The House

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has a plan: Hold a referendum in October to decide whether to push for a legally binding referendum on independence in the future. Confused? Host Catherine Cullen has it covered. Pro-separation lawyer Keith Wilson and federalist champion Thomas Lukaszuk will share their thoughts on Smith's decision. And the godfather of Prairie populism, former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, weighs in on the vote.

Plus, environmental groups are concerned about Canada's climate commitments after Carney signed an agreement with Alberta that could usher in a new oil pipeline. Is the Prime Minister simply being pragmatic or has he largely given up the fight against climate change? Current and former climate advisors Michael Bernstein and Simon Donner explain their opposing reactions to Carney's new deal.

And, Conservative MP Michael Chong went to Taiwan this week… specifically because Chinese officials warned Canadian parliamentarians not to go. Chong talks to The House about his defiant trip, his hopes of shoring up peace in the region and whether he believes his travel could hurt Canada’s growing economic ties to Beijing.

This episode features the voices of:

• Keith Wilson, pro-separation lawyer
• Thomas Lukaszuk, leader of the Forever Canadian petition
• Preston Manning, former leader of the Reform Party of Canada
• Michael Bernstein, CEO of Clean Prosperity
• Simon Donner, climate scientist and professor at the University of British Columbia
• Michael Chong, Conservative MP

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney have made another stride in their important MOU: A new carbon pricing agreement that is far less than the targets set by Justin Trudeau. Is the deal enough to calm down separatists? Could it anger environmentalists within Carney's team? Ottawa bureau chiefs Tonda MacCharles of the Toronto Star and Stuart Thomson of the National Post lay out the stakes.

Plus, the House takes an in-depth look at whether the government should ban social media accounts for kids. We visit a high school to hear how teenagers feel about a ban; Anxious Generation research partner Ravi Iyer lays out what’s at stake if restrictions are not put in place; Meta’s Rachel Curran defends the company’s practices; tech company CEO Steve Borza describes how age verification technology works (or doesn’t); then Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew explains how his province’s social media and AI Chatbot ban for kids could work. 

This episode features the voices of:

• Stuart Thomson, parliamentary bureau chief for the National Post
• Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
• Ravi Iyer, managing director of the University of Southern California Marshall School’s Neely Center and research partner with the Anxious Generation Movement
• Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta Canada
• Steve Borza, CEO of Bluink Ltd
• Wab Kinew, premier of Manitoba

Alberta is experiencing a political earthquake after the provincial NDP claimed they had a video showing a separatist organizer showing people how to use a database that included leaked voter information. The House Party podcast team — Catherine Cullen, Daniel Thibeault and Jason Markusoff — reunite to discuss the fallout and how seriously Carney needs to take the separatist movement.

And, in a rare and wide-ranging interview the director of Canada’s spy agency, Dan Rogers, sits down with host Catherine Cullen to talk about foreign interference in Alberta, the presence of the IRGC in Canada, and what the government’s efforts to re-engage with India and China mean for Canadian security. 

Plus, you've probably heard of Kalshi and Polymarket — online platforms that let users effectively bet on just about anything, even Canadian politics. Now, two Canadian companies have gotten regulatory approval to launch their own prediction markets. Werner Antweiler, an associate professor at UBC and national security expert Wesley Wark join The House to discuss whether these markets could exacerbate gambling concerns and if they pose a risk to Canadians' security.

This episode features the voices of:

• Daniel Thibeault, parliamentary bureau chief for Radio-Canada and host of Les Coulisses du Pouvoir
• Jason Markusoff, CBC Calgary
• Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
• Werner Antweiler, associate professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business
• Wesley Wark, senior fellow at at the Centre for International Governance Innovation

This week, the Carney government released its first spring economic update — which painted a better-than-expected picture of Canada's finances despite a long U.S. trade war and instability in the Middle East.

The question on many Canadians' minds is: How does this update help them? Host Catherine Cullen visits an Ottawa grocery store to hear from owner Eli Njaim and his customers about the rising cost of food. Then, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne explains what the government's latest spending plan does to alleviate the affordability crisis.

Also in the update is a new "national savings and investment account” that will help grow wealth for future generations of Canadians. The Conservatives are calling it a “Sovereign Debt Fund.” Bloomberg News’ Laura Dhillon Kane and Mark Rendell of The Globe and Mail break down what the new fund is — and if it will work. 

