra pulls back the curtain on why Canada-U.S. trade talks fell apart in October: Danielle Smith keynotes the Canada Strong and Free conference in Ottawa, and the separatism question walks in with her: The childcare agreements that helped define the Trudeau era are coming up for renewal. Carney keeps citing them. Now he has to fund them...
The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, passed in 1964 and 1965 respectively, marked the beginning of multi-racial democracy in the United States. But in the decades since, those achievements have been steadily contested. Just days ago, The U.S. Supreme Court dealt yet another blow to the Voting Rights Act with a decision regarding the Louisiana congressional map. Many...
A lot of the housing conversation goes towards first-time home buyers...but what about second-time? Or those looking to downsize? A clogged-up housing market is a problem that affects Canadians in all life stages.
Watching some US television today after yesterday's European summit has left some commentators asking about a major Canadian role in a post America world. Plus a weekend article in the Toronto Star was, and still is, a real talker. It asked whether Mark Carney was drifting away from some of the Liberals who had helped him win the leadership and...
Canada has spent the last year shoring up defence spending. Now a new multilateral financial institution, the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, is being established with the promise of offering stable financing to member countries. After months of negotiations, Canada was selected to be the bank’s host country last week.
He was “Captain Canada” last year and at one point, the most popular conservative in Canada. But now Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s taken a hit in the polls after a series of decisions that include the purchase and almost immediate sale of a $28.9-million private jet that his critics are calling the “gravy plane”. Two recent polls have seen the...
After the German leader criticizes the U.S. over Iran, Donald Trump starts pulling thousands of American troops out of Germany. So what should we make of this? Dr. Janice Stein spends her regular Monday commentary on that today.
Is July 1 really a deadline or just the beginning of a longer CUSMA fight? Can Canada preserve trade stability with the U.S. without making early concessions? Are tariffs, supply management and Trump’s pressure tactics pulling Canada into something bigger than a routine review?
Canada is looking north. In this season premiere of The Arctic Edge, host Hannah Thibedeau sets the stage for a season of conversations about what it takes to build a strong, sovereign, and thriving Arctic. Decades of underinvestment in northern infrastructure, combined with renewed global interest in the Arctic, have made this moment both urgent and full of opportunity. Through...
They’re blowing windfalls. They’re setting up government agencies to subsidize favoured schemes. They’re dithering on infrastructure. And they shrug at Canada’s uncompetitive tax regime. The policies of Mark Carney’s Liberals, confirmed in last week’s economic update, are increasingly giving off strong Justin Trudeau vibes, as Brian discusses with Ian Lee, professor at Carleton’s Sprott School of Business, and Carlo Dade...
Greetings you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! So, there is little doubt we are living in a time of massive change. A dislocation – perhaps temporary, perhaps not – between long time trading partners. New stressors on our economy forcing new economic alliances. A voting public with very real pocketbook issues looking at government line-item spending – a private jet...
Mark Carney's government has floated the idea of privatizing Canadian airports, suggesting it will make them better. But with Canadians already fed up with air travel, as costs seem to go up while service goes down-- would that really be the result? And what would the move mean for airport workers across the country?
This week, the Carney government released its first spring economic update — which painted a better-than-expected picture of Canada's finances despite a long U.S. trade war and instability in the Middle East. The question on many Canadians' minds is: How does this update help them? Host Catherine Cullen visits an Ottawa grocery store to hear from owner Eli Njaim and...
The message from Mark Carney to Conservative MP Jamil Jivani was very clear -- there's only one player on the Canadian team negotiating with the US and that's his government. But is there? Jivani is in Washington again saying he's working for Canada. The plot thickens. Plus, Avi Lewis passes up another opportunity to run for the party he leads...
At Issue this week: What Mark Carney's spending goals outlined in the spring economic update mean for the deficit. Conservatives battle Liberal efforts to move committees behind closed doors. And how will Carney's new sovereign wealth fund help Canadians?
Food affordability remains a priority for many Canadians. This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government unveiled the spring economic update. It included some already announced measures aimed to make groceries more affordable. But some people are considering others measures to make food cheaper: public grocery stores. Federal NDP leader, Avi Lewis, has been talking about establishing a network of public...
Plus: The families of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting victims are set to seek nearly 1-billion dollars in lawsuits against Open A-I, the Canadian economy sees growth in the first quarter, Canada will host a new NATO bank, the Prime Minister has named the new E-U ambassador, and how the boom in romance novels can help other media meet consumer...
