Power & Politics

The United States is reshaping the global order around Canada with military intervention in Venezuela, threats to annex a NATO ally and claims of ‘dominance’ over the entire Western Hemisphere. Zain Velji, Jamie Ellerton and Laura D'Angelo discuss how Canada can possibly approach a power that’s fighting both the world — and itself.

Chrystia Freeland has officially resigned her seat in the House of Commons, leaving the minority Liberal government now two seats shy of a majority. Plus, more details emerge about the fatal ICE shooting of a Minneapolis woman this week.

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance says Renee Nicole Good, the woman fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minn., on Wednesday, is 'dead because she tried to ram somebody with her car.' University of Wisconsin associate professor of law and use of force expert John Gross breaks down every stage of the encounter between ICE and Good, saying it's clear from video that 'she never attempted to ram the officer.' Then, Minnesota state Sen. Zaynab Mohamed refutes Vance's claim that Good was part of a radical left-wing network, saying 'the only radical group' is his administration that's 'invading' U.S. cities.

 A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday less than two kilometres from where a police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020. Minneapolis city council member Aurin Chowdhury tells ICE to 'pack your bags and leave,' arguing the Trump administration is using an 'occupation' and false anti-immigrant narrative to distract from economic failures. Then, civil rights lawyer and past president of the Minneapolis NAACP Nekima Levy Armstrong refutes U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that the shooting was self-defence: 'If there were concerns about her trying to drive away, you can shoot a tire — you don't have to shoot a person in the head.'

The White House clarified its ambitions for Greenland on Tuesday, stating that 'acquiring Greenland is a national security priority' for the U.S. and that 'utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option.' Greenland's pro-independence opposition leader Pele Broberg responds by arguing for direct negotiations with the U.S. on Greenland's future. Then, Former Canadian Ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck discusses what a threat from NATO's most powerful member to annex another member's territory could mean for the future of the alliance. 

After arresting the president of Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump is issuing new threats, warnings and predictions of collapse for Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Greenland and Iran — all while his State Department posts online that 'This is OUR Hemisphere.' Canada's former UN ambassador discusses how Trump and other powerful leaders are trying to 'carve up' the world. Plus, former Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos Calderón reacts to Trump's threat of military action against Colombia.

Power and Politics' panel of political insiders — Greg MacEachern, Melanie Richer and Fred DeLorey — on Canadian political stories to watch in 2026.

Host David Cochrane and Power Panelists Laura D’Angelo, Tim Powers, Jordan Leichnitz and Charelle Evelyn count down the top five political newsmakers of 2025.

Host David Cochrane and the Reporter Roundtable panel reflect on events of 2025 from the federal election to Trump’s trade war.

For a year that changed just about everything we know about the Canadian political landscape, Power & Politics is upgrading the final Weekly Wrap podcast of 2025 to our Yearly Wrap. Zain Velji, Carlene Variyan and Rachael Segal break down Mark Carney's rise to prime minister, the Conservative reversal of fortunes and whether Carney has lived up to his big promises both at home and south of the border.