Politics & Policy

CUSMA, Ukraine and Gerrymandering in Frank's Crosshairs

Sep. 01, 2025

Guests: Frank McKenna Deputy Chair, TD Securities

Host: Peter Haynes, Managing Director and Head of Index and Market Structure Research, TD Securities

Frank is back after a month off with a lot to cover in the current Episode 67. He starts with a review of Canada's handling of forest fires, an area where Canada is arguably a world leader, and what can be done in the new normal to mitigate risk of future forest fire growth. Frank discusses the pros and cons of back to work legislation by the Federal Government used in the Air Canada flight attendant strike and is frustrated whenever one party has too much leverage in work disruptions. After covering the latest on trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. and the potential sale of infrastructure assets by Canada's Federal Government, he switches gears to US politics, finishing up on Trump's dramatic efforts to broker an end to the Ukraine – Russian war and the gerrymandering of districts fight on-going in Texas.

Chapters:
0:40	Forest Fire Mitigation Tools
10:08	Air Canada Strike Resolution is Teaching Moment
18:25	Canada's New Normal Trade Arrangement with U.S.
33:23	Will Canada's Federal Government Sell Infrastructure Assets?
37:38	Trump's Full Court Press to End the War in Ukraine
44:39	Gerrymandering in Texas – A Precursor to More Partisan Politics

This podcast was recorded on August 19, 2025.

Full Transcription

Full transcript to come.

Disclaimer

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Frank McKenna

Deputy Chair, TD Securities

Frank McKenna
Deputy Chair, TD Securities

Biography

As Deputy Chair, Frank is focused on supporting TD Securities' continued global expansion. He has been an executive with TD Bank Group since 2006 and previously served as Premier of New Brunswick and as Canadian Ambassador to the United States.

Peter Haynes

Managing Director and Head of Index and Market Structure Research, TD Securities

Peter Haynes
Managing Director and Head of Index and Market Structure Research, TD Securities

Biography

Peter joined TD Securities in June 1995 and currently leads our Index and Market Structure research team. He also manages some key institutional relationships across the trading floor and hosts two podcast series: one on market structure and one on geopolitics. He started his career at the Toronto Stock Exchange in its index and derivatives marketing department before moving to Credit Lyonnais in Montreal. Peter is a member of S&P’s U.S., Canadian and Global Index Advisory Panels, and spent four years on the Ontario Securities Commission’s Market Structure Advisory Committee.