CBC As It Happens
CBC As It Happens offers a balanced yet critical perspective on national and international affairs, with a focus on policy and economic issues.
What This Tone Is Based On
The tone scores on this page come from analyzing how this show covers each political figure it mentions. Below is the breakdown of how many of those reads were positive, neutral, or negative.
Net media tone Slightly Negative across 366 figure-in-episode tone reads (not audience/impressions).
How CBC As It Happens Differs from Other Shows
Compared to 215 outlets · Sep 2025–Aug 2026This show's average tone sits near the field, but its coverage is far more split by figure. It rates Mark Carney +0.19 above the media average on the figures it favors and Vladimir Putin -0.28 below it on the ones it criticizes — a 0.48-point gap between its most favorable and most critical coverage that a typical outlet doesn't show.
- Vladimir Putin-0.28more critical vs. other showsShow⤓ -0.62Other shows↓↓ -0.3415 eps
- Marco Rubio-0.25more critical vs. other showsShow↘ -0.12Other shows↑ +0.1311 eps
- JD Vance-0.19more critical vs. other showsShow↓ -0.18Other shows→ +0.0213 eps
- Mark Carney+0.19more favorable vs. other showsShow↑ +0.18Other shows→ -0.0279 eps
- Donald Trump-0.17more critical vs. other showsShow⤓ -0.42Other shows↓↓ -0.2553 eps
- Benjamin Netanyahu-0.16more critical vs. other showsShow↓↓ -0.24Other shows↘ -0.0815 eps
Delta = this show's tone toward the figure minus the average across all 215 other tracked outlets that covered them ≥3 times, Sep 2025–Aug 2026.
Positive = friendlier here; negative = harsher.
Editorial Identity
The editorial fingerprint of this center national news show — who it elevates, who it goes after, and where it breaks from the pack.
CBC As It Happens is a center-leaning national news program that prioritizes policy-driven discussions, particularly in areas like climate change and trade. The show maintains a critical stance towards figures like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, while offering more supportive coverage of leaders like Mark Carney and Volodymyr Zelensky. Its editorial approach is characterized by a focus on substantive issues over scandal or character-driven narratives.
The show tends to champion figures like Mark Carney and Emmanuel Macron, providing them with more favorable coverage compared to the media average. It also emphasizes issues like climate change and trade, often highlighting positive developments and initiatives in these areas.
CBC As It Happens is notably critical of figures such as Elon Musk, Pete Hegseth, and Nigel Farage, offering harsher coverage than the media average. The show also frequently scrutinizes issues related to government ethics and corruption, maintaining a critical tone in its coverage of these topics.
The show stands out for its significant focus on climate change, covering it nearly nine times more than the average outlet. Additionally, it provides a unique perspective on trade and tariffs, with a notably positive tone, which contrasts with its generally critical stance on other issues.
Who CBC As It Happens boosts and attacks
Tracked figures split by this show's average tone toward them, each with the clips behind the call — tap a quote to jump to the audio.
CBC As It Happens is a reliable ally to Mark Carney; its prime targets are Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Armenia, the only non-European leader at the European Political Community Summit, and he announced $270 million Canadian in funding for a key European ally, Ukraine, to be spent on military equipment.”
“if Mark Carney got the gold medal for having the highest deficit outside of COVID before this update, he gets the silver medal now for having the second.”
“Prime Minister Mark Carney, along with some European leaders, has issued a joint statement, welcoming the agreement and calling for negotiations that will lead to a swift and lasting end to the war.”
“President Trump halted a planned resettlement program that would see these people start new lives in the U.S.”
“President Trump has now decimated the honor of every single American service member who made these promises.”
“Donald Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the idea of American exceptionalism.”
“I think that this is very concrete rational calculation of Vladimir Putin because he knows that it's going to be hard for us when the weather is cold, that there will be more consequences that more people will suffer.”
“I don't believe this. Vladimir Putin is not interested.”
“the key problem is that Vladimir Putin is absolutely not interested in ceasefire. He doesn't want to stop the Russian aggression. He doesn't want to stop the war.”
“This deal comes to Israelis as a colossal disaster, really, because Benjamin Netanyahu promised four very precise promises coming up from the conflict between Israel and Iran, and none of them was actually achieved.”
“Benjamin Netanyahu just had a speech to the citizens of Israel, in which he tried to portray the deal with Iran as a great success.”
“Benjamin Netanyahu is not actually telling the truth to the Israeli people.”
“Pretty ridiculous. You have JD Vance telling the vicar of Christ, the leader of one billion Catholics, and more importantly, someone who has a doctorate in canon law from a pontifical university and who has his master's in divinity and who's been an Augustinian priest for decades and a bishop even longer that he doesn't know theology is ridiculous.”
“Vice President JD Vance was just last year speaking at the Paris AI summit and tried to warn against foreign governments who are trying to regulate American tech companies.”
“It’s also a bad day for the Trump administration. They sent JD Vance here last week... but it had the opposite effect. It drove people to the Magyar side.”
“Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, does not know Cuba. never been to Cuba. He doesn't understand Cuba.”
“They said Marco Rubio sometime before they tip the scales very heavily in favor of Viktor Orban, but it had the opposite effect.”
“It would be better if those Republican senators were not ones that were leaving office, which is true in the case of both Mitch McConnell and Thom Tillis. It was even better if the person who sponsored the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in 2023 that says no president should be in a position to withdraw from NATO without the consent of the Senate, we're also to speak up. That person, of course, is now Secretary of State Marco Rubio.”
Coverage Volume
Transcribed episodes per week — last 26 weeks
Sentiment Trajectory
Average weekly tone toward figures — green favorable, red critical
Whose coverage is ramping up — and dropping
Cooling on Donald Trump, Mark Carney, Keir Starmer.
Nothing ramping this window.
“Across N days” = distinct days behind the recent count; a single burst means it’s concentrated in ≤2 days — treat as one story, not a trend.
Top Issues CBC As It Happens drives
Top Issues ranked by lift — how much harder this show pushes an issue than the average outlet. ≥ 1.25× over-indexes.
CBC As It Happens pushes Climate Change hardest — 9.1× the average outlet's rate of coverage.