Prime Minister Mark Carney's trade deal with China has sent a jolt through Canada and beyond. In exchange for allowing more Chinese-made electric vehicles to enter the Canadian market, Beijing has agreed to lower duties on some agricultural and seafood products.

Catherine Cullen first speaks with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew about what the deal means for his province; then former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole discusses the risks of a closer relationship with China; and Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder discusses the PM’s possible calculus behind the deal.

Plus, Carney is not the first prime minister to try to improve Canada’s relationship with China. From Trudeau Sr. to Trudeau Jr., Jia Wang of the University of Alberta’s China Institute and former ambassador Guy Saint-Jacques chart the highs and lows of bilateral relations and tensions; then Politico’s Phelim Kine breaks down the Trump administration’s reaction to Carney calling China a “more predictable partner” than the U.S.

Also: François Legault is stepping down as premier of Quebec mere months ahead of a provincial election that polls suggest could be won by the separatist Parti Québécois. Philip Authier of the Montreal Gazette and Daniel Thibeault, Ottawa bureau chief for Radio-Canada, discuss whether Legault's decision throws a wrench in the PQ's plans for a referendum.

This episode features the voices of:

Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba
Erin O'Toole, former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada
Jia Wang, senior fellow at the China Institute at the University of Calgary
Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China
Phelim Kine, Washington-based China correspondent for POLITICO
Philip Authier, National Assembly reporter for the Montreal Gazette
Daniel Thibeault, parliamentary bureau chief for Radio-Canada and host of Les Coulisses du Pouvoir

#144 - Paul & Victor of Missing Link