Longform North

Ian Van Harten

A longform interview podcast featuring stories from Canada.

Episodes

  1. Canadian Politics 101: Federalism and Unity

    04/07/2025

    Canadian Politics 101: Federalism and Unity

    Welcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada. Canada is a federal country, which means power is divided between two levels of government - the federal government and the provinces. And even though it's all one country, the provinces are very different from each other. They have different economies, different cultures, different politics, different languages, and different interests. And sure, diversity is our strength and all that, but trying to balance all those interests isn't always easy. At least one province has tried to separate a couple times, while similar threats from other provinces have bubbled up, too. So how do all these governments work together? And what, if anything, keeps the country from falling apart? Joining me again to help out with these questions is Dr. Tom Bateman. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy. Some of the topics we discuss include: Why did Canada choose to have a federal system back in 1867?How John A. MacDonald was originally against federalism and aimed to create a strong central government.How are the different powers divided up between the federal government and the provinces?How the impact of health and education gave the provinces much more influence and power than what was originally planned.How the lines get blurred as to who has jurisdiction over what. For example the environment, where natural resources is provincial, but climate change and environmental sustainability is federal.Equalization payments and how they work.The separatist movements in both Alberta and Quebec, and what is behind them?Could Canada fall apart? What is it that's keeping it together?Links: The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary DemocracyDr. Tom MJ Bateman*Note: This episode was recorded on March 15th, 2025. For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com Music by Aaron Barth Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten

    1h 58m
  2. Canadian Politics 101: Elections

    03/24/2025

    Canadian Politics 101: Elections

    Welcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada. In Canada, we pick our leaders through elections, where the person who gets the most votes wins. But it's actually a little bit more complicated than that. And some people think that the way we do elections should actually be changed. So what are the rules for how someone wins an election? What does it mean to represent, or act on behalf of, the people that voted you in? And what do you do when the voter participation rate gets as low as 45%? Less than half of the total amount of people who are eligible to vote. Dr. Tom Bateman is back to help us out with these questions and more. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy. Some of the topics we discuss include: How we think about the role of a political representative in CanadaRepresentation and diversity - the idea that the government should be representative of certain identity groups, as well as some of the problems that can arise from thatHow the country gets divided up into different voting districtsHow and when elections are called (and why fixed election dates don’t work in our system)Campaign spending limits and limits on 3rd party advertising during electionsShould we lower the voting age?The reasons why the voter turnout rate among younger people is lowWhat does the low voter turnout rate indicate more broadly about the voting public?Should we bring in online voting?How do we pick the “right” electoral system?How the First-Past-the-Post system works, and how it impacts the way our elections work?How would a Proportional Representation system work? What are its advantages and disadvantages compared with our current system?What happened with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to bring in electoral reform back in 2015?Is there any hope of changing our electoral system, or are we stuck with what we have?Links: The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary DemocracyDr. Tom MJ Bateman*Note: This episode was recorded on January 25th, 2025, a day after Premier Doug Ford called a snap election in Ontario, and a few weeks before Mark Carney won the leadership race for the Liberal Party of Canada. For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com Music by Aaron Barth Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten

    2h 11m
  3. Canadian Politics 101: Understanding How Parliament Works

    02/25/2025

    Canadian Politics 101: Understanding How Parliament Works

    Welcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada. The word parliament comes from a French word that means to talk or have a conversation. Though I think the impression a lot of people have about Canadian parliament is that there isn't much conversation going on there beyond prepared talking points. But you might be surprised to hear that the parliamentary system, as far as systems of government go, is actually a pretty good one, and it organizes things in a way that kind of makes sense. Though that's not to say there aren't any ways it couldn't be improved. So on this episode we're talking about the important things you should know about how Canadian parliament works, and some ideas about how it could be made better. Joining me again to help out with this is Dr. Tom Bateman. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called _The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy,_ which is the main source and inspiration for this series of podcasts on Canadian democracy. Some of the topics we discuss include: What 'responsible government' means in a parliamentary democracy and how it's different from the idea of the separation of powersHow party discipline and whipped voting helps contribute to stability and predictability in governmentWhat happens when the government falls, or loses the confidence of the houseProrogation — looking at both Justin Trudeau's prorogation of the government in 2025, and the time Stephen Harper prorogued in 2008 when the opposition parties tried forming a coalition to defeat himThe role of the opposition and how parliament is designed to be adversarialWhy the decision to put video cameras in the House of Commons to record Question Period was a really stupid oneHow the office of the Prime Minister has accumulated too much power, and one simple way that could be reformed without having to pass any legislationLinks: Parliament: a definitionThe Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary DemocracyDr. Tom MJ Bateman*Note: This episode was recorded on January 6th, 2025, which happened to be the same day that Justin Trudeau announced his resignation and prorogued parliament. For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com Music by Aaron Barth Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten

    1h 36m
  4. Canadian Politics 101: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

    02/11/2025

    Canadian Politics 101: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

    Welcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada. There's a set of freedoms we have in this country. There's the freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and lots of other freedoms. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives us protection for all these freedoms -- except when it doesn't. How far does the Charter go in protecting these rights and freedoms? What are the exceptions? Why are there exceptions? And how does that all get figured out? Joining me again to talk about all this is Dr. Tom MJ Bateman. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy, which is the main source and inspiration for this series of podcasts on Canadian democracy. Some of the topics we discuss include: How we got our Charter of Rights and FreedomsPierre Trudeau's vision for the country via the CharterWho wrote the Charter? How was it written?What rights are included in the Charter?What has the impact been on our legal system?Section 1 - ie, the wiggle clause - how our rights are subject to reasonable limitsThe notwithstanding clauseThe new powers and influence the Charter gives to judges and the courtsHow a Charter case forced the government to create legislation for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)How Charter cases are decidedBalancing individual rights with the interests of the majorityLinks: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms WebpageThe Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary DemocracyDr. Tom MJ Bateman For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com Music by Aaron Barth Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten

    1h 38m
  5. Canadian Politics 101: Philosophical Foundations of Canadian Democracy

    01/28/2025

    Canadian Politics 101: Philosophical Foundations of Canadian Democracy

    Welcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada. On this inaugural episode, we're talking about the origins and foundation of Canada's political system. Canada is a parliamentary democracy, and this system inherits from traditions and ideas that are much older than Canada itself. But what are those ideas, where did they come from, and how are they influencing the way our political system works? Joining me to talk about all this is Dr. Tom MJ Bateman. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy. Some of the topics we discuss include: Why it's important to have a politically educated public in a democracyThe historical cycle of democracies leading to demagoguery and tyrannyThe influence of the United States civil war on Confederation and the Canadian founders' caution around having "too much democracy"The importance of economic well-being and education in order to sustain democracyTensions between (enforced) economic equality and personal libertyJohn Stuart Mill's On Liberty and its influence in shaping Canada's principle of libertyThe Canadian Constitution, both the written and unwritten rules that make it upThe fact that the Prime Minister is not mentioned in the Canadian ConstitutionHow constitutional conventions (unwritten rules and traditions) workA brief history of the patriation of Canada's constitutionLinks: The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary DemocracyDr. Tom MJ Bateman*Note: This episode was recorded on December 30th, 2024 (a few weeks before Justin Trudeau prorogued parliament). For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com Music by Aaron Barth Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten

    1h 37m

About

A longform interview podcast featuring stories from Canada.