The Honest Talk

Celina Caesar Chavannes is best known to many Canadians as a former Member of Parliament and as a bestselling author of the new memoir “Can You Hear Me Now?” which has just been nominated for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

But Celina is also a mother, a wife, an award-winning entrepreneur, a champion for equity and justice and a woman who is unafraid to use her voice, even when it lands her in hot water. She is candid, outspoken and lays it all on the table in this conversation with Jen and Catherine.

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell is the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, carrying out constitutional and ceremonial duties as the representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Born in Ireland, raised in rural Saskatchewan and trained as a teacher, Elizabeth Dowdeswell has followed an extraordinary career path including roles as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. She holds 11 honourary doctorates, is an Officer of the Order of Canada and, perhaps not surprisingly for a home-economics grad, she still finds time to sew her own clothes! Her Honour joins Jen and Catherine for an open, engaging conversation about her life in leadership, taking risks and the importance of community.

Marnie McBean is a three time Olympic champion, a three-time World Champion and a member of both the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Now, Marnie has a big new job as Team Canada's Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, and she joins Jen and Catherine to offer her humorous, candid and inspirational take on her remarkable athletic career, and how she’s feeling about the Olympic journey she’s about to lead.

Susan Aglukark is a multiple JUNO award-winning Inuk artist whose music has earned international acclaim. She has also received the Order of Canada, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement, holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from several institutions and she has performed before Heads of State and Royalty. But Susan has also faced and overcome many personal challenges. In this episode of The Honest Talk, Susan talks with Jen and Catherine about surviving sexual abuse as a child, her battle with postpartum depression and her journey of self-discovery.

Anna Maria Tremonti is one of Canada’s most respected journalists. She has covered major news stories for CBC’s The National, co-hosted The Fifth Estate and worked as a foreign correspondent in global capitals and major conflict zones. She also served for 17 years as host of CBC radio’s popular current affairs show The Current, drawing in more than one million listeners a day. Anna Maria has now embarked on a new journalistic odyssey with the launch of a podcast called MORE With Anna Maria Tremonti, and she joins Jen and Catherine for a thoughtful, funny, and deeply personal conversation which reveals the human side of a life in the news.

Sangita Patel is a staple in Canada’s entertainment sector – she’s an on-air host with Entertainment Tonight Canada, the current host of HGTV's Home to Win and Canada’s Covergirl ambassador. But Sangita wasn’t always set on a career in TV – in fact, she’s an electrical engineer, but also a dedicated mother, wife, philanthropist and fitness enthusiast - a true example that women can achieve multiple goals in different fields, and that sometimes the best laid plans need to be thrown out the window. Sangita joins Jen and Catherine for a fun, dynamic chat about her fast-paced life, her unusual start in television and, oh yeah… Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Serena Ryder is a seven time JUNO award-winning, platinum-selling artist, a powerhouse singer whose potent, heartfelt lyrics have inspired and captivated audiences and fans around the world.

Serena has been performing since she was a kid, but her path has not been without ups and downs – including debilitating struggles with mental health. Through it all, she has persevered and grown as an artist and human being, and she released her latest album – The Art of Falling Apart – in March of 2021. In this wide-ranging, candid conversation, Serena talks to Jen and Catherine about the good spots, the tough spots, the learning experiences and her plans for the future.

The Honourable Jane Philpott shot to national prominence as the first medical doctor in Canadian history to be appointed federal Minister of Health, subsequently also serving as Minister of Indigenous Services and President of the Treasury Board.

But politics is only one part of a long and remarkable career so far. Dr. Philpott has served in numerous medical capacities and worked abroad providing healthcare in some of the world’s most marginalized communities.

She is now Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences & Director of the School of Medicine at Queen’s University, and in this interview, she speaks with candour and emotion about the death of her daughter Emily, living a life of integrity, the similarities between politics and medicine, and about her hopes for medicine in the future.

Annamie Paul is the Leader of the Green Party of Canada. She speaks four languages, has degrees from the University of Ottawa and Princeton, and is a wife, a mom, and lawyer. As the first Black, Jewish woman to lead a federal party in Canada, she is an inspiration to people of all political stripes but remains deeply committed to encouraging women, Indigenous people, Black people, and people of colour to run for elected office. In this candid conversation, she reveals herself to be humble, funny, smart and honest – exhausted by the non-stop schedule required by her new job, but firmly committed to making a tangible difference in the lives of Canadians.

Erica Ehm shot to fame as one of MuchMusic’s pioneering VJ’s, interviewing the world’s best known musical artists. But Erica’s career has been about so much more than that. She launched a record label and a hugely influential mommy blog, she’s a songwriter, playwright, author and successful entrepreneur, and she has won awards all along the way. Now, she’s got a new children’s multi-platform digital series on the go called Outta The Books and in this interview, she chats with Jen and Catherine about her incredibly diverse career, about motherhood, and even reveals that despite her public persona, she’s actually an introvert at heart.