Canada’s Minister of National Defence David McGuinty joins Althia to discuss increases to the country’s defense budget and what the relationship looks like with the U.S. going forward. Their conversation follows  Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement this week that Canada will greatly increase military spending to 2 per cent of GDP just as NATO allies get together later this month to discuss  raising the bar to 5 per cent. 

We also speak to industry experts about just how integrated the Canadian and American militaries are, and what it would mean to become less reliant on the U.S.

In this episode: Minister of National Defence David McGuinty; Centre for International Governance Innovation’s visiting executive and former National Defence director general Raquel Garbers, University of Ottawa associate professor and former bureaucrat Peter Jones; Canadian Global Affairs Institute President and CEO David Perry. Hosted by Althia Raj.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Kevin Sexton and Althia Raj. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC, CBC, Canadian Press Gallery, C-SPAN, CNN, CTV, CBS, BBC and NATO News.

MPs returned to the House of Commons this week with three leaders missing from the chamber: Justin Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh.

But that wasn’t the only difference on Parliament Hill. His Majesty, King Charles III, came to Canada to read Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first throne speech — widely seen as a message to U.S. President Donald Trump and to Canadians about this country’s unflinching sovereignty.

On today’s episode of “It’s Political,” the Star’s Ottawa bureau breaks down the latest news from the start of Carney’s first term as an elected prime minister.

In this episode: Toronto Star deputy Ottawa bureau chief Alex Ballingall, Ottawa bureau reporter Raisa Patel, Ottawa bureau reporter Mark Ramzy. Hosted by Althia Raj.

“It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Kevin. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel. 

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC and CBC.

What are Conservative MPs and candidates thinking as the party regroups after their election loss and charts a path forward? On this week’s show, we ask some of them. 

But first, Toronto Star reporter Raisa Patel gets us caught up on what happened at the Conservatives’ caucus meeting Tuesday.

In this episode: Toronto Star politics reporter Raisa Patel; Greg McLean, MP for Calgary Centre; Bernard Généreux, MP for Côte-du-Sud-Rivière-du-Loup-Kataskomiq-Témiscouata;and Garry Keller, former Conservative candidate for Nipissing-Timiskaming, and vice-president at StrategyCorps. Hosted by Althia Raj.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Kevin Sexton and Althia Raj. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CTV, CPAC, CBC and Michelle Ferriri’s Instagram Account.

The federal election results are in. The Liberals have won a fourth term with Mark Carney at the helm, besting Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives but falling just shy of a majority government. 

While the Tories have much to celebrate, Poilievre’s seat loss in Carleton is a major wrinkle that will impact his party for the next few months and possibly years. 

The NDP also saw its leader Jagmeet Singh lose his seat. Singh said he would resign on election night after leading the party to the worst electoral result in its history.  

This week, our panel of recovering partisans weighs in on both of those storylines, as well as the challenge Carney faces and how long this 169-seat minority government can survive. 

In this episode: Karen Vecchio, the outgoing Conservative MP for Elgin—Middlesex—London; David Christopherson, the former NDP MP for Hamilton Centre; and Rodger Cuzner, the former Liberal MP for Cape Breton—Canso, and now an independent Senator. Hosted by Althia Raj.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Kevin also mixed this episode. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC, CBC and CTV.

Note: At the time of the panel recording, latest figures showed the Liberals at 169 seats. After a validation process, Elections Canada has reported that one of those seats has flipped to the Bloc Québecois. There will be a judicial recount for that seat

In this episode: Toronto Star Ottawa deputy bureau chief Alex Ballingall and Ottawa bureau reporters Ryan Tumilty, Raisa Patel and Mark Ramzy. Hosted by Althia Raj.

Mark Carney will remain prime minister. On Monday, he led the Liberals to a fourth consecutive term. It was a close two-way race that saw the Liberals underperform their own expectations. The NDP lost official party status and their leader, Jagmeet Singh, announced his intention to resign. The Conservatives made gains in Ontario, with one big exception — their leader, Pierre Poilievre, lost his seat in Carleton. 

