Guest: Tonda MacCharles, Ottawa bureau chief

Canada avoided a snap election Monday night as the Liberal government pushed its federal budget through by a two-vote margin, 170 to 168. Support from Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and two NDP abstentions proved decisive after intense pressure and last-minute talks.
The close call raises new questions about the stability of the Liberal minority and what might be ahead in the coming months as the government brings forward the budget implementatin bill and faces further confidence tests in the House of Commons. We take a closer look at what happened behind the scenes in Ottawa.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz and Sean Pattendon

Guest: Richard Warnica, Senior Opinion Writer

In this episode, we explore Richard's recent visit to Texas as a vivid microcosm of Trump's current America. He reports on cratering trust in vaccines, increasingly aggressive ICE arrests that are cleaving families apart, and the dismantling of public media meant to help citizens understand their world. His conversations with advocates, lawyers, and local leaders highlight a landscape shaped by disease, cruelty, and deliberate ignorance — all unfolding alongside climate-driven disasters like the recent deadly flood at Camp Mystic girls summer camp, where grief still lingers in the air.

PLUS: Hear Texas House Representative Nicole Collier speak about how Republican action inspired her to sleep two night on the Capitol floor in protest.

Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon

Guest: Ed Keenan, Toronto Star city columnist

Toronto has always been a contradiction; a city people fall in love with and get fed up with, often at the same time.

This year, the Toronto Star explored those many shades in our Toronto the Better series, digging into the cracks, complexities, and questions around how to actually make the city better.

Now we want you to join the conversation.

We're launching One Great Idea — a project asking for your bold, beautiful, or just plain weird ideas to help fix Toronto.

If you could change one thing about this city, what would it be?

And what kind of ideas could actually turn Toronto into the place you want it to be?

In this episode, city columnist Ed Keenan talks about the project, the city's identity crisis, and why even the most frustrated Torontonians show up to cry and cheer together during a Blue Jays playoff run.

Have a great idea of your own?

Send it to onegreatidea@thestar.ca in under 200 words or drop it in the comments below. We'll be publishing a selection soon and letting readers choose which ones are worth championing.

Audio sources: Youtube, CP24

This episode was produced by Sean Pattendon