Liberal leadership contenders faced off in two debates this week, and the stakes were high, with the winning candidate set to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister and lead the party into the next election. The debates were dominated by the spectre of Donald Trump, with a central question being who can best lead Canada in this moment of national crisis. 

Our political panel, Toronto Star Deputy Bureau Chief Alex Ballingall, Ottawa bureau reporter Ryan Tumilty, and Abacus Data CEO David Coletto, join host Althia Raj to break down what we learned about the candidates and perceived frontrunner Mark Carney’s weaknesses. 

Liberal MPs Randy Boissonnault and Francis Drouin also weigh in on their choices for the next Liberal leader.

Some of the clips this week were sourced from CPAC, the Liberal Party of Canada, the podcast “The Rest Is Politics” and Global News.

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.