WONK

One of the biggest challenges facing the Canadian economy is improving what we already do: Better efficiency, more open trade. It's what Ottawa is calling ‘one Canadian economy.’ Trevor Tombe is one of Canada's most sought after economists and the go-to expert on interprovincial trade barriers. He talks to host Amanda Lang about how we get there and the winners and losers of cross-Canada trade.

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Job number one of Canada's new Liberal government is salvaging our trade relationship with the United States. Next is the job of uniting the country — doing away with internal trade barriers and getting big projects built. All of that is the unwritten mandate of Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. He talks to host Amanda Lang about his plan to get to ‘zero tariffs’ with the U.S. and the need to turn down the volume on partisan politics.

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One of the biggest clean energy storage facilities in the world — the Oneida Energy Storage Project in Ontario — connected to the grid this month. It's a big clean energy win, but it's also a model for how Indigenous partnerships can propel energy projects in Canada. The driving forces behind the project, Matt Jamieson, president and chief executive officer of Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, and Annette Verschuren, chair and CEO of NRStor Inc., speak with host Amanda Lang about the challenges they faced and why their project represents the future of how to get big infrastructure projects built.

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Once eradicated in Canada, measles is making a comeback in Canada. Is it part of a bigger, post-pandemic trend we're seeing of vaccinations declining? What will it take to get public health back on track? Host Amanda Lang talks to Dr. Joss Reimer, president of the Canadian Medical Association, and Dr. Michael Gardam, a leading infectious disease expert about confronting misinformation, acknowledging COVID mistakes and why we’re still not ready for another emergency.

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Paul Wells is the de facto dean of political journalism in Canada — a longtime observer and interpreter of what happens in Ottawa. He talks to host Amanda Lang about some surprising shifts in the wake of the federal election, including an easing of the 'ever-deepening animosity' that’s become a trademark of politics, evidence of a common understanding of what's good for Canada and why we should be grateful Trump isn’t better at his job.

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In her incredible career as a journalist and author, Sally Armstrong told stories no one else would about the atrocities of war and became a towering figure for women's rights. She speaks with host Amanda Lang about the ongoing fight for rights, the ‘small group of greedy men' who start wars and how a former phys-ed teacher at a magazine called Homemaker became a groundbreaking war correspondent.

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Tim Snyder is one of America’s most important scholars. While his work has focused on Eastern Europe, Russia and on the Holocaust, more recently he's written hugely popular books about the nature of tyranny and freedom. He recently moved with his family to Canada, where he is in high demand as someone who can help make sense of what's happening in the world. He talks to host Amanda Lang about America’s slide toward tyranny, the importance of local media in democracy and what keeps him hopeful for the future.

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It’s getting hard to tell who's a friend and who's an enemy in this turbulent geopolitical era. As Canada searches for new trade partners, one big question that's emerging is what to do about China. Is it time to rethink an economic relationship or are the security risks still too great? Host Amanda Lang talks to Peter Van Praagh, founder and president of the Halifax International Security Forum, about Chinese ambitions, Canadian values and how China will be “working diligently” to influence the federal election.

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The federal election has been dominated by Donald Trump and his tariffs. But is that the key ballot question? Energy, infrastructure, defense, productivity, housing and affordability, just to name a few, all loom large. The challenges are piling up and the economic future is dark. Host Amanda Lang gathers an all-star election panel — Armine Yalnizyan, Sean Speer and Jay Khosla — to talk about what Canadians need to be thinking about as well as a few of the positive signs in the race so far.

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Canada’s happy trade arrangement with the U.S has ended. And while it seemed sudden and alarming, it was not totally unforeseeable to those watching the bigger shifts in global trade. Among those who predicted this moment, Roger Martin. He's the former dean of the Rotman School of Management and a best-selling author. He talks to host Amanda Lang about how globalization began to unravel, the problems with U.S.-Canada trade and why Canada needs to ‘ask the EU question.’

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