Follow-Up With Althia Raj
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Follow-Up With Althia Raj
Thoughtful, frank conversations with Canada’s top political insiders, hosted by Althia Raj. A podcast from HuffPost Canada's Politics team.
Recent Episodes
64 episodes
#59 Things You Should Know About Canada’s Historic Debt Level
The Liberal government revealed a mini-budget chock full of new spending — but it’s the pitch to keep the spending taps open, to inject up to $100 bil...
#58 Erin O’Toole’s First 100 Days
The path to electoral victory for the Conservative party involves building a bigger tent and floating a few trial balloons — during a pandemic. We ask...
#57 Who Speaks For Quebec?
While it seems debates over free speech have been on a rolling boil south of the border, the topic has also dominated francophone TV and radio in rece...
#56 The Elephant And The Mouse: What The U.S. Election Result Means For Canada
The U.S. election cycle feels like it has its own gravitational pull and two candidates signal different opportunities — and potential challenges — fo...
#55 Goodbye Elizabeth May, Hello Annamie Paul
Annamie Paul is the first new leader of the federal Green party in 14 years. As she tries to move the party beyond Elizabeth May’s shadow — spectres h...
#54 Jagmeet Singh’s Complicated Relationship With Liberals
The throne speech has been read. The Conservatives and Bloc have signaled their displeasure, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh finds himself kingmaker, aga...
#53 ‘Never Let A Good Crisis Go To Waste’
Months into a pandemic, the initial political unity in Ottawa has disintegrated. Historic economic packages have been approved at breakneck speed, but...
#52 Parliament’s Top Rebel Explains Why It’s Healthy To Dissent
As the government whips through 2020 with minority numbers, the Liberal’s No. 1 dissenting MP sits down for a candid talk about how he's found a balan...
#51 Teck Frontier Fears And Political Loathing On The Hill
With a cabinet decision due over the fate of Teck Frontier, a massive new oilsands mine project, the Liberals face another test on how serious they ar...
#50 Parties For Sale Or Rent In A Minority Government
The Liberals have returned to Ottawa in need of dance partners to get things done. We speak to current and former House leaders on the moves they’ve l...
#49 Justin Trudeau Now Playing In The Minority League
We’ve made it to the end of the rainbow. The Liberals have been re-elected with a strong minority, with equally strong divisions across Canada. We loo...
#48 Serenity Now! Election Insanity Later
Parliament has adjourned and, we’re told, a nasty campaign lies ahead. Our pundit panel reviews how the Liberals have done after nearly four years and...
#47 Real Talk About ‘Fake News’
Social media has given politicians more platforms than ever to engage with the public. But the temptation to package sound bites into spicy content ha...
#46 Suddenly, It’s Easier Being Green These Days
Two motions put climate change at the top of the agenda in Ottawa this week. Elizabeth May doesn’t think it’s a coincidence. But as the debate unfurls...
#45 One-On-One With Gerald Butts
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's former principal secretary has kept a low-profile since testifying about the SNC-Lavalin affair. Now, he speaks candid...
#44 The Liberal Party's Battle Royal
Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott’s ejection from the Liberal caucus has opened yet another chapter in the SNC-Lavalin affair — and a robust deba...
#43 How The Federal Budget Sausage Gets Made
It’s make or break for the Liberals as they begin to pitch their election-year budget. But are its goodies strong enough to change the channel on SNC-...
#42 Jody Wilson-Raybould Rocks The Casbah
Jody Wilson-Raybould unleashed scorching testimony that burned her party. As her fate in the Liberal party remains unclear, veteran NDP MP Nathan Cull...
#41 Senators Find Some Cruel Intentions In Pipeline Review Bill
The Liberal government is eager to have its pipeline review bill pass through the Senate before the election. These senators say, not so fast.
<...
#40 Well, That SNC-Lavalin Controversy Escalated Quickly
Jody Wilson-Raybould’s cabinet resignation seemingly blindsided the prime minister. Her high-profile departure tests the government’s resiliency in an...
