West of Centre

Rising COVID-19 cases and deaths have led to more severe restrictions in the western provinces - measures Manitoba and Alberta premiers had resisted until now. New polls show they may have waited too long. Pallister and Kenney are the least popular pandemic premiers, and lag far behind their neighbours in Saskatchewan and B.C.. Kathleen Petty finds out why with Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, political scientist Christopher Adams of the University of Manitoba, and political strategist and communications specialist Corey Hogan of The Strategists podcast.

A car insurance overhaul, a fiscal update, and the appointment of a new chair at AIMCo. Finance Minister Nate Horner is behind all of it. And he faced some tough questions about a big jump in insurance rates and a possible budget deficit next year. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by Emma Graney, Zain Velji and Evan Menzies.

The Alberta government cleaned house at AIMCo by firing the board and putting itself in charge. What’s next for the pension fund that also manages the Heritage Savings Trust Fund? And we discuss shifting climate change policy with the election of Donald Trump. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by Lisa Young, Jason Markusoff and Michael Solberg.

What does a Trump presidency mean for Alberta? With talk of a 10 percent tariff on U.S. imports ,including Alberta energy and agriculture, many are wondering just how special our relationship is with our neighbours to the south. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty speaks with James Rajotte , Alberta’s Senior Representative in Washington.

On the West of Centre podcast, the federal Liberal’s pivot on immigration while Alberta calls for even larger cuts. And Danielle Smith is slalom skiing her way through both leading Albertans and trying to appease her party at a leadership review. Joining host and admitted snow plower Kathleen Petty are pollster Janet Brown, strategist Corey Hogan and writer Alex Boyd

West of Centre explores the Alberta campaign to scrap the federal cap on oil and gas emissions. Also on the pod, a Bloc Quebecois bill that’s got Alberta beef producers worried about trade negotiations, and election campaign rules are about to change under Bill 20. Joining host Kathleen Petty is Kelly Cryderman, Jason Markusoff and Stephen Carter.

Alberta is flanked on both sides by close elections. Saskatchewan and BC will vote soon. And there’s the possibility of a federal election at any time. What do all of these ballot battles mean to Alberta and how the UCP and NDP manage their messages?. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by strategists Keith Mclaughlin and Evan Menzies and Carrie Tait of the Globe and Mail.

The premier's fall agenda includes boosting the rights of the vaccine-averse and a slew of new rules for transgender youth. But the idea that got Alberta talking this week was Danielle Smith's run-in with chemtrails at a party event. With a leadership review coming, is it all about the UCP base? Guest host Jason Markusoff is joined by Erika Barootes, Zain Velji and Emma Graney.

West of Centre takes a deep dive into the role of municipalities in confederation. Alberta’s cities may be booming, but are they getting the respect they deserve? Municipal politicians say they aren’t. One of them joins us - Edmonton's Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. Then Senators Paula Simons and Brent Cotter with details of a new report on the "constitutional Cinderellas of Canada".

Alberta called for newcomers, but too many answered. Is Trudeau to blame for a surging population and the need for more schools? Also, our amateur transit planners muse about a new name for the doomed Green Line. And speaking of doomed, the carbon tax has veered off the road into the ditch. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by Kelly Cryderman, Corey Hogan and Lisa Young.

     Ms. Smith’s summer road trip took her across the province to town halls with UCP supporters. And we got some hints about her government’s direction this fall. But should big policy discussions be held behind closed doors?. Joining West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is Shannon Phillips, former Lethbridge NDP MLA and now with Meredith, Boessenkool and Phillips Policy Advisors. Evan Menzies is with Crestview Strategy and is former Director of Communications with the UCP. Jason Markusoff is a writer and producer with the CBC.

The long-awaited report on taking Alberta pensions solo is here. In it, a pitch to take more than half of the national assets. We dive into what an Alberta Pension Plan could look like, plus recap the other big stories of the week with our panel including CBC analysis writer Jason Markusoff, the Globe and Mail’s Kelly Cryderman and Lisa Young from the University of Calgary.

