It ended with a shocking cabinet resignation — but 2024 was packed with plenty more political ups and downs. How many headlines do you remember? Listen along and test your smarts as host Catherine Cullen quizzes three keen Parliament Hill watchers who battle it out in The House's annual showdown, featuring Brian Platt of Bloomberg News, Nojoud Al Mallees of The Canadian Press, J.P. Tasker from CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau — and a very special American media guest.

This week in politics has been so massive, one MP’s stunned response summed it up: “WTF?” In the span of five days, the finance minister resigned; a growing list of Liberal MPs called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to quit; the federal cabinet got shuffled; NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh vowed to bring down the government; and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wrote to the Governor General to ask her to reconvene Parliament.

On today’s pod, a longtime Liberal MP calls for Trudeau to go. A minister explains why he thinks Trudeau should stay. Then, two columnists dissect whether Trudeau — and the country — can survive the turmoil.

Finally, as Donald Trump and his supporters taunt Canada about becoming the 51st state, Catherine Cullen sits down with the departing American ambassador to Canada to discuss whether Canadians need to loosen up — or whether we deserve a little more respect.

This episode features the voices of:

• Rob Oliphant, Liberal MP for Don Valley West
• Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
• Shannon Proudfoot, columnist for The Globe and Mail
• Paul Wells, author and podcaster
• David Cohen, U.S. ambassador to Canada

Ontario premier Doug Ford made a splash this week when he suggested his province could withhold energy exports to the United States if president-elect Donald Trump slaps steep tariffs on Canadian goods. Is Ontario gearing up for a trade war with the U.S? Ontario’s energy minister explains how far the province is willing to go on the issue.

Then, the CEO of Abacus Data joins the program to discuss his new poll that shows Trump is more popular in Canada than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and what it means for Trudeau’s tariff negotiations with the Trump administration.

Plus, with days to go until Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presents her fall economic update, two economists debate the deficit, which fiscal anchors matter the most and what Canada should do about Trump’s concerns on trade.

Finally, the Liberals have tightened rules around the temporary foreign worker program, but why is it so susceptible to abuse? The House does a deep dive into the program to understand the problems and benefits for businesses and workers.

This episode features the voices of:

• Stephen Lecce, Ontario Minister of Energy
• David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data
• Armine Yalnizyan, economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers
• Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada
• Catherine Connelly, professor of human resources and management at McMaster University
• Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business