Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath tells me how she manages the hurly burly of Hamilton local politics, the answer to the homelessness crisis, and her vision for the city in 15 years.

Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow studied improv acting before making it to city hall, and most recently ran in the by-election for mayor. We talk about the Rob Ford era, lessons in campaigning on a large scale, and about homelessness and the Premier.

Brad Bradford, second term councillor at the City of Toronto, has emerged as an outspoken critic of Mayor Olivia Chow. He rides his bike to work while opposing bike lanes in some parts of the city. We delve deep into his mindset and where is passions lie as one of the strongest voices at City Hall. And we talk about the (in)famous Patty King video.

I speak to Steve Paikin about how he became the honest broker of Ontario journalism, what he's learned about great politicians, and why the Ticats are the best team in North American professional sports.

Frank Domenic has 120k followers on TikTok for his political content, which he has been posting on social media for over 10 years. He tells us his secrets to posting viral content and provides advice to local change-makers on being effective online. Oh and he's also a Burlington resident with strong opinions on the local food scene.

I speak with Karina Gould about what she learned from her leadership campaign, how to be effective when lobbying on MPs, squaring off against the US President and how she looks at her career so far.

In this inaugural episode of The Civic Square, Rory Nisan, Deputy Mayor (Environment) in Burlington interviews Sameera Ali, Town and Regional Councillor from Milton on crime, snowplowing and being a trailblazing Muslim woman councillor. Co-produced with Burlington365 in the WorkWell Studio.