Red Passport Podcast

Hosts Jeremy Kinsman and Louise Blais talk with the Hon. Lloyd Axworthy about his new book, Canada's place in the world and Canada's relations with India.

No, not SNL, but this month's even longer running United Nations Annual General Assembly. And chances are - given the state of the world - that the critics will pan this year's version as much as they have the previous 78. 

Why is that?  What value does the UN still have?  And what - if anything - can Canada do to help make it work better?

The conventions are over, and the US presidential election is three months away. The race has already been turned upside down once. Will events in Ukraine and the Middle East upend it again? Meanwhile, an internal memo from our country's Department of Global Affairs reveals the constraints that are holding Canada back on the international stage.

How are Canadians feeling about the current conflict in the Middle East? Special guest Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to Israel, joins Louise, Jeremy and Peter to discuss a new survey by the Environics Institute, in partnership with the CIC, that charts how Canadian attitudes on Israel and Palestinians have evolved over four decades. They also discuss the latest dramatic  developments in the US Presidential race. 

A special thanks to Don Bourgeois for providing additional funding for the survey.

Just as the pundits are writing their epitaphs for democracy, two more parliamentary elections - in France and the UK - gave us some reason for optimism. And the NATO 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington brought some good news for the defense of democracy, while also underlining some pretty big challenges. 

The Year of the Election is turning into The Year of Living Dangerously for incumbent governments around the world.  What is going on?  Louise, Jeremy and Peter look at the votes in Europe - the recent EU Parliamentary elections and the upcoming general election in the UK, and France's snap parliamentary elections.  Are there common threads?  And what do they mean for Canada?

The "Allied" Leaders of 2024 meet in Europe to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day ... and at summits in Italy and Switzerland. They will turn their attentions to everything from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, to Climate Change and the global economy. Can they show any of the determination and unity of that earlier era?

As Mexico, South Africa and India embark on high-stakes elections this year, uncover what these pivotal moments reveal about the future of global democracy. We do a deep dive into why these elections are crucial, not just for the world but for Canada too.

The world has changed dramatically since Lester Pearson accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo almost seven decades ago.  The era of "Blue Helmets" may be long over (for Canadians, at least), but how can Canada apply the Pearsonian spirit of global engagement and bridge-building in the 2020s?

In an increasingly fragmented world, how can Canada reestablish its historic role as an international bridge-builder and honest broker?