This Matters

Guests: Richard Warnica and Alex Ballingall On Monday, we saw the result of an unprecedented political comeback as Donald Trump was officially sworn in as President of the United States – again. His second run comes four years after being voted out of office, and being impeached for attempting to overturn that result. Senior Opinion writer Richard Warnica and Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief Alex Ballingall attend the inauguration and chat about what they saw: the major difference between the 2017 event and this one; what it signals that Trump expressed his return to power as similar to a prophet’s work; the pardons & proclamations he made on day one; and why Elon’s ‘Nazi salute’ should be of no surprise. PLUS: What’s the single most important thing progressives in both the USA & Canada can do right now?

Guest: Toronto Star Editor-in-chief Nicole MacIntyre talks about the genesis of the “Toronto the Better” series which looks for ways to improve life in the city in ways big and small This is the time of year for winter blahs, and it arrives amid what seems to be a years-long Toronto blues, in which Star Editor-in-chief Nicole MacIntyre admits she’s felt in danger of “falling out of love” with the city. But it’s also the time of year for resolutions, and so the Star has launched the “Toronto the Better” series which looks for ways to improve life in the city in ways big and small, from institutional fixes to self-help hacks. MacIntyre talks about the genesis of the idea, including the role her own recreational softball team played in inspiring parts of it, and talks about the things that can make us happy—things we can do ourselves and things the city can do for us—and breaks apart what being happy even means. Host Edward Keenan and MacIntyre discuss how the personal and the institutional combine and conflict to add up to a life worth living in the city. And we hear about the year-long plan to explore those topics in the Star. PLUS: Revisiting the first time Keenan and MacIntryre met in a conversation on the waterfront, a conversation directly relevant to this new initiative.

It’s been a historic week in Ottawa. On Friday, Jan. 10, members of the Star’s Ottawa bureau sat for a discussion about how we got to the point where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided he must step down as leader of the federal Liberal party and PM, and exactly where the Liberals must go from here. Join the Star's Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief, Alex Ballingall, Ottawa Bureau Reporter, Ryan Tumilty, and moderator Robert Benzie, Queen's Park Bureau Chief.

Guest: Toronto Mayor Oliva ChowHost: Edward Keenan In this episode of This Matters Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow talks about the housing and school nutrition progress she says are her biggest achievements of 2024, reflects on passing the biggest tax increase in post-amalgamation history and fields a question on what Torontonians should expect from the tax increase coming in the 2025 budget. Also, she shares her own response to the shelter crisis report that led the city manager to call the city’s commitment to housing as a human right “aspirational,” and discusses her plans to open libraries on weekends. Host Edward Keenan also asks her about a raft of issues where her critics and supporters seems to agree she’s ducking fights they expect her to take on—and she explains whether they all have her all wrong. PLUS: Seasonally appropriate conversation about why some of the best things about Toronto, in 2024 and beyond, involve ice.