Catharine Tunney

Catharine Tunney follows the line where public safety and national security meet federal politics and accountability. She works in the CBC’s parliamentary bureau, covering public safety, national security and the RCMP through stories that track how institutions respond when power, law and public trust collide.

Public safety and RCMP accountability

Tunney’s core specialty is the policing and public safety file, with a particular focus on the RCMP and how its decisions are scrutinized by Parliament and the public. Her reporting has covered the force’s leadership and political criticism of it, including coverage of partisan attacks on RCMP management and the pressure that creates on the federal government’s relationship with the national police service.

She has been a central reporter on major accountability moments for policing, such as the federal inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act and the RCMP’s response to the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020. Her work on those stories follows testimony, internal records and political reaction, showing how operational decisions are later judged in public forums.

Tunney also reports on high-profile public safety cases where parole boards, victims’ families and federal officials intersect, including coverage of repeated parole hearings for serial offender Paul Bernardo. In those pieces she situates the board’s decisions within the wider debate over public safety, victims’ rights and ministerial oversight.

National security, foreign interference and defence

Beyond policing, Tunney covers the national security architecture that surrounds Parliament. She reports on formal reviews of foreign interference, including work on the intelligence watchdog’s report into Chinese interference in Canada’s political system and the government’s handling of that report. Those stories map how intelligence findings move through cabinet, caucus and public inquiry processes.

Her national security coverage extends to defence commitments and alliance pressure.

She has written about debates over whether Canada could be called upon to help defend Gulf states, and how shifting positions on conflicts such as the war involving Iran are handled inside the governing party. These pieces examine caucus unease, leadership positioning and the expectations of Canada’s allies, connecting security questions back to parliamentary politics.

Political leadership, budgets and economic policy

Tunney is a regular voice on federal political leadership stories when they intersect with her security and public safety beat. Her reporting has followed Chrystia Freeland’s positioning in Liberal leadership conversations, including pieces that frame Freeland’s record as a negotiator with figures such as Donald Trump against the expectations of party members choosing a new leader.

She has covered the Liberal leadership race more broadly, including Mark Carney’s rise, endorsements from senior cabinet figures and the eventual leadership vote.

She also contributes to the CBC’s coverage of federal and provincial elections and leadership transitions, tracking how public safety, national security and economic stewardship are used as arguments inside campaigns. Her work on cabinet changes and departures, such as Freeland’s decision to leave cabinet and not re-offer in the next federal election, situates personal moves within wider questions about the government’s direction.

On economic policy, Tunney reports on federal budgets and fiscal updates, with a close eye on how spending choices affect the machinery of government. Her coverage of large federal deficits, fall economic statements and plans to invest billions in skilled trades highlights what those numbers mean for the capacity of the state to deliver on public safety, defence and infrastructure promises.

Digital policy, lawful access and emerging technology

Tunney’s beat also covers the growing overlap between security policy and technology. In her reporting on federal “lawful access” legislation, she follows how officials defend expanded surveillance or data-access powers and how opposition parties, civil liberties advocates and industry respond.

Those stories focus on the momentum behind such bills, the privacy and rights concerns they raise, and the political cost-benefit calculations inside government.

She has reported on the creation of a federal minister responsible for artificial intelligence, explaining what that role covers and how AI is being framed as both an economic opportunity and a security risk. In these pieces Tunney draws out the regulatory, ethical and national security dimensions of emerging technologies, linking them back to the same accountability questions that run through her policing and intelligence coverage.

Investigative approach and format

Tunney’s work combines daily political reporting with longer investigative pieces grounded in documents and inquiries. Her investigations have involved reviewing large volumes of Access to Information and Privacy records, using those files to deepen stories on the RCMP, public safety agencies and federal decision-making.

She moves between straight news hits, explainer-style features and inquiry coverage, depending on what the subject demands.

Across these formats, her defining trait is a focus on how federal institutions wield power in the name of safety and security, and how that power is tested by courts, boards, inquiries and Parliament. Whether writing about a contentious parole decision, a foreign interference report or a new AI portfolio, she keeps the spotlight on the mechanisms of accountability and the political actors responsible for them.