And, bestselling historian and fascism expert Timothy Snyder joins The House to discuss how Canada is navigating the Trump presidency, the risks of American influence in Alberta’s sovereigntist circles, and the health of Canadian democracy. 

This episode features the voices of:

• Eli Njaim, owner of Mid-East Food Centre
• François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance
• Laura Dhillon Kane, Ottawa bureau chief for Bloomberg News
• Mark Rendell, economics reporter for the Globe and Mail
• Timothy Snyder, historian and bestselling author

As Prime Minister Mark Carney fleshes out his vision for how Canada might weather economic uncertainty with the government’s spring economic update, co-hosts Catherine Cullen and John Northcott speak to politicians, experts and voters from the centre of this week’s action on Parliament Hill.

In a week where trade irritants were on full display between Canada and the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a new crew he wants to advise him on Canada's economic relationship with America. Former Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole and former Liberal minister and Canadian UK High Commissioner Ralph Goodale have been drafted to that lineup and join The House to talk about how this team of rivals is going to work. 

Plus, Carney's announcement came days after he posted a ten-minute video on YouTube declaring Canada's economic ties to the U.S. a "weakness" that must be corrected. Since that post, the prime minister gained half a million views and tens of thousands of subscribers. Former advertising advisor to Stephen Harper, Dennis Matthews and former digital strategist for Justin Trudeau, Dave Sommer unpack Carney’s media strategy and discuss whether Canadians will continue to like and subscribe, or click away.  

And, at a live panel organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Catherine Cullen sits down with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, Northwest Territories Premier R.J. Simpson and the chair of the Council of the Federation PEI Premier Rob Lantz to talk about working with Prime Minister Mark Carney, interprovincial trade, and what all of Canada’s provinces and territories can agree on. 

This episode features the voices of:

• Erin O’Toole, former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
• Ralph Goodale, former Liberal cabinet minister and Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
• Dennis Matthews, president of Creative Currency and former advertising advisor to prime minister Stephen Harper
• Dave Sommer, senior vice-president of marketing and communications for UHN Foundation, former deputy director of communications for prime minister Justin Trudeau
• Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
• Susan Holt, Premier of New Brunswick
• Rob Lantz, Premier of Prince Edward Island
• R.J. Simpson, Premier of Northwest Territories

After weeks of war in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz is now open — and ceasefires in Lebanon and Iran continue to hold strong. So is an end to the war in sight? Host Catherine Cullen asks Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand if she believes the ceasefires will last and if Canada is considering helping efforts to open the Strait. 

Plus, now that the Liberals command the House of Commons, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canadians will get "real substance" and "less showboating" from parliamentarians. Hill watchers Tonda MacCharles and Christopher Nardi discuss whether the Liberals will behave any differently in this era — and if House committees are really as bad as Carney claims.

And, Catherine Cullen gives the new NDP leader, Avi Lewis, a tour of Parliament — a place he hadn’t been to in more than 15 years — and hears what he hopes to do in the House of Commons, and why he believes Canada has lost “a sense of elevated purpose” in politics.

This episode features the voices of:

• Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
• Christopher Nardi, parliamentary reporter for the National Post
• Avi Lewis, leader of the New Democratic Party

He's done it again: Prime Minister Mark Carney has convinced yet another Conservative to join his Liberal government. This time, it's Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong MP Marilyn Gladu, who previously said she was "personally pro-life" and opposed a Liberal bill to ban conversion therapy. She's now recanting those positions as Carney insists Liberal values are unchanged.

How does it work when the Liberals try to cajole a Tory to join them? Catherine Cullen sits down with the first Conservative MP who made the leap to the Liberals, Chris d’Entremont, and Kody Blois, one of the Liberals who wooed him to cross the floor, to find out how it happens. 

Then, poll analyst Philippe Fournier lays the ground for Monday’s byelections, when Carney is expected to cement his majority in Parliament. And as the Liberals hold their policy convention in Montreal, Hill watchers Joël-Denis Bellavance and Nick Taylor-Vaisey discuss the dramatic week in Canadian politics and what Gladu’s departure means for her former leader, Pierre Poilievre. 

