Power & Politics

The Weekly Wrap panel breaks down the biggest moments in Canadian politics this week. Prime Minister Mark Carney unveils billions in funding to make Canada's economy more resilient. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre calls for an end to the temporary foreign worker program. And the NDP leadership race kicks off.

Prime Minister Mark Carney lays out a series of multi-billion-dollar measures that he says will protect workers while helping to transform Canada’s economy in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. Industry Minister Melanie Joly explains how it will affect Canadians. Plus, an exclusive interview with Canada’s ambassador to the UN Bob Rae as Canada prepares to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations this month.

Ministers expanded on the prime minister's promise of a budget with both cuts and spending at the second day of their cabinet meeting on Thursday, with Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne signalling 'adjustments' in the public service. Plus, ahead of his trip to China to make Canada's case against agricultural tariffs, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Prime Minister Mark Carney will also have to go to China 'at the appropriate time' to settle the trade dispute. 

As her party calls for all temporary foreign work outside of agriculture to be 'permanently abolished,' Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner says it's 'bunk' that Canadians won't work certain entry-level jobs — despite criticism from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that the move would be 'ridiculous' and jeopardize rural businesses. Plus, after the NDP lost most of its MPs in the federal election, interim leader Don Davies says the leadership race underway this week is the party's chance to ‘reconnect and rebuild’ its relationship with the working class.​

Prime Minister Mark Carney received friendly fire from one of his biggest provincial supporters Tuesday, as Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was 'getting concerned' about an 'almost elbows down' response to U.S. tariffs before dumping out a bottle of Crown Royal. The Power Panel discusses whether Ford's comments are a sign of fracture ahead of two days of private cabinet meetings. Plus, on the first official day of the NDP leadership contest, former NDP MP and past leadership candidate Nathan Cullen discusses how a new leader could rejuvenate the party after the 2025 election cleaved its numbers in the Commons. 

Our panel of political insiders discusses what each party needs to accomplish as the House returns this fall.

The federal Major Projects Office officially opened Friday. Parliamentary secretary to the minister of energy Corey Hogan says Canadians won't 'have to wait long' for the list of national-interest projects the office will help fast-track, and defends the appointment of a veteran energy executive as the office's CEO. Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman slams the opening as 'bureaucracy' and argues it's taken the Liberal government 'five months to set up an office.' Plus, Canada's Ambassador to Ukraine Natalka Cmoc says Russian strikes on Ukraine's capital this week were 'devastating' and hit 'every district of Kyiv.'

After more than a year of review, the Future of Sport in Canada Commission is warning sport has ‘a culture of silence that protects perpetrators.’ Power & Politics asks Commissioner Lise Maisonneuve about her findings. Plus, Conservative international trade critic Adam Chambers says the Liberals' attempts to diversify Canada’s trading partners do not go far enough.

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu defend their government's progress on trade and security diversification as Prime Minister Mark Carney concludes his trip to Europe, and as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accuses Carney of 'jetting around' and 'signing phony declarations' without making progress on major projects at home. 

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc's office says he had a 'constructive' and 'lengthy' meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday, with one Canadian source telling CBC that the meeting was supposed to last an hour but stretched to 90 minutes. Nathan Cooper, Alberta's representative in Washington, assesses what that means for the prospects of a deal. Plus, after a meeting between Canadian and German leaders ended with a declaration of closer defence ties on Monday, German Ambassador to Canada Matthias Lüttenberg discusses the path forward for deepening integration.