Eric Ham, CTV U.S. Political Analyst joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the recent string of posts from the president-elect and his son referencing Canada as the '51st state'.

On todays show:

• David Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada joins guest host Tim Powers to give an update on where in Canada will have a white Christmas.
• Laura Stone, Queen’s Park reporter with The Globe and Mail joins guest host Tim Powers to have a year in review of Ontario politics.
• The Daily Debrief Panel with Carlene Variyan, Associate Vice-President of Summa Strategies and Neil Brodie, Conservative Strategist.
• Carmen Lau, Senior International Advocacy Associate At Hong Kong Democracy Council, Former Elected District Councillor Of Hong Kong. joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss how Hong Kong issued arrest warrants and bail for her earlier in the day.

Mike Le Couteur, Senior political correspondent with CTV News joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the growing calls from within the Liberal party for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down.

On todays show:

• Listen to Vassy's full conversation with President-elect Trump's new border czar Tom Homan as they sat down for an exclusive interview on CTV's Power Play.
• Mark Masters, TSN Reporter joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss Team Canada's current standing in the World Juniors.
• The Daily Debrief Panel with Andrew Perez and Jason Lietar.
• Dr. Janine Hubbard, Clinical Psychologist based in St. John’s, Newfoundland joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the importance of mental health and wellness.
• Richard Crouse, Movie Critic joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss his best and worst movie picks of 2024.

Free For All Friday – Hour 1

Amanda Galbraith breaks down the biggest stories of the day with Canada’s top newsmakers.

On today’s show:

• Canada's Prime Minister is rearranging his Cabinet ahead of the Christmas Break. CTV political analyst Tom Mulcair and Wright Strategies founder Kim Wright explain what Friday's changes could tell us about Justin Trudeau's next move.
• Our relationship with technology is constantly changing, and look no further than 2024 for some reasonable proof of that. Tech analyst Carmi Levy digests some of this year's top tech stories.

Free For All Friday – Hour 2

Political pundits from across the country join Amanda Galbraith to dissect this week's Top 5 stories. Closing out the pre-Christmas episode is Winston Wilmont President Chris Day and Laura D'Angelo of Enterprise Canada.

Topic 1: Prime Minister Trudeau rearranges the Cabinet chairs again

Topic 2: Trudeau's best efforts to roll with the punches might result in a knockout punch from the Opposition, as the NDP threatens to topple the Liberals and force an early election

Topic 3: Predicting the top political headlines for 2025

Topic 4: Do today's kids have coping problems?

Topic 5: Christmas traditions

The past 12 months have been, to put it one way, absolutely bananas. The events of the past 7 days is further proof of that. On Friday, Canada's Prime Minister prepares to shuffle his Cabinet. But what can we expect as 2025 finally arrives? Joining us for a 4-part Daily Debrief Panel is Toronto Star reporter Robert Benzie, who works at Queen's Park alongside Globe and Mail reporter Laura Stone. She is Globe and Mail colleagues with senior political reporter Marieke Walsh.

In Hour 2, we spread some Christmas cheer with our Christmas Angel segment. Then, we talk science with CTV's Dan Riskin. After that, we talk a little bit of tech with tech expert Carmi Levy. And finally, we turn things over to the listeners, who deliver their bold predictions for 2025.

On behalf of the entire team at the Vassy Kapelos Show, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Listen to Vassy's full conversations with Liberal MP's Wayne Long and Ken Hardie as they call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down.

On todays show:

• Frank McKenna, Former Canadian Ambassador to the United States joins host Vassy Kapelos to discuss President-elect Trump's latest social media comments about Canada becoming the 51st state.
• Jonathan Malloy, Professor of political science at Carleton University joins host Vassy Kapelos to answer this weeks 'The Explainer' question on what were to happen if the Prime Minister were to resign, and how prorogation works.
• The Daily Debrief Panel with Kory Teneycke, Kathleen Monk, and Scott Reid.
• Listen to Vassy's full conversation with Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on the federal governments new plan to amplify border security.

Listen to Vassy's full conversation with Liberal MP Antony Housefather & Liberal MP Helena Jaczek as they call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stepped down.

On todays show:

• Vassy takes your calls on texts on if Justin Trudeau should remain on as leader of the Liberal party.
• Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux joins host Vassy Kapelos to discuss the newly tabled fall economic statement which reports a deficit of $61.9-billion for 2023-24.
• The Daily Debrief Panel with Shakir Chambers, Saeed Selvam, and Shachi Kurl.
• Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, which was the investment adviser to the largest foreign investment fund in Russia until 2005, and close colleagues with Chrystia Freeland joins Vassy to give his reaction to her stepping down.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she's resigning from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet hours before she was set to table the fall economic update. Lori Turnbull, Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss.

On todays show:

• Listen to Vassy's full conversation with Bill Morneau, Former Finance Minister as they discuss whether or not there will be consequences if the deficit is above the projected $40.1 billion.
• Missy Cummings, one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots, Professor and Director of Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss the mysterious drones reported over the East Coast.
• The Daily Debrief Panel with Zain Velji and Tom Mulcair.
• Colton Praill, CTV National News Correspondent joins guest host Tim Powers to discuss where things stand as we enter the lockup for the fall economic statement.

Free For All Friday – Hour 1

Host Amanda Galbraith breaks down the biggest stories of the day with Canada’s top newsmakers.

On today’s show:

• Bruce Winder, Retail Analyst and Author, on the upcoming GST holiday
• Bacchus Barua, Director, Health Policy Studies, The Fraser Institute, on a new report showing record-long healthcare wait times in Canada
• Dan Kelly, President, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, on a potential inquiry into Canada Post negotiations as the strike continues

Free For All Friday – Hour 2

Hosts from all over the country join the roundtable to discuss the five biggest stories of the week. This week’s panel features host Amanda Galbraith; Garry Keller, Vice President of StrategyCorp; and Karen Restoule, VP at Crestview Strategy and Senior Fellow at the MacDonald Laurier Institute.

Topic 1: Labour minister says Canada Post workers could soon be forced back to work – is this the right answer? Is it coming too late?

Topic 2: Let’s go over the latest on tariffs, Trump, Trudeau, tariffs, premiers, and more

Topic 3: The GST/HST holiday begins Saturday – do you think this will be effective? Could it have been implemented better?

Topic 4: Trudeau makes fresh bid to recruit Mark Carney amid tensions with Freeland – worst breakup in history --What’s the worst, longest, or most extensive breakup you’ve had? What’s the deal with this one?

Topic 5: Do you have a holiday purchase you’ve been saving for the GST break?