The Red Passport

Louise, Jeremy and Peter discuss the challenges - and opportunities - facing Canada's next ambassador in Washington. The coming year will be make-it-or-break-it for CUSMA. Can a new ambassador make the difference? And given the dark, threatening tone of the recently-released US National Security Strategy, should we really get our hopes up?

As Donald Trump beats the war drums at Venezuela, his administration is trying to broker an end to the Russian war on Ukraine. How seriously can we take either of these initiatives? Jeremy and Peter try to untangle it all, and get at the motivations and likely outcomes. And—as usual—what it means for Canada... the front line on Trump's America.

As we are rattled by the news every day with something astonishing, often horrifying—scandals, political collisions and war—it becomes hard to keep our connection to the concept of international law. Why is the rules-based order under so much strain? Joining Jeremy and Louise are former ambassadors Sabine Nolke, a Visiting Fellow at Western University and practitioner of international law, and Jon Allen, Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto's Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Canadian International Council.

Donald Trump explodes over Ontario's TV commercial. Mark Carney makes his APEC debut (and meets with Xi Jinping), it's been another head spinning few days for Canada on the world scene.

China has long been a mystery to the world, and we often get it wrong. But today, understanding China isn’t just about geopolitics or military power. It’s about the global economy, Canada’s place in it, and the difficult road ahead in our bilateral relationship.On this episode of The Red Passport, Peter Donolo, Jeremy Kinsman, and Louise Blais sit down with former Canadian ambassador to China Howard Balloch to unpack the forces shaping Beijing’s choices and what they mean for Canada.