The House

As wildfires continue to burn out of control in B.C., guest host Chris Walker follows Conservative MP Dan Albas, whose riding includes the evacuated town of Summerland, as he travels the backroads to Penticton to where many of his constituents have fled. In this documentary, Walker speaks to Albas and neighbouring MP, Helena Konanz, about the emergency response; to volunteers and evacuees about what they have lost; and to B.C. Premier David Eby about climate change and forest management.

And, long before the wildfires made working outside difficult, the farmers of the Okanagan Valley were already having a worrying summer, as drought conditions have meant severe water rationing. In the next in our summer series on food security, The House travels to Coldstream, B.C. to meet vegetable farmer Rochelle Zelaney, as well as water scientist and former executive director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board Anna, Warwick Sears, to discuss farming in drought conditions and whether Canada’s food security will suffer.

Plus, in just a few days Canadians will find out if Trump will go ahead with imposing a crushing 50 per cent tariff on hundreds of Canadian goods. For B.C.'s lumber industry, that outcome could be fatal. Ashlee Cribb, CEO of Gorman Bros. in West Kelowna, explains the stakes for her company – and the community.

This episode features the voices of:
Dan Albas, Conservative MP for Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna
Helena Konanz, Conservative MP for Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay
David Eby, Premier of B.C.
Doug Holmes, mayor of Summerland, B.C.
Rochelle Zelaney, co-owner of Zelaney Farms
Anna Warwick Sears, director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board
Ashlee Cribb, CEO of Gorman Bros.

After a provincial politician in New Brunswick made international headlines for delivering a speech containing obvious AI prompts, and as the House of Commons continues to lean on hybrid proceedings and a voting app, it's clear technology is changing politics. But are these changes helping or hurting politicians? The House asks a panel of three past MPs: former interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen, former Liberal cabinet minister Marco Mendicino and former NDP MP and provincial cabinet minister Nathan Cullen.

Plus, as the federal government shared plans this week for a new medical countermeasures laboratory meant to improve preparedness for future health emergencies, south of the border, a Republican-led Senate committee held former top U.S. health official Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for declining to answer questions about COVID-19. Host Catherine Cullen checks in with Mona Nemer, Canada’s chief science advisor since 2017, about this moment in public trust and the path forward for pandemic preparedness.

And, more than half of all households in Nunavut are food insecure, according to Statistics Canada. As part of The House’s ongoing summer series on food security, Joseph Murdoch-Flowers, executive director at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre in Iqaluit, joins the program to talk about the work his group is doing to help and how the federal government could improve its efforts.

This episode features the voices of:
Candice Bergen, former Conservative Party interim leader and senior strategic advisor at Signal Hill
Marco Mendicino, former Liberal cabinet minister and senior counsel at Cassels
Nathan Cullen, former NDP MP and vice-president with StrategyCorp
Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor of Canada
Joseph Murdoch-Flowers, executive director at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre

Canada is known around the world for high quality crops, but advocates estimate the country is missing out on a $25 billion industry by not processing more of that food at home. As the federal government gears up to invest more in domestic processing, guest host Matt Allen talks to soybean farmer Chris Hundt and pickle farmer Dan Froese about their vegetables being exported, only to be sold back to Canadians at a premium.

Then, Matt tours a first-of-its-kind soybean plant in Benmiller, Ontario with New Protein International’s Martin VanderLoo and Graham Markham to talk about their ambition to create high quality protein powder right here in Canada. Finally, Matt Allen sits down with Dragon’s Den’s Arlene Dickinson to discuss whether venture capitalists are afraid of putting their money where their mouth is by investing in Canada’s food industries.

Plus, Doug Ford has often praised Prime Minister Mark Carney, but after Ottawa quashed Ford's desired expansion of Toronto's Billy Bishop airport, the Ontario premier's MPPs are publicly questioning a project close to Carney's heart: Alto high-speed rail. Is this just turbulence between the two leaders, or are they at risk of a crash? Hill watchers Marieke Walsh from the Globe and Mail and Politico’s Nick Taylor-Vaisey join The House to discuss.

This episode features the voices of:
• Chris Hundt, soybean farmer
• Martin VanderLoo, CEO of New Protein International
• Graham Markham, chief development officer of New Protein International
• Dan Froese, pickle and pepper farmer
• Henry Voth, employee of Hartung Brothers
• Jamie Froese, pickle and pepper farmer
• Neil Reimer, district director on the board of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers
• Arlene Dickinson, founder of District Ventures Capital
• Nick Taylor-Vaisey, Ottawa bureau chief for Politico
• Marieke Walsh, senior reporter with The Globe & Mail

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with all of Canada’s premiers in Charlottetown on Thursday to discuss how best to respond to Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats. Guest host Mitch Cormier canvasses a room of reporters waiting for the results of the First Ministers Meeting, then speaks with PEI Premier Rob Lantz, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and incoming council of the federation chair, NWT Premier R.J. Simpson about how exactly Canada might respond.

And, The House's summer season focus on food security continues with Ottawa's push to bring down food costs and drive competition in Canada's grocery sector — namely by funding local 'food hubs' across the country.

What are these hubs, and can they really make a difference for Canadian pocketbooks? Mitch Cormier travels around Prince Edward Island to meet farmers Trisha and Rose Viaene — who flipped the table on big grocers after being lowballed for their garlic crop — and corner store owner Krunal Patel, who has to buy dry goods from Canada's grocery empires, to stock his shelves. Then, Grower's Station executive director Ann Higgs, PEI Federation of Agriculture executive director Donald Killorn and food expert Mike von Massow explain how these food hubs help both farmers and small grocers, and whether scaling them up will bring food costs down.

Finally, Agriculture Minister Health MacDonald sits down with The House to share why the federal government is concerned about grocery competition and what he hopes Canadians' grocery carts will look like as the food strategy takes effect.

This episode features the voices of:
Rob Lantz, Premier of Prince Edward Island
Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta
R.J. Simpson, Premier of Northwest Territories
Trisha Viaene, former garlic farmer
Rose Viaene, executive general manager of Riverview Country Market
Jenn Pfenning, president of the National Farmers Union
Charles Aondo, delivery driver for Growers Station
Ann Higgs, executive director of Growers Station
Mike von Massow, food economist at the University of Guelph
Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture

Wildfire evacuations can spike with a moment’s notice, but is this country equipped to handle it? Federal Minister of Emergency Management Eleanor Olszewski responds to accusations that Ontario and Ottawa failed some communities hit by fires this week, and attacks from U.S. lawmakers who say Canada isn’t doing enough to stop wildfire smoke.

Plus, the prime minister has struck a deal with the Trump administration to open up the Gordie Howe Bridge — at the cost of a toll-sharing arrangement that remain murky. Is this another example of the Carney government dropping its elbows? Hill watchers Shannon Proudfoot and Paul Wells weigh in on that, plus the infighting splitting the Conservative party.

And, Canada relies heavily on fruits and veggies from warmer countries to feed itself, but big leaps in tech are promising year-round ways to grow it at home instead. Can Canada afford the price — or the electricity? House producer Derek Vanderwyk heads to a farm sealed inside a metal box and hears about technology that could let plants tell humans when they need light and water. Then, entrepreneur Jon Lomow makes his pitch for Canada to grow nearly all of what we eat.

This episode features the voices of:
Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience
Paul Wells, author and podcaster
Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer for The Globe and Mail
Alida Burke, co-founder and CFO of Growcer
Corey Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Growcer
Lenore Newman, director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley
Richard Lee, executive director of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
Lesley Campbell, professor of plant biology at Toronto Metropolitan University
Jon Lomow, co-founder of Fieldless Farms