Alberta's next provincial election is more than three years away, but with a new NDP leader, it's not going to be a quiet political summer. NDP strategists Keith McLaughlin and Cheryl Oates, along with CBC Calgary writer Jason Markusoff, join West of Centre host Kathleen Petty to discuss why “politics has no chill” in Alberta — especially now with Naheed Nenshi at the NDP helm. Nenshi is asked to clarify his position on federal climate policies and their impact in Alberta — including if he'd consider returning to an Alberta carbon tax should Pierre Poilievre become prime minister and axes the federal carbon tax.

As the provincial political campaign begins a slow burn toward the fall election in British Columbia, the governing B.C. NDP are heading into the summer with a comfortable lead in the polls ahead of their two rival, centre-right parties. But momentum is suddenly building for the B.C. Conservatives, with the party snatching candidates from the opposition B.C. United (formerly known as the British Columbia Liberal Party). What matters more to B.C. United, according to one of West of Centre’s guests, is how that "blast radius" affects the party’s ability to ready itself to fight in October’s election. Are we seeing the "end of the B.C. Liberal era," as another of our guests suggests? Joining West of Centre host Kathleen Petty this week to break down why politics in British Columbia is never boring are Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute; Les Leyne, legislature columnist with the Victoria Times Colonist; and Mike McDonald, political strategist and co-host of Hotel Pacifico, a West Coast political podcast.

Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre opposes the government’s capital gains inclusion rate increase, and he stands firm in his refusal to get a security clearance to review the unredacted national security report that’s causing a cloud of suspicion to hang over Parliament. CBC Parliamentary Bureau senior writer Aaron Wherry and University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young join West of Centre host Kathleen Petty to discuss the strategy behind Poilievre’s positions. But first, Petty explores what makes the Conservative leader tick, with journalist Andrew Lawton, the author of Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life. 

The spring sitting of the Saskatchewan legislature went out with a bang. The Opposition NDP is calling for a government committee to meet and appoint an investigator in the wake of allegations made last month by the Speaker against former House leader Jeremy Harrison. He initially denied bringing a long gun into the legislature nearly 10 years ago, but has since admitted family helped jog his memory, and the allegation is indeed true. There are further complaints that will reverberate into the summer ahead of a provincial election this coming October. But some pundits believe there's not enough Pilsner in Saskatchewan to convince them that Scott Moe’s governing party isn't going to get re-elected this fall. Helping West of Centre make sense of the twists and turns in this story are Murray Mandryk, the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix; Tom McIntosh, a professor in the department of politics and international studies at the University of Regina; and Adam Hunter, who covers politics for CBC Saskatchewan. 

An ambitious spring sitting in the Alberta Legislature has resulted in 13 bills passed by the UCP government over 14 weeks. One of the many approved powers enhances the government’s authority to remove municipal councillors or overturn bylaws. This week’s panel dissecting the “pothole politics” coming out of this busy spring sitting are CBC provincial affairs reporter Janet French, Catherine Griwkowsky of political newsletter Alberta Today and the Globe & Mail’s Kelly Cryderman.

We’ve assembled a panel of number nerds to dissect our CBC news poll which shows support for the UCP remains roughly the same as it did when the party was elected nearly a year ago. But the NDP is not far behind. Pollster Janet Brown breaks down the numbers along with the CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Duane Bratt of Mount Royal University.

The path to net zero by 2050 by the oilsands industry is being spearheaded by what’s known as the Pathways Alliance. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by Derek Evans, the newly appointed executive chair of Pathways and the former CEO of Meg Energy, to discuss the industry's long-awaited carbon capture and storage project, and what Evans wants to hear from Pierre Poilievre on carbon pricing. Then, Petty is joined by Emma Graney, who specializes in energy reporting for the Globe and Mail and Andrew Leach, an energy and environmental economist at the University of Alberta.

The UCP government has introduced bill after bill giving it more control over Alberta’s municipalities. Is this flurry of activity a strategy to create chaos by flooding the public with too much, too fast? West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by Jeromy Farkas, former Calgary city councillor, pollster Janet Brown and veteran columnist Graham Thomson.