The House

Looming over the Liberals is whether Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget will pass its final vote on Monday in the House of Commons. So far, no other political party has given a sign they will support it. 

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May discusses whether she’ll change her mind and vote with the Liberals on the budget. Christopher Nardi of the National Post and Tonda MacCharles of the Toronto Star weigh in on where the government can get the last two votes it needs or if we’re heading into another election this year. 

Mark Carney announced more major projects to spur Canada’s economic growth. Rick Smith of the Canadian Climate Institute tells The House how Canada’s push to expand mining and energy projects is going down at the United Nations climate change conference in Brazil. 

Plus, as Canada loses its measles elimination status Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, Vice President of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Programs Branch at the Public Health Agency of Canada explains what needs to be done to win it back. 

And: J.D.M. Stewart, author of The Prime Ministers: Canada’s Leaders and the Nation they Shaped, takes Catherine Cullen on a tour of the monuments erected on Parliament Hill to commemorate Canada’s leaders. Who were they, what were their funny foibles, and will Canada ever see a statue of Stephen Harper or Justin Trudeau? 

This episode features the voices of: 

• Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader
• Christopher Nardi, National Post parliamentary reporter
• Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star Ottawa bureau chief 
• Rick Smith, President of the Canadian Climate Institute
• Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, Vice President of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Programs Branch at the Public Health Agency of Canada 
• J.D.M. Stewart, author of The Prime Ministers: Canada’s Leaders and the Nation they Shaped

Budget week on Parliament Hill quickly became a stunning political drama after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre lost two of his MPs in quick succession. One has crossed the floor to join the Liberals and the other says he’ll resign as an MP in the spring. 

How bad is this for the Official Opposition, and where does Poilievre go from here? Conservative strategist Kate Harrison and Liberal strategist Marci Surkes discuss the impact on Poilievre’s leadership, the mood in caucus and whether more departures could follow.

Plus, Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer responds to the caucus commotion and lays out his party’s criticism of the budget; and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne defends his government’s financial plan.

And: Business Council of Canada president Goldy Hyder joins Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers in a debate over whether this budget can spur investment and growth without making cost-of-living concerns worse; and Sahir Khan, co-founder and VP of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy helps tally up a budget scorecard on how the document has landed as a win or loss for Canadians.

This episode features the voices of:

• Kate Harrison, Conservative strategist and vice chair at Summa Strategies
• Marci Surkes, former senior advisor to Justin Trudeau and chief strategy officer at Compass Rose
• Sahir Khan, co-founder of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy
• François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance
• Andrew Scheer, Conservative House leader
• Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada
• Armine Yalnizyan, Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers

This is a big week in politics: Mark Carney’s first federal budget. To catch you up on what you missed from the government’s big unveiling, The House brings you this special bonus episode from today’s live CBC Radio broadcast. Co-hosts Catherine Cullen and Susan Bonner spoke to politicians, business owners, voters and experts to dig into just how pivotal this federal budget may be — and whether it’ll gain enough support from opposition parties to stave off an election.

He may be known as ‘the little guy from Shawinigan,’ but Jean Chrétien’s impact on his hometown has been anything but small. And at 91, the former prime minister seems far from slowing down. In this exclusive documentary, host Catherine Cullen travels to Shawinigan, Que to spend the day with the former prime minister. She learns about how the small city shaped his political career, what he’d say if he was in a room with Donald Trump, and his fiery take on Albertans who want to separate from the rest of Canada.

Plus, as the Liberal government prepares to introduce a much-anticipated federal budget, there aren’t many signs opposition MPs will support the critical legislation, raising questions about a snap election. The House Party election podcast team — Catherine Cullen, Daniel Thibeault and Jason Markusoff — reunite to discuss who could support the government and the likelihood of Canada heading into another federal election in 2026.

This episode features the voices of:

• Jean Chrétien, former Liberal prime minister
• Daniel Thibeault, parliamentary bureau chief for Radio-Canada and host of Les Coulisses du Pouvoir
• Jason Markusoff, CBC Calgary

Once again, Canada finds itself in a deep hole in its push to get a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. This time, an advertisement by Ontario that used Ronald Reagan’s own words criticizing tariffs annoyed Trump so much he cut off negotiations entirely. Derek Burney, who worked with former prime minister Brian Mulroney as he hammered out a Canada-U.S. free trade deal with Reagan, weighs in on the latest upset, then Tonda MacCharles of the Toronto Star and Stuart Thomson of the National Post discuss where this leaves Canada now.

Then, Michael Kovrig, the former diplomat who spent more than 1,000 days detained by China, tells host Catherine Cullen how he feels about Canada’s growing “strategic partnership” with Beijing and what advice he’d offer the Prime Minister before meeting China’s president.

Plus, the government is adjusting the rules around bail again, making it harder for some repeat offenders and those charged with serious offences to be released. A victim’s family and a criminal defence lawyer weigh in, and Justice Minister Sean Fraser defends the new legislation.

Finally, as Liberals and Conservatives spar over what continues to drive up food costs, economist Christina Caron argues it’s not price gouging or the industrial carbon tax — it’s climate change that’s costing you more at the grocery store.

