Each week, the Maclean’s Ottawa bureau sits down with Cormac Mac Sweeney to discuss the headlines of the week. This week, despite being seen as the natural frontrunner, Calgary MP Jason Kenney opted out of the federal Conservative leadership contest. Instead, he’ll look to become a provincial leader and unite the right in Alberta. To explain why he’s making the switch, we’re joined this week by Kenney himself.

Canada is committing 450 troops and light armoured vehicles to a new mission in Latvia as a part of NATO’s beefed up presence in eastern Europe, which aims to deter further Russian aggression in the region. We’re joined by Steve Saideman, Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University,* who is in Poland for the latest NATO summit.

Parliament may be on a break, but the House of Commons committee on electoral reform is still hard at work, hoping to finish its study in time to change Canada’s voting system for the next federal election. We speak about that mission with former chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

Could Canada soon have gender-neutral passports? The federal government says it is reviewing the gender requirements for federally issued IDs. We speak with a transgender rights activist who says a change is long overdue.

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The full episode

Part 1. Jason Kenney heads home

Despite being seen as the natural frontrunner, Calgary MP Jason Kenney opted out of the federal Conservative leadership contest. Instead, he’ll look to become a provincial leader and unite the right in Alberta. To explain why he’s making the switch, we’re joined this week by Kenney himself.

Part 2. Canada heads to Latvia

Canada is committing 450 troops and light armoured vehicles to a new mission in Latvia as a part of NATO’s beefed up presence in eastern Europe, which aims to deter further Russian aggression in the region. We’re joined by Steve Saideman, Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University,* who is in Poland for the latest NATO summit.

Part 3. Parliament mulls electoral reform

Parliament may be on a break, but the House of Commons committee on electoral reform is still hard at work, hoping to finish its study in time to change Canada’s voting system for the next federal election. We speak about that mission with former chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

Part 4. Canada ponders gender-neutral passports

Could Canada soon have gender-neutral passports? The federal government says it is reviewing the gender requirements for federally issued IDs. We speak with a transgender rights activist who says a change is long overdue.

OUR BUREAU’S TOP READS

• 
  ON KENNEY
  The mission: unite Alberta’s right

• 
  ON THE MAIL
  Will there be a work stoppage?

• 
  ON THE ARCTIC
  Gone fishin’ way up north

• 
  ON CANADA
  Maclean’s heads to the middle

CORRECTION, July 9, 2016: An earlier version of this post referred to Steve Saideman as the Chair of Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. In fact, Saideman holds the Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University. Maclean’s regrets the error.

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