There’s great concern that people in Ottawa aren’t taking what’s happening in Alberta seriously enough. With national unity at stake, some Senators are looking west from the upper chamber and acknowledging there are indeed structural issues at the federal level that’s fueling frustration.

This week on West of Centre, Kathleen Petty welcomes a panel of Prairies senators. Alberta Senator Paula Simons, who was appointed in 2018 and sits in the Independent Senators Group; Saskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin, appointed in 2008; and Manitoba Senator Charles Adler, who was appointed in 2024. Both sit in the Canadian Senators Group.

The panel pulls no punches in questioning whether Canada has done the work it needs to become a true energy superpower. For them, it’s time to turn words into action. As trade tensions with the U.S. simmer, they’re blunt on CUSMA: Canada can’t take its own self-interest out of the equation because negotiations are not about love, but business. And while they disagree on the strategy for a potential fall referendum on separation, they also tackle another referendum question about Senate abolishment.  

• Host: Kathleen Petty
• Guests: Senator Charles Adler, Senator Paula Simons, Senator Pamela Wallin
• Producer: Diane Yanko