This episode features the voices of:

• Derek Burney, former ambassador and chief of staff to prime minister Brian Mulroney
• Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief for the Toronto Star
• Stuart Thomson, parliamentary bureau chief for the National Post
• Michael Kovrig, former Canadian diplomat detained by China
• Meechelle Best, mother of Kellie Verwey
• Jay Herbert, Ontario criminal defence lawyer and member of Rama First Nation
• Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice
• Christina Caron, economist

As Canada seeks to land a trade deal with the United States, cracks began to emerge this week over whether some sectors — and corresponding provinces — are getting more attention than others. David Paterson, Ontario’s representative in Washington, joins the show to discuss whether Ottawa is too focused on Canada’s auto industry as B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba ask for more help with their lumber and canola sectors.

Plus, while the trade war continues to bubble, Prime Minister Mark Carney is attempting a plan to get tougher on crime — and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called RCMP leadership “despicable.” Political strategists Kate Harrison, Marci Surkes and Jordan Leichnitz join The House to dig into some of the biggest headlines of the week.

Then, Catherine Cullen speaks with former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell, who’s been tapped by the B.C. government to improve the city’s Downtown Eastside amid ongoing complex problems surrounding drugs, crime and homelessness.

And: even with cuts to government spending on the horizon, Carney says he’s making the Trudeau-era National School Food Program permanent. Debbie Field, national coordinator for Coalition for Healthy School Food, discusses the state of the program and whether the funding is still far from hitting the mark.

This episode features the voices of:

• David Paterson, Ontario’s representative in Washington, D.C.
• Kate Harrison, Conservative strategist and vice chair at Summa Strategies
• Marci Surkes, former senior advisor to Justin Trudeau and chief strategy officer at Compass Rose
• Jordan Leichnitz, NDP strategist and Canada Director at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation
• Larry Campbell, B.C.’s new adviser on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
• Debbie Field, national coordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food

The Carney government is charging ahead with AI development in an effort to supercharge the Canadian economy and make Canada a global powerhouse — but experts warn that if handled poorly, the technology could be disastrous. Host Catherine Cullen takes a deep dive this week on The House and visits an inventor in Montreal leveraging AI to make a big leap in health care. The CEO of Canada’s largest AI research institute shares her perspective on needing more guardrails to protect Canadians, and experts explore the potential impacts of AI on the environment and job market. Plus, Catherine sits down with Canada’s first-ever AI minister to learn how the federal government plans to straddle the line between innovation and safety.

This episode features the voices of:

• Frédéric Leblond, founder of Reveal Surgical and co-inventor of the Sentry
• Tommy Brasseur, master’s student at Polytechnique Montréal
• Valérie Pisano, CEO of Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
• Angela Adam, senior vice-president of government relations at eStruxture
• Hamish van der Ven, head of the University of British Columbia’s Business, Sustainability and Technology Lab
• Noel Baldwin, executive director of the Future Skills Centre
• Evan Solomon, Minister of AI and Digital Innovation

Mark Carney and Donald Trump met Tuesday in the White House to try and hammer out a resolution to the U.S. trade war that has wreaked havoc on critical Canadian sectors like steel, aluminum, auto manufacturing and forestry. Later in the day, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters that the talks were "substantive," but made no announcement on a deal or tariff relief — saying conversations with his American counterparts will continue. So was Carney’s visit to Washington a win, a waste of time or a wash? Co-hosts and political nerds Catherine Cullen, Daniel Thibeault and Jason Markusoff tackle the big meeting in this last — for now — episode of House Party.  

Since Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his major projects goals, Alberta has been crystal clear — it wants a new pipeline to the west coast. Now, the province is planning to submit a formal application to Canada’s Major Projects Office, but B.C. won’t play ball. The House checks in with B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix to get the west coast perspective, as well as Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus Energy’s board chair, who is co-leading the advisory group assisting the Alberta government on its pipeline pitch.

Plus, as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, Palestinians in Canada are calling on Ottawa to bring their family members to safety through an emergency temporary immigration program. CBC’s Raffy Boudjikanian shares the story of Eman Alatbash, who worries about her sister’s fate in Gaza and the rest of her family stuck in Cairo.

Next, in the two years since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, incidents of antisemitism have risen dramatically around the world. What has to happen to stop it? Human rights lawyer and former justice minister Irwin Cotler joins Catherine Cullen to talk about the rise of antisemitism in Canada and how to address it.  

Then, a new report from an RBC research team suggests Canada’s farming workforce is drying up. Author Lisa Ashton joins the show to discuss what the federal government needs to do to shore up Canada’s farms.

Finally, On his first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation as prime minister, Mark Carney spoke in detail about a piece of art he’s recently had installed on Parliament Hill. Catherine Cullen speaks with artist Luke Parnell, who created A Brief History of Northwest Coast Design back in 2007, about the prime minister’s reflections on his work and the road ahead for reconciliation.

This episode features the voices of:

• Adrian Dix, B.C. Minister of Energy
• Alex Pourbaix, board chair of Cenovus Energy
• Raffy Boudjikanian, CBC News
• Irwin Cotler, former special envoy on combatting antisemitism
• Lisa Ashton, agriculture policy lead for RBC Climate Action Institute
• Luke Parnell, creator of A Brief History of Northwest Coast Design

Canada Post is on strike for the second time in less than a year, after the government authorized significant changes like ending home delivery across the country and closing some post offices. The Crown corporation is on track to lose $1.5 billion this year and the minister in charge of the file said it was “effectively insolvent.” So: what’s the future for Canada Post? And as the federal government tightens its belt ahead of next month’s federal budget, what does Prime Minister Mark Carney’s tough stance on Canada Post signal about what services he'll keep or cut? Co-hosts and political nerds Catherine Cullen, Daniel Thibeault and Jason Markusoff are here to talk about it all.