Poilievre signalled on Monday that he had no plans to resign.  

But can he stay on? 

Toronto Star Ottawa bureau reporters join host Althia Raj to discuss the 2025 federal election campaign, Monday’s surprising result and what the next weeks and months may look like.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. This episode was also mixed by Kevin. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC and CBC.

The federal election campaign is in the final stretch with just a few days to go. 

The party leaders are crisscrossing the country, trying to shore up support in new ridings and protect turf they’ve long considered their own.

With the platforms finally released — most with large deficits and some creative accounting — what is really on the voters’ mind?

Our panel of recovering partisans will offer their thoughts.

We’ve also hit the campaign trail asking electors across the country, what’s behind their vote and what they are looking for.

In this episode: Karen Vecchio, the outgoing Conservative MP for Elgin—Middlesex—London; David Christopherson, the former NDP MP for Hamilton Centre; Kristina Michaud, and Rodger Cuzner, the former Liberal MP for Cape Breton—Canso, and now an independent Senator. Hosted by Althia Raj.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC and CBC.

Canada’s political parties have now released their election platforms and put a price tag on their plans. Some of their costing is a little suspect, some uses creative accounting, it all fails  to go far enough to address the problem economists say political leaders should be grappling with: increasing the country’s productivity. 

This week, on “It’s Political,” we look at productivity. What is it, and what should Canada be doing to increase it. 

Then, we’ll sit down and dissect the party’s platforms: their math and what they are really doing to increase economic growth in the country. Does any party go far enough? 

In this episode: Don Drummond, fellow-in-residence at the CD Howe Institute and former TD chief economist, and Tim Sargent, a senior fellow and director of the domestic policy program at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Hosted by Althia Raj. 

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Kevin also mixed this program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC and CBC.

With less than two weeks left until election day, the leaders' debates were a crucial time for the parties to make a pitch to voters and take their opponents down a peg. Our panel of ‘recovering partisans’ weighs in on the highlights of the debates and the Leaders’ Debate Commission’s decision to exclude the Green Party and  accredit right-wing “media” to the debates.

In this episode: Karen Vecchio, outgoing Conservative MP for Elgin—Middlesex—London; David Christopherson, the former NDP MP for Hamilton Centre; Kristina Michaud, the outgoing Bloc Quebecois MP for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia; and Rodger Cuzner, the former Liberal MP for Cape Breton—Canso, and now an independent Senator. Hosted by Althia Raj.

“It’s Political” is produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Kevin also mixed this episode. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC and CBC.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed this week that if elected prime minister, his government would invoke the notwithstanding clause to ensure mass murderers serve consecutive sentences without a chance for parole. “They should only come out in a box,” the Tory leader said Monday. 

In this episode of “It’s Political,” we look at the impact of Poilievre’s decision and what the main parties are suggesting to tackle crime. We’ll also discuss what they should be proposing instead.

In this episode: Irvin Waller, professor emeritus of criminology at the University of Ottawa, Anthony Doob, professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, and Lisa Kerr, Associate professor and Director of the Criminal Law Group at Queen’s. Hosted by Althia Raj.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Kevin also mixed this episode. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC, CBC, CTV, TV Ontario and the BBC. 

Pierre Poilievre held massive rallies in Alberta this week and received an endorsement from former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But why is he spending precious campaign time in a province with solid Conservative support? 

We’ve also seen members of the media increasingly speaking out against the Conservative campaign for exerting too much control over the press. Our “recovering partisans” compare the parties’ media strategies, weigh in on what the leaders’ movements can tell us about the campaign, and look ahead to next week’s debates.

In this episode: David Christopherson, the former NDP MP for Hamilton Centre; Kristina Michaud, the outgoing Bloc Quebecois MP for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia; Karen Vecchio, the outgoing Conservative MP for Elgin—Middlesex—London; and Senator Rodger Cuzner, the former Liberal MP for Cape Breton—Canso. Hosted by Althia Raj. 

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from CPAC and CBC.