The House

CBC Radio's The House: Kovrig, Spavor return home

On this week’s show: two former diplomats and an expert on Canada-China relations discuss the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from prison in China. Plus, CBC reporters on how the major party leaders are faring post-election; strategists dissect the campaigns and what lies ahead for Parliament; and, in a podcast extra, a former provincial PC cabinet member discusses Alberta’s political and health crises.

Here is what's on this week's episode of The House

Michael Spavor, left, and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, are in Chinese custody, both having been charged with spying.
Michael Spavor, left, and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, right, had been detained in China since December 2018. (The Associated Press/International Crisis Group/The Canadian Press)
On this week’s show: two former diplomats and an expert on Canada-China relations discuss the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from prison in China. Plus, CBC reporters on how the major party leaders are faring post-election; strategists dissect the campaigns and what lies ahead for Parliament; and, in a podcast extra, a former provincial PC cabinet member discusses Alberta’s political and health crises.

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor freed

Late Friday evening, just hours after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was declared free to leave Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor had cleared Chinese airspace and were headed back home to their families.

Earlier on Friday, a B.C. court dropped Meng's extradition case once the tech executive had entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. government. Kovrig and Spavor, detained for almost three years in China, were released from Chinese prison the same day.

What does it all mean for Canada's relationship with China? Experts Colin Robertson, Guy Saint-Jacques and Lynette Ong join The House to discuss.

What does Friday’s turn of events all mean for Canada's relationship with China? Experts Colin Robertson, Guy Saint-Jacques and Lynette Ong join The House to discuss.

How will party leaders forge ahead?

Frustration over results, impatience with vote counting and questions around party leadership have all been part of the fallout from Election 2021. Looking ahead, three CBC reporters take us through what may happen in the coming weeks. 

David Cochrane talks about who Prime Minister Justin Trudeau might choose for a cabinet that has already lost four key women. Then, Hannah Thibedeau walks us through the questions surrounding the leadership of Erin O'Toole. Finally, Olivia Stefanovich provides a peek behind the curtain on similar issues concerning Jagmeet Singh's continued command of the NDP.

CBC reporters David Cochrane, Hannah Thibedeau and Olivia Stefanovich discuss what the election means for the makeup of the Liberal cabinet and the fate of the Conservative and NDP leaders.

Party insiders offer parliamentary predictions

Five weeks of breathless campaigning yielded almost the exact same results in 2021 as in the 2019 election. What could the major parties have done differently to shift the tide in their favour? And how might they forge ahead in Parliament? 

Three party insiders join The House to examine where the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP stand and what ultimately sealed their fate in this election: David Herle, partner at The Gandalf Group and former Liberal strategist; Shakir Chambers of Earnscliffe Strategy Group and previously with the Harper government; and Rebecca Blaikie, past president of the NDP.

Party insiders David Herle, Shakir Chambers and Rebecca Blaikie discuss what campaigns might have done differently this election and how they might manoeuvre in a minority parliament.

Kenney hangs on in Alberta 

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney faced down a caucus revolt this week amidst a COVID-19 crisis in his province and public polling showing his popularity in the single digits. 

A special bonus interview for The House podcast listeners: Donna Kennedy-Glans, a cabinet member under former Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford, discusses why she thinks Kenney might hang on to lead the United Conservative Party into the next election — and what's at stake for Albertans as they face a devastating fourth wave of the pandemic.

As a special bonus interview for podcast listeners, Donna Kennedy-Glans, a former PC cabinet minister in Alberta, discusses Premier Jason Kenney’s political challenges.