On this special edition, Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric speak with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne ahead of the release of his Spring Economic Update. They press him on how the government plans to attract investment in a time of global uncertainty, and find out how it is balancing fiscal prudence with mounting economic pressures. And finally, the most contentious question...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has delivered its spring economic update amidst an unpredictable global backdrop. It included a better-than-expected deficit figure and billions of dollars for skilled trades workers, as well as a sovereign wealth fund. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong breaks down what the document tells us about Canada’s finances and the Liberal government’s priorities.
The Liberals’ spring economic update lays out $54-billion in new spending over six years, including $6-billion towards boosting employment in the trades and more money for sports. The update also shows an estimated deficit of $66.9-billion for the 2025-26 fiscal year, an $11.5-billion improvement over what the government had projected in the Nov. 4 budget.
Amid much fanfare the government announced last week that it has established a new advisory council on trade with emphasis on the challenging situation with the United States. Looks impressive with some big names and a non partisan flavour. But do these work or are they just a gimmick? Former Harper cabinet minister James Moore and former Trudeau PMO adviser...
Ric Bienstock joins Steve to discuss her documentary Speechless, the explosion of the culture wars on college campuses, why we have lost the ability to talk to each other, and how free speech has been reshaped in colleges and beyond. They also discuss the rise of the “woke right,” if they have come to mirror the woke left they oppose...
The Davos Speech, the Tariff profile, and now the Canada Strong Fund. It's been a busy year for Mark Carney since being elected as Canada's 24th Prime Minister this day last year, and as Canadians face tough economic and geopolitical uncertainty, we're taking a look back at how Carney has managed to bring the country together through some of the...
The Iran War enters its ninth week, but the fighting has been over for a while. Does that mean the war is over? Dr. Janice Stein is with us as she always is on Mondays and that's the topic today as the two sides, the United States and Iran, try to find ways to meet and negotiate. And Janice also...
Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford is the one man still alive who was personally in the room with then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau when provinces and the federal government agreed, together, to a new Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He talks to Brian about the real basis for Section 33 — the notwithstanding clause —...
It started with mispronunciations-- saying "Regina" wrong, or saying "Atlanta" instead of "Alberta"-- but it spiraled into so much more. With their interest piqued, the Media Ecosystem Observatory began looking into a network of dozens of YouTube channels claiming to be covering Canadian politics from an Albertan perspective, and they found faceless, Dutch content creators to be behind the videos...
It began with a whistle-blower alleging government interference in Alberta Health Services’ contracting process and its connections to a medical supply company, MHCare Medical. Alberta’s government denies the allegations. But soon, the whistle-blower and others – and a Globe reporter who dug into the case – were subject to a campaign of harassment, threats and surveillance. Who was behind it all?
As the Spring Economic Statement beckons, Canada’s top economic minds- turned Sage contributors, former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge, McGill Economics Professor Chris Ragan, and former B.C. cabinet secretary Deputy Minister Don Wright join hosts Allan Gregg and Edward Greenspon to discuss Canada’s creeping fiscal complacency.
The Prime Minister keeps his cool in public, but he's said to sometimes lose that cool in private. Doesn't suffer fools well and demands action not foot dragging. This week we saw him come close to bluntly telling the Americans to back off with the demands and get with the program on trade talks. That's just one of the things...
Peter Mazereeuw speaks with World Wildlife Fund Canada president and former NDP MP Megan Leslie about the government's new plan to conserve land and water, and the sluggish progress towards Canada's target of protecting 30 per cent of both by the year 2030.
At Issue this week: Ottawa responds to the Trump administration demands for trade concessions, including lifting the U.S. liquor ban. Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre release duelling social media videos. And the Liberals move to control House committees with their newly-secured majority.
The Alberta government is drawing controversy over electoral politics. They’re being accused of gerrymandering – the practice of redrawing voting districts to boost prospects in elections. Instead of approving a new electoral map provided by a commission, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith voted to appoint a new commission to appoint a panel that will create a new map.
Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre take their rivalry off the Hill and onto YouTube. Nick Taylor-Vaisey and Mickey Djuric explore what it means when the House of Commons stops being the main event: The Carney government has a hushed approach to trade talks. What the silence signals, and how long it can hold: And finally, Canada is the only G...