Nova Scotia MP Chris d'Entremont's decision to cross the floor to the Grits handed them a crucial vote to pass their budget and triggered a chain of events that left Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre struggling to maintain his grip on his caucus.

In this episode of "It's Political," the Toronto Star's Ottawa bureau reporters — Raisa Patel, Mark Ramzy, Ryan Tumilty and deputy bureau chief Alex Ballingall — join Althia to discuss the events since the tabling of the Liberals' budget and what factors will play in Monday's crucial budget vote. Can Mark Carney's government survive?

But before that discussion, the Canadian Tax Observatory's CEO Heather Scoffield breaks down the content of that budget.

"It's Political" is produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Our sound engineer is Matt Hearn. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

The audio clips this week were sourced from ParlVu, CPAC, CBC and CTV.

U.S. President Donald Trump is clear and consistent: he wants Canadian auto sector jobs on his side of the border.

He's refused to craft a side deal on autos and has plainly said he'll increase tariffs until it makes no economic sense for Canada to build cars.

This week on "It's Political" we look at whether the auto industry is worth saving, and how it could be propped up – despite the uncertainty Trump creates.

Then, we'll shift gear and talk about uncertainty of a different kind.

In Alberta, this week, the UCP government invoked the notwithstanding clause to end a three-week teacher strike. What's behind the move? We'll talk to the Alberta Federation of Labour which is trying to organize a potential general strike, and a constitutional lawyer about the greater meaning and consequence of Alberta's decision.

In this episode:

• 3:23 — Saving the auto sector with Unifor Local 200 President John D'Agnolo, Former Toyota Canada executive Stephen Beatty, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford, and Western University's Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing's Managing Director Brendan Sweeney.
• 41:33 — The fight against Alberta's use of the notwithstanding clause with Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan
• 55:48 — Why the debate over the notwithstanding clause matters with Conway Litigation Partner and constitutional lawyer Marion Sandilands.

"It's Political" is produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton. Our sound engineer is Matt Hearn. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from ParlVu, CPAC, the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, the Alberta Federation of Labour's Facebook page, CTV, Global, CP24, CBC, 10 Tampa Bay, Fox News, and the Manitoba Museum.

Listen here and follow or subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party says Canada's justice system is broken, and that overly lax bail laws are leading to preventable violent crime. Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to agree. But are they misdiagnosing the problem?

In this episode, we take a look at the state of our corrections system, what's not working, and what can be done about it. Althia is joined by Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, and Melanie Webb, chair of criminal justice section of The Canadian Bar Association to discuss.

Then we compare public sentiment around crime to the actual statistics with Statistics Canada's Warren Silver and Abacus Data CEO David Coletto.

Finally, Jinny Sims, a former NDP MP and MLA, and the current morning host at Radio Swift, talks about a growing extortion problem in the South Asian community, and how her radio station was shot at after she spoke out.

This episode of "It's Political" was produced by Althia Raj and Kevin Sexton, and mixed by Sean Pattendon. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.

Some of the audio clips this week were sourced from Parl Vu, CPAC, Global, CTV and the Winnipeg mayor's weekly bulletin.