The Vassy Kapelos Show

Stefan Keyes fills in for Vassy Kapelos, who continues her Christmas holidays. On today's show... The Conservatives and Liberals are ramping up their political messaging, as Canada prepares for a federal election in 2025. How soon could we have one? The feds plan to extend the deadline for claiming charitable donations on tax returns. If approved, it would run until the end of February. Does that move the needle enough? It's been 50 years since Canada embraced the Metric system. Do you like it or should we ditch it? Carleton University professor Ian Lee provides his financial outlook for 2025, and explains how a series of economic and political variables will impact the Canadian landscape. Look out for the NoroVirus! It's quickly surging across the United States. We explain the best ways to protect yourself from catching it.

Stefan Keyes fills in for Vassy Kapelos, as we slowly recover from the mid-week turkey comas. On today's show... Public historian Arthur Milnes reflects on the life and legacy of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away months after celebrating his 100th birthday. Barry McLoughlin of Transformational Leadership Consultants recaps the biggest political headlines of 2024, and looks ahead to a series of pivotal issues that Canadian leaders will have to deal with in 2025. Lachine Mayor Maja Vodanovic explains why it's getting tougher for Quebec to recruit politicians. TSN 1200 play-by-play voice AJ Jakubec recaps a stunning defeat for Canada over the weekend, as Latvia pulls off a post-Christmas miracle. It's been almost 25 years since Y2K. Where were you when it happened? The best ways to make New Year's resolutions.

Free For All Friday – Hour 1 Guest host Tim Powers breaks down the biggest stories of the day with Canada’s top newsmakers. On today’s show: CTV's Jeremie Charron tees up a pivotal meeting between some of Canada's top Cabinet voices and members of Donald Trump's team. Dr. Richard Bazinet explains how we can maintain a healthy diet during the endless temptations of Christmas and New Year's. TSN's Matt Cauz recaps a strong showing for Team Canada at the 2025 World Juniors. Free For All Friday – Hour 2 Political pundits from across the country join guest host Tim Powers to dissect this week's Top 5 stories. Closing out the final edition of 2024 is Conaptus founder Jamie Ellerton, Niipaawi founder Cam Holmstrom, and NorthStar Public Affairs senior advisor Sabrina Grover. Topic 1: Another key meeting between members of Canada's Cabinet and members of Donald Trump's team. Topic 2: A late-January non-confidence vote that the Conservatives might be planning. Topic 3: Recapping the top stories of 2024. Topic 4: Trying to predict the top stories of 2025. Topic 5: Managing healthy diets during the holidays and preparing your New Year's resolutions.

Eric Ham, CTV U.S. Political Analyst joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the recent string of posts from the president-elect and his son referencing Canada as the '51st state'.  On todays show: David Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada joins guest host Tim Powers to give an update on where in Canada will have a white Christmas.  Laura Stone, Queen’s Park reporter with The Globe and Mail joins guest host Tim Powers to have a year in review of Ontario politics.  The Daily Debrief Panel with Carlene Variyan, Associate Vice-President of Summa Strategies and Neil Brodie, Conservative Strategist.  Carmen Lau, Senior International Advocacy Associate At Hong Kong Democracy Council, Former Elected District Councillor Of Hong Kong. joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss how Hong Kong issued arrest warrants and bail for her earlier in the day. 

Mike Le Couteur, Senior political correspondent with CTV News joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the growing calls from within the Liberal party for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down. On todays show:  Listen to Vassy's full conversation with President-elect Trump's new border czar Tom Homan as they sat down for an exclusive interview on CTV's Power Play. Mark Masters, TSN Reporter joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss Team Canada's current standing in the World Juniors.  The Daily Debrief Panel with Andrew Perez and Jason Lietar.  Dr. Janine Hubbard, Clinical Psychologist based in St. John’s, Newfoundland joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the importance of mental health and wellness.  Richard Crouse, Movie Critic joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss his best and worst movie picks of 2024. 

Free For All Friday – Hour 1 Amanda Galbraith breaks down the biggest stories of the day with Canada’s top newsmakers. On today’s show: Canada's Prime Minister is rearranging his Cabinet ahead of the Christmas Break. CTV political analyst Tom Mulcair and Wright Strategies founder Kim Wright explain what Friday's changes could tell us about Justin Trudeau's next move. Our relationship with technology is constantly changing, and look no further than 2024 for some reasonable proof of that. Tech analyst Carmi Levy digests some of this year's top tech stories. Free For All Friday – Hour 2 Political pundits from across the country join Amanda Galbraith to dissect this week's Top 5 stories. Closing out the pre-Christmas episode is Winston Wilmont President Chris Day and Laura D'Angelo of Enterprise Canada. Topic 1: Prime Minister Trudeau rearranges the Cabinet chairs again Topic 2: Trudeau's best efforts to roll with the punches might result in a knockout punch from the Opposition, as the NDP threatens to topple the Liberals and force an early election Topic 3: Predicting the top political headlines for 2025 Topic 4: Do today's kids have coping problems? Topic 5: Christmas traditions

The past 12 months have been, to put it one way, absolutely bananas. The events of the past 7 days is further proof of that. On Friday, Canada's Prime Minister prepares to shuffle his Cabinet. But what can we expect as 2025 finally arrives? Joining us for a 4-part Daily Debrief Panel is Toronto Star reporter Robert Benzie, who works at Queen's Park alongside Globe and Mail reporter Laura Stone. She is Globe and Mail colleagues with senior political reporter Marieke Walsh. In Hour 2, we spread some Christmas cheer with our Christmas Angel segment. Then, we talk science with CTV's Dan Riskin. After that, we talk a little bit of tech with tech expert Carmi Levy. And finally, we turn things over to the listeners, who deliver their bold predictions for 2025. On behalf of the entire team at the Vassy Kapelos Show, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Listen to Vassy's full conversations with Liberal MP's Wayne Long and Ken Hardie as they call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down.  On todays show: Frank McKenna, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United States joins host Vassy Kapelos to discuss President-elect Trump's latest social media comments about Canada becoming the 51st state.  Jonathan Malloy, Professor of political science at Carleton University joins host Vassy Kapelos to answer this weeks 'The Explainer' question on what were to happen if the Prime Minister were to resign, and how prorogation works.  The Daily Debrief Panel with Kory Teneycke, Kathleen Monk, and Scott Reid.  Listen to Vassy's full conversation with Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on the federal governments new plan to amplify border security. 

Listen to Vassy's full conversation with Liberal MP Antony Housefather & Liberal MP Helena Jaczek as they call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stepped down.  On todays show: Vassy takes your calls on texts on if Justin Trudeau should remain on as leader of the Liberal party.  Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux joins host Vassy Kapelos to discuss the newly tabled fall economic statement which reports a deficit of $61.9-billion for 2023-24. The Daily Debrief Panel with Shakir Chambers, Saeed Selvam, and Shachi Kurl.  Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, which was the investment adviser to the largest foreign investment fund in Russia until 2005, and close colleagues with Chrystia Freeland joins Vassy to give his reaction to her stepping down. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she's resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet hours before she was set to table the fall economic update. Lori Turnbull, Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss.  On todays show:  Listen to Vassy's full conversation with Bill Morneau, Former Finance Minister as they discuss whether or not there will be consequences if the deficit is above the projected $40.1 billion. Missy Cummings, one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots, Professor and Director of Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the mysterious drones reported over the East Coast.  The Daily Debrief Panel with Zain Velji and Tom Mulcair.  Colton Praill, CTV National News Correspondent joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss where things stand as we enter the lockup for the fall economic statement.