Newstalk Today

Evan Solomon breaks down who has declared their candidacy for leadership of the Conservative party, who's thinking about it, and who's out. Then, we hear from you: who would you like to see as the next leader?

On today's show: 

• Shant Kel Khatcherian, a photojournalist who is involved in a Kharkiv to Dnipro evacuation mission.
• Stephanie Levitz, Parliament Hill reporter for The Toronto Star, on the Conservative leadership race. 
• Gerry Butts, vice chairman at Eurasia Group, on the food consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• 'Overhyped v. Underplayed' with CTV political commentator Scott Reid.
• 'Riskin It All’ with Dan Riskin, CTV science and technology specialist.

Evan Solomon and CTV's Colin D'Mello break down the details in Ontario's plan to lift mask mandates for nearly all settings.

On today's show: 

• Colin D’Mello, CTV Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, on Ontario lifting nearly all mask mandates.
• We play Evan's full conversation with Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, on rising gas prices across Canada. 
• Major-General (retired) David Fraser on the Russia/Ukraine conflict. 
• 'The War Room' with political strategists Tasha Kheiriddin and Zain Velji, and former NDP leader Tom Mulcair. 
• Lana Niland, a Canadian who has lived in Kyiv since 2003. She has just fled Kyiv and has arrived in Lviv. 
• We play Evan's 2019 conversation with Domee Shi, director of new Disney-Pixar movie ‘Turning Red’.

Evan Solomon chats with Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, about what Canadians can expect in the coming days and weeks with regards to gas prices. 

On today's show: 

• Shant Kel Khatcherian, a photographer and videographer who is involved in a Kharkiv evacuation mission.
• Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, on soaring gas prices. 
• Olympians Alysia Rissling and Alexander Kopacz who are calling for the resignation of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton’s president and high performance director amid a toxic culture. 
• Shayan Sardarizadeh, a journalist with BBC, on the disinformation that is being spread during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 
• Tasha Kheiriddin, political commentator and strategist, on announcing she is not running for Conservative leadership.
• Marieke Walsh, reporter with The Globe and Mail, on the PM’s trip to Latvia.

Evan Solomon discusses the new sanctions Canada is imposing on 10 individuals close to the Russian leadership over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 

On today's show: 

• Christopher Curtis, co-founder of The Rover and former Montreal Gazette journalist. He joins us live from Lviv. 
• Marieke Walsh, political reporter with The Globe and Mail, on Canada sanctioning 10 more Russian political and business leaders.
• We play Evan’s full conversation with Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov and Gen. Tom Lawson on Ukraine. 
• Stephanie Carvin, former national security analyst and associate professor of international relations at Carleton University, on whether Canada has the capacity to enforce sanctions imposed on Russia. 
• Benjamin Alexander, Jamaica’s first Olympic alpine skier who got his start in Canada, on competing in his first Games. 

Free For All Friday features top talent from across the iHeart radio talk network. Hosts from all over the country join the roundtable to discuss the five biggest stories of the week.

This week's show is hosted by Mark Towhey and features panelists Robert Benzie, Queen's Park Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star, and Dave Kaufman, national host for iHeart Radio based in Montreal.

Topics: 

1. Will the Russia-Ukraine conflict rejuvenate the Liberals, allow Trudeau a graceful exit, and provide Freeland with a free ticket to the PM’s office?
2. Is there an appetite among the Canadian people and in Parliament to increase funding for the CAF so they can contribute meaningfully to deterrence and defence in Europe?
3. Has the conflict in Ukraine seized our attention away from COVID – and perhaps reset our “risk meter” to a more rational appreciation of the remaining risk of the virus?
4. The Weeknd has pledged $500K to fight Global Hunger in partnership with the UN. Should other celebrities follow his example? 
5. A woman has spent $35K to clone her dead cat. Would you consider doing this?

Evan Solomon breaks down the latest actions Canada is taking in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

On today's show: 

• Overhyped v. Underplayed with CTV political commentator Scott Reid and conservative strategist Garry Keller.
• We play Evan's full conversation with David Cohen, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, on Ukraine.
• We also play Evan's full conversation with former Ukraine Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko. 
• Major-General (Retired) Denis Thompson on the Russian convoy headed to Kyiv, calls to have a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and what the next steps should be. 
• Dan Riskin, CTV science and technology specialist, on a woman spending $35k to clone her pet cat, and kitchen sponges being a bacteria hotbed. 

Evan Solomon and Steve Day, former CANSOF commander, discuss whether a “no fly zone” over Ukraine is something NATO should consider as Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters day 6. 

On today's show: 

• Amanda Lang, BNN Bloomberg anchor of the podcast Taking Stock, on US President Biden’s ‘Buy America’ plan and the Bank of Canada increasing the interest rate. 
• Paul Workman, Chief International Correspondent for CTV National News, joins us live from Lviv, Ukraine. 
• Steve Day, former Canadian Special Operations Forces Commander, weighs in on whether a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine is a good idea.  
• The War Room with Tim Powers, Tom Mulcair and Zain Velji.
• Kevin Caspersz, Senior Associate Lawyer at Shulman & Partners LLP, on an Ontario judge ruling a couple’s kids should not be vaccinated.
• Don Cavers, a 77-year-old man from British Columbia who spent five-and-a-half days trapped on a raft on the Caribbean Sea.

Evan Solomon breaks down the latest updates on the Russian-Ukraine conflict and speaks with a Canadian soccer player who traded in his cleats for combat boots. 

On today's show: 

• Lana Niland, a Canadian who has lived in Kyiv since 2003. She is there now and details her experiences. 
• Lisa LaFlamme, CTV National News Chief Anchor, who is in Poland right now.
• David Fraser, retired Major-General in Canada, on we've seen so far with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and what we could see in the coming days. 
• Canadian journalist Fin DePencier who is currently in Dnipro, Ukraine. 
• How is Europe going to lay off its dependency on Russian oil and gas? Does Canada have a role here? Jan Stuart, global energy economist with Piper Sandler, joins the show. 
• Rick Westhead, TSN senior correspondent, on a former Olympian calling on Canada to bar Russian athletes. 
• Svyatik Artemenko, a Guelph, Ont. soccer player who has joined the Ukraine military to fight against Russia.

Graham Richardson, filling in for Evan Solomon, chats with reporters and citizens about the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

On today's show: 

• Manny Marotta, a journalist who walked from Ukraine to Poland—a journey which took 20 hours. He describes his experience. 

• Olga Tokariuk, an independent reporter in Ukraine, provides the latest details on the ground. 
• Paul Champ, an Ottawa lawyer who is representing the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit against trucker convoy organizers. 
• Mina Makar, a former Canadian refugee who is in Poland right now with his family after fleeing Ukraine. He is desperately trying to come back to Canada and is appealing to the Canadian government for help.
• Dr. Adam Kassam, president of the Ontario Medical Association, on a new Canadian study which found almost one-third of medical procedures are misused.

Evan Solomon provides live coverage as Russia attacks Ukraine. 

On today's show: 

• Fin DePencier, a Canadian journalist, joins from Kharkiv, Ukraine.  
• Olga Tokariuk, a Ukrainian independent journalist, discusses the situation on-the-ground.  
• Chris Alexander, former federal cabinet minister, former ambassador, and former deputy head of mission in the Canadian embassy in Moscow, discusses the situation in Ukraine. 
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's live press conference on sanctions against Russia. 
• Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator, discusses Canada's sanctions against Russia. 
• Major-General (retired) David Fraser discusses the military situation in Ukraine and Canada's response.