The Strategists

Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips unpack David Eby calling an early election, and how he may have permanently added his name to the Canadian political dictionary. Can the BC NDP rebuild, or has the political landscape fundamentally changed? With Donald Trump and Mark Carney still circling a trade deal, is Canada better off making a deal now or waiting for the Americans to blink? And is Stephen Carter once again prepared to be held accountable for his actions in front of a live audience?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Tickets for The Strategists Live:

https://strategistliveshow.ca

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Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dissect David Eby’s snap election gamble in British Columbia and Danielle Smith’s search for new enemies after Alberta’s referendum. Was calling the election Eby’s original sin? Why have some political parties become so obsessed with costed platforms and looking serious that they've forgotten how to actually win elections? And will Stephen survive being held accountable for his own political sins at The Strategists Live in Calgary?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Get tickets to The Strategists Live! in Calgary

https://strategistsliveshow.ca

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

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Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dive into an emergency episode after Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly endorses “No to the Nine,” just days before Alberta's referendum. Will Carney's endorsement give the No to the Nine movement a final boost? With more than a million ballots already cast, has he arrived too late to make a difference? And has Mark Carney just made Stephen Carter the most insufferable man in Canadian politics?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from Edmonton, six days before Alberta’s referendum, Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips game out the final stretch of the campaign. With ten questions on the ballot and campaigns scrambling for every last vote, they break down what the final days could mean for Danielle Smith and Alberta’s future. Can Mark Carney tip the scales for No to the Nine? Will voters actually read the questions, or just vote no to the whole thing? And with six days left to save the country, is it too late to put Stephen Carter in charge of something less consequential?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Tickets for Calgary on October 27 are still available: https://strategistsliveshow.ca/

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down the final week of Alberta’s referendum campaign, the conflicting polling on the nine questions, and whether persuasion or voter turnout will decide the outcome. Can the No to the Nine campaign overcome the wording of the questions themselves? Did Mark Carney and the federalists do enough to defend Canada, or does Shannon's referendum report card tell a different story? Plus, a Thanksgiving lightning round to determine which Canadian politicians have the most to be thankful for, and who deserves to be sent to the kids' table.

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Read Shannon's full report card for forward weekly here: https://forwardweekly.ca/federalist-report-card

and signup at https://forwardweekly.ca/ to get forward weekly delivered every Sunday to your inbox

Join us live in Edmonton on October 13 at the Myer Horowitz Theatre. Tickets at https://strategistliveshow.ca

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Carter and Zain Velji break down the final two weeks of Alberta’s referendum campaign, whether Danielle Smith is on the defensive, and why the separatist movement may already be looking toward the next referendum. What happens to Alberta separatism if the referendum loses? Is another referendum already part of the plan? And at 38% name recognition, when does Stephen Carter just admit he’s a candidate, not a strategist?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Get your tickets for The Strategists Live:

https://strategistsliveshow.ca/

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down British Columbia’s suddenly competitive election and what David Eby and the BC Conservatives need to do over the next month. Can the Conservatives win by focusing on affordability and simply staying sane? Is Alberta’s referendum one move away from breaking open? And how much is Carter going to be able to say if he keeps saving all the good stuff for the live shows?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Get your tickets for The Strategists Live:

https://strategistsliveshow.ca/

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dive into Alberta’s referendum fight and the political chaos engulfing British Columbia. Is Danielle Smith trying to use the nine referendum questions to contain separatism, or simply keep it alive? Should David Eby call an early election while the BC Conservatives are in free fall, or would that risk repeating Jim Prentice’s biggest mistake? And is the most complicated part of Alberta politics now just figuring out which Strategists live show you bought tickets for?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

The Strategists Live!:

Edmonton - October 13: https://strategistliveshow.ca/calgary

Calgary - October 27: https://strategistliveshow.ca/edmonton

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shannon Phillips and Conspiracy Zain dive into the Alberta NDP’s surprise Calgary-Shaw victory, what it says about the UCP’s vulnerability in Calgary, and whether the result changes the political calculus heading into the referendum. Is there really no such thing as a safe Conservative seat in Calgary anymore? Does this win give Naheed Nenshi a new opening, or just tempt the NDP to learn the wrong lessons? And is Conspiracy Zain onto something about what the UCP might do next, or has the tinfoil hat fully cut off the circulation?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Join us live in Edmonton and Calgary:

https://strategistsliveshow.ca/calgary (Edmonton Tickets)

https://strategistsliveshow.ca/edmonton (Calgary Tickets)

Read Forward Weekly:

https://forwardweekly.ca

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips break down Alberta’s new $4 million referendum advertising campaign, what the government’s creative says about its polling, and whether a massive spending advantage can actually overcome a muddled message. Does the government’s softer language on immigration reveal a strategic vulnerability? Can the opposition turn a David-versus-Goliath funding gap into an advantage? And has the live-show ticketing system become too confusing even for the people who created it?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

The Strategists Live:

Edmonton — October 13, 2026

strategistsliveshow.ca/calgary

Calgary — October 27, 2026

strategistsliveshow.ca/edmonton

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.

https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.