Plus, this week US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada-US trade negotiations could stretch past the July 1st deadline, and that there were “unresolved issues” with Canada. One of those irritants is the new Online Streaming Act, designed to make big streamers like Netflix and Disney pay to fund Canadian content the way that broadcasters do. CBC’s Jennifer Chevalier explores whether the Online Streaming Act is worth fighting for – in the face of yet more tariff threats.

This episode features the voices of:

• Chris d’Entremont, Liberal MP for Acadie—Annapolis
• Kody Blois, Liberal MP for Kings—Hants
• Philippe Fournier, editor-in-chief at 338 Canada
• Joël-Denis Bellavance, Ottawa bureau chief for La Presse
• Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Ottawa bureau chief for Politico
• Reynolds Mastin, President and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association
• Carla de Jong, Head of Co-Production and International Partnerships at Sinking Ship Entertainment
• Andrew Cash, CEO of the Canadian Independent Music Association and former NDP MP
• Sandra Aubé, Liberal strategist
• Vass Bednar, Managing Director of the Canadian Shield Institute
• Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-Commerce Law at the University in Ottawa

150 years ago this month, the Indian Act became law — a sweeping piece of legislation that governed almost every aspect of First Nations’ lives — and has long been criticized as unfair, racist and “unquestionably sexist."

On this special edition of The House, Catherine Cullen explores the history of the discriminatory legislation with Bob Joseph, author of 21 Things You Might Not Know about the Indian Act and Janice Makokis, an Indigenous Legal Rights Scholar and associate professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. 

The program also looks at current attempts to reform the Indian Act through Bill S-2, an amendment that would allow status to pass on indefinitely to future generations — eliminating the "second-generation cut-off." Dawn Lavell-Harvard, former national president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, explains how it would impact her own family, and Kitigan Zibi’s Nick Ottawa explains why First Nations are concerned about an influx of new members without a recent connection to the community. Then columnist and professor Niigaan Sinclair weighs in on whether he thinks the bill will pass.  

Plus, host Catherine Cullen speaks to Chief Councillor John Jack about how the Maa-nulth Treaty on Vancouver Island allowed Huu-ay-aht First Nation to literally burn a copy of the Indian Act fifteen years ago, and why he believes their modern treaty is a model for the future. Then, AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak adds a final thought on whether the Indian Act can be amended — or scrapped. 

This episode features the voices of:

• Bob Joseph, author of 21 Things You Might Not Know about the Indian Act
• Janice Makokis, Indigenous Legal Rights Scholar and associate professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law
• Dawn Lavell-Harvard, former national president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada
• Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
• Nick Ottawa, Lands, Estates and Membership Administrator at Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation
• Niigaan Sinclair, professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba and columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press
• Chief Councillor John Jack, Huu-ay-aht First Nations
• Chief Councillor Wilfred Cootes, Uchucklesaht Tribe
• Music from Eddie Jones Hawlith and Tipinksip Uchucklesaht Hawlith

Loyal Dippers are gathering in Winnipeg this weekend to decide their next leader — and the direction of the party. Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi joins The House to explain why he told frontrunners to not do anything that could affect his party's electoral fortunes. Then, political strategists Marci Surkes, Kate Harrison and Jordan Leichnitz weigh in on who the Liberals and Conservatives want to see win the race, and whether there could be an NDP rupture after the votes are tallied.

And this week, Canada's top court heard arguments challenging Quebec's Bill 21 — a law that prevents some civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work. Quebec pre-emptively used the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from court challenges, and that is what has caught the attention of governments across the country. Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey breaks down why his province supports Quebec's use of the notwithstanding clause and how transformational the court's decision will be.

Plus, as Middle East oil shipments dry up, Canadian officials are touting the country's stable supply at one of the world's biggest energy conferences in Texas. CBC Business reporter Kyle Bakx explains how energy executives are feeling right now amid deep uncertainty, and whether Canada's pitch is landing.

This episode features the voices of:

• Naheed Nenshi, Alberta NDP Leader
• Marci Surkes, former senior advisor to Justin Trudeau and chief strategy officer at Compass Rose
• Kate Harrison, Conservative strategist and vice chair at Summa Strategies
• Jordan Leichnitz, NDP strategist and Canada Director for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation
• Doug Downey, Ontario Attorney General
• Kyle Bakx, CBC Business reporter