• It's Political with Althia Raj

  • Written by: Toronto Star
  • Podcast

It's Political with Althia Raj

Written by: Toronto Star
  • Summary

  • Probing and insightful conversations with Canada's top political insiders, hosted by Althia Raj. A bi-monthly political podcast from the Toronto Star.
    Toronto Star
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Episodes
  • Fielding reader questions — from Freeland’s resignation to the Trump threat
    Dec 18 2024

    It’s been an eventful year in Canadian politics — from Chrystia Freeland’s bombshell resignation, to allegations of foreign interference involving Parliamentarians, to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming return to the White House.

    As 2024 draws to a close, the Star’s Ottawa bureau takes your questions and looks back on the year that was and what we can expect in 2025.

    In this episode: Ottawa bureau reporters Raisa Patel, Ryan Tumilty, and Mark Ramzy. Hosted by Althia Raj.

    Some of the clips this week were sourced from the House of Commons, CPAC, CP24, the Canadian Press, and CBC.

    This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

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    49 mins
  • How prepared is the Canadian military for the threats we face?
    Dec 6 2024

    United States President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House is renewing pressure on Canada to focus more on defense spending and border security.

    In February, Trump warned NATO members that if they didn’t pay their fair share — spending 2 per cent of their country’s GDP on their military — they should not assume the U.S. would leap to their defence.

    In July, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would meet the 2 per cent target, but only in 2032.

    The Liberals have invested billions to update the Canadian Armed Forces, but decades of underinvestment have led to serious capability gaps.

    This week, on “It’s Political,” we take a look at the state of the Canadian Armed Forces and ask how prepared Canada is for the threats we face.

    First, we’ll hear from experts: Canadian Army Commander Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, Carleton University Associate Professor Philippe Lagassé, University of Calgary Associate Professor Rob Huebert, Observatory on Politics and Security in the Arctic Director Mathieu Landriault, Canadian Global Affairs Institute President David Perry, Royal Military College of Canada Professor Jane Boulden, and retired Royal Canadian Air Force brigadier general Kevin Whale.

    Then, Althia will sit down with National Defence Minister Bill Blair.

    Some of the clips this week were sourced from the House of Commons, CPAC, the Halifax International Security Forum, the CBC, CTV, Global, NBC and ABC.

    This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

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    59 mins
  • Stalemate: Why the House of Commons has ground to a halt
    Nov 22 2024

    The House of Commons is in gridlock. Government bills and private members’ legislation have stalled. The Senate is running out of government matters to study.

    Parliament is paralyzed by a Conservative filibuster that started in late September.

    The Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Green Party accuse the Tories of hijacking the Commons for their own parliamentary games.

    The Conservatives say they are filibustering their own motion — tabling one sub-amendment after another — to pressure the Liberals to turn over documents to the RCMP.

    The documents were requested by parliamentarians months ago — but the Liberals have ignored the demand, refusing to hand all the records over in unredacted form.

    The Conservatives accuse the government of trying to hide evidence of Liberal corruption involving millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.

    Who’s telling the truth?

    This week on “It’s Political,” we turn our attention to the Conservative filibuster and the allegations at the heart of the standoff in Parliament.

    First, we’ll dig into the substance of the request for documents with Toronto Star Ottawa bureau reporter Mark Ramzy.

    Then our panel of experts – former PMO senior director Marci Surkes, former senior Conservative communication adviser Yaroslav Baran and former NDP MP Matthew Dubé – will join Althia to discuss the political strategies at play, and what it will take to finally end the standoff.

    • 6:08 — Mark Ramzy outlines the substance behind the filibuster
    • 18:18 — Political panel discusses the parties’ political strategies around the filibuster.

    In this episode: Toronto Star reporter Mark Ramzy, Compass Rose Group chief strategy officer and former senior advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Marci Surkes; Pendulum Group Co-founder and former senior Conservative advisor Yaroslav Baran; and Proof Strategies vice-president and former NDP MP Matthew Dubé. Hosted by Althia Raj.

    Some of the clips this week were sourced from the House of Commons, CPAC, the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery, and the National Post.

    This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Matt Hearn is our sound engineer. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

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    44 mins

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