#39 Does This Election Campaign Spark Joy For Anyone Yet?
The House has returned to new digs — both physically and in terms of election-year partisan burns. Our politics panel weighs in on the early strengths...
#38 Goodbye, Centre Block
Who knew you could experience separation anxiety with a building? We tour Centre Block one last time before it closes for at least a decade for renova...
#37 They Paved Paradise And Promised A New Road For Reconciliation
A Quebec First Nation’s land claim to Parliament Hill tests the Liberals’ promise to build a nation-to-nation relationship.
In this epis...
#36 Maxime Bernier Likes Talking About Immigration (Part 2)
The former Tory veteran and now leader of the People's Party of Canada says he’s not opposed to immigrants or legitimate asylum seekers when he advoca...
#35 Maxime Bernier: The Populist And His Policies (Part 1)
Whether you agree or disagree with him, Maxime Bernier is a newsmaker. We sit down with the People’s Party of Canada leader to talk about his turning...
#34 Liberals Deepen The Deficit While Tories, NDP Swim Into Some Trouble
As the NDP and Tories piled on the Liberal government for deepening Canada's deficit, they face some deep troubles of their own.
In this...
#33 Are Liberals The Middle-Class Heroes They Thought They’d Be?
Three years into their mandate, how are the Liberals doing with their ambitious agenda to grow Canada's middle class? Have partisan politics and econo...
#32 Fear And Groaning Over UN's Alarming Climate Change Report
A new UN report gives humanity 12 years to get its act together to curb rising temperatures and avoid unprecedented environmental disaster. The House...
#31 Canada Aches For Redemption At The United Nations
Canadian schmoozing is back at the United Nations as the Justin Trudeau government ramps efforts to secure a seat at the Security Council table. Forme...
#30 The Long And Winding Learning Curve For Jagmeet Singh
Jagmeet Singh was supposed to be a fundraising magnet, but his first rocky year as NDP leader has been a bust. The party calls a regroup in B.C. Also:...
#29 Irreconcilable Differences: Conservatives Carry On Without Maxime Bernier
While Maxime Bernier tried to steal headlines from the start of the Conservative party policy convention in Halifax, 3,000 delegates focused on positi...
#28 Parliament Wraps With Legal Bud And A Conservative Twist
This session of Parliament comes to an end with the legalization of recreational marijuana — a day after the Liberals were smoked in a rare byelection...
#27 Where Will Trump’s Anti-Canada Spasm Leave Us?
Donald Trump’s first official trip to Canada ended with the president and his subordinates hurling insults at the prime minister and making new-again...
#26 The Liberals Are Now Livin’ On A Pipeline Prayer
Who knew “sunny ways” included buying a controversial pipeline that Kinder Morgan wanted to dump. With 2019 around the corner, will this political gam...
#25 Liberal MP Scott Simms Rages Against The Party Machine
Scott Simms was stripped as a standing committee chair after he refused to toe the party line on the government’s controversial Canada Summer Jobs att...
#24 It’s Crunch Time To Change Canada’s Election Laws
The government is taking another crack at repealing some of the Tories’ controversial changes to Canada’s election laws. But there are some real conce...
#23 Sea Trial In Halifax For Liberals’ 2019 Campaign
The NDP are pissed. The Tories are bewildered. And the Liberals are pretty pleased with their new debate-lite convention process that supported resolu...
#22 Kinder Morgan Surprises Ottawa And Daniel Jean Underwhelms Tories
Kinder Morgan’s pipeline ultimatum added fuel to a simmering Canadian political family feud. And after weeks of Tories asking for Daniel Jean to appea...
#21 Ottawa Is Obsessed With A Guy Named Daniel Jean
Move over Morneau. Tories have changed focus and are hell-bent on selling a story of Liberal intrigue starring the prime minister’s national security...
Bonus: It’s Still A Boys' Club On Parliament Hill
Employment And Workforce Minister Patty Hajdu, labour pioneer and former NDP MP Peggy Nash join host Althia Raj for a live conversation about working...