The Writ

With less than two months to go before election day in Manitoba, the polls are suggesting the race could be neck-and-neck between Heather Stefanson’s governing Progressive Conservatives and the opposition New Democrats under Wab Kinew.

To help set us up for the Manitoba election campaign which is only weeks away from officially getting started, I’m joined this week by Niigaan Sinclair and Dan Lett, hosts of the Niigaan and the Lone Ranger podcast. You can check out their podcast here.

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Are you a paid subscriber to The Writ? Then keep an eye on the chat, where I often solicit questions for the podcast. You can find The Writ’s subscribers-only chat here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

On Thursday, three byelections will answer two questions in Saskatchewan politics:

1) Are cracks in the conservative coalition that makes up the governing Saskatchewan Party starting to form?

2) Will the Saskatchewan New Democrats show any signs that they can win the kind of seats they need if they are to ever return to power?

To help set up the three provincial byelections in Regina Walsh Acres, Regina Coronation Park and Lumsden-Morse, I’m joined this week by Adam Hunter, the CBC’s provincial affairs reporter in Saskatchewan.

LIVESTREAM: Join me and Philippe J. Fournier for a livestream of these Saskatchewan byelection results on August 10, 8 PM CT / 10 PM ET. You’ll find the livestream here.

Are you a paid subscriber to The Writ? Then keep an eye on the chat, where I often solicit questions for the podcast. You can find The Writ’s subscribers-only chat here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t just shuffle his cabinet — he overhauled it, replacing seven ministers and changing the roles of most of the others.

A simple refresh ahead of the next election or an admission that things weren’t working?

To discuss what it all means, I’m joined this week by Stephanie Levitz of the Toronto Star and the CBC’s Aaron Wherry.

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Are you a paid subscriber to The Writ? Then keep an eye on the chat, where I often solicit questions for the podcast. You can find The Writ’s subscribers-only chat here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

Two hotly-contested byelections and a Liberal leadership race that is heating up — politics in Ontario isn’t taking a break for the summer!

So, joining me to break down all the latest from the OLP leadership contest and what to watch in the upcoming byelections in Kanata–Carleton and Scarborough–Guildwood is Sabrina Nanji of Queen’s Park Observer.

Plus: Join me at 9 PM on July 27 for a livestream of the byelection results as they come in. You can find the livestream here. See you there!

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Are you a paid subscriber to The Writ? Then keep an eye on the chat, where I often solicit questions for the podcast. You can find The Writ’s subscribers-only chat here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

It’s the height of summer and that isn’t always when lots of political news is produced. So, I invited Philippe J. Fournier of 338Canada.com to join me for a summer mailbag episode, answering some of the questions we got from listeners and readers, including (but not limited to!):

* What’s the lowest the Liberals could go and still have a chance win the most seats?

* Will there be a federal election in 2023?

* What will bring the CAQ down, if anything can?

* Who will win the Ontario Liberal leadