What should we make of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak? And how is the Conservative leadership race shaping up so far? Hill journos Joël-Denis Bellavance (La Presse), Daniel Leblanc (Globe and Mail) and (...)

A first plane carrying Canadians from the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, is now on its way to Canada. The aircraft will first touch down in Vancouver to refuel, before heading to CFB Trenton, in Ontario. (...)

Canadians stuck in Wuhan, China — the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak — will have to wait at least a day longer before they can be repatriated to Canada, after inclement weather delayed the arrival of the plane chartered to fly (...)

Canadians repatriated from the Chinese city of Wuhan will be quarantined as soon as they land in Canada. Marc-André Cossette has the latest details of the government’s plan, while political scientists Geneviève Tellier and Daniel (...)

Tonight on the show, Esther Bégin talks about the highlights of the week. Horacio Arruda, Quebec’s national director of public health, and Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian Ambassador to China, take stock of the coronavirus. Also (...)

Tonight on the show, Esther Bégin takes stock of the coronavirus and efforts to contain it with Laurence Monnais, professor of history at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Montreal, and François Audet, professor at UQAM (...)

The Bloc Québécois believes that the Quebec aluminum industry will not benefit from the new Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement and are therefore against fast-tracking the ratification of NAFTA 2.0. Meanwhile, the expert panel’s (...)

A third case of coronavirus in Canada raises public concerns and sparks discussions between parliamentarians. Esther Bégin takes stock of the situation with journalist Marc-André Cossette and Horacio Arruda, the national director of (...)

MPs are back at the House of Commons after the holiday break. Several hot topics are on the menu, including gun control, ratification of the United-States-Canada-Mexico trade agreement and the Conservative Party of Canada’s (...)

The parliamentary sitting ended with the resignation of Andrew Scheer. François Legault finally met Justin Trudeau for the first time since the federal election and the aluminum industry asks Ottawa to review NAFTA 2.0 Esther Bégin chats (...)

Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer announced his resignation today, after rumors have been circulating about it for weeks within his party. He will, however, remain a member of his riding of Regina – Qu’Appelle. Esther Bégin (...)

The new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a “net gain” for the aluminum sector, says Justin Trudeau, which means no financial aid will be given to this sector. The Bloc Québécois promises to vote against (...)

The new Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will finally be ratified. The three countries said on Tuesday that they had found common ground. In the United States, the agreement will have to be submitted to Congress before (...)

The Liberal government is taking action by honoring an election promise it repeated throughout the campaign: lowering taxes for the middle class. Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Minister of Middle Class Prosperity Mona Fortier made the (...)

A look at the impacts of decisions made in Ottawa on the lives of Canadians through in-depth analysis, context, and points of view.

Today was the opening of the 43rd Parliament at the House of Commons. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered his Speech from the Throne and a new Speaker of the House was elected: Anthony Rota. For the occasion, L’Essentiel is (...)

Donald Trump said Justin Trudeau was “two-faced” after watching a video where the prime minister seems to be making fun of the U.S. president. Although Trudeau refuted these allegations, this didn’t help to alleviate tensions (...)

U.S. President Donald Trump asked Justin Trudeau to increase Canada’s contribution to national defence spending. Trump called out the prime minister at the NATO summit in London, U.K., as the two men took part in a press briefing. (...)

Premiers of the provinces and territories are asking for greater autonomy from Ottawa. This is the second Council of the Federation meeting this year, this time on the outskirts of Toronto in Mississauga. Esther Bégin discusses the (...)

Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet held its first meeting today. Esther Bégin sits down with the new President of the Treasury board, Jean-Yves-Duclos. Also on the show: Frédéric Boily, political scientist at the University of Alberta, (...)

Esther Bégin presents a one-hour special edition on Justin Trudeau’s new Liberal minority government cabinet: full summary as well as feedback and analyses from our reporters, experts and political observers.

The federal election campaign lasted 40 days and 40 nights. Who are the winners? Who are the losers? Esther Bégin analyzes the entire campaign with journalists Althia Raj (HuffPost Canada), Daniel Leblanc (Globe and Mail) and Joël-Denis (...)

The Bloc Québécois held its first caucus meeting today. Yves-François Blanchet gathered his troops in Quebec City to begin their work. Meanwhile, Green Party leader Elizabeth May has dictated her terms for the next government. Esther (...)

Justin Trudeau spoke to the media for the first time today since his election. The Prime Minister took yesterday off to assess Monday’s results. He announced that the next government will respect gender parity and will be sworn in on (...)

In the aftermath of an election that brought a minority Liberal government to power in Canada, the time has come for reaction and analysis. Justin Trudeau was re-elected, but the Conservatives won the popular vote. Will the Liberals be (...)

The leaders make a last sprint, within 48 hours of the opening of polling stations. Each party is giving everything it has to consolidate its gains in the key constituencies. However, the shadow of a possible minority government and (...)

Will the new government be a majority or minority? That’s the question that was on everyone’s lips on day 37 of the campaign. Three days before the election, leaders are probed more than ever about their predictions and (...)

With only a few days left before the election, the leaders are now in marathon mode. They visit key constituencies, talk about possible coalition government and put forward their platforms. Esther Bégin is joined by journalists (...)

The LNG Quebec project, a pipeline that’s meant to deliver natural gas from western Canada to Saguenay, was once again brought into the campaign. An op-ed published in La Presse and signed by some 40 scientists that is highly (...)

The day after the last televised leaders’ debate before the election, the Conservative Party and the NDP finally release the cost of their election promises. Esther Bégin is joined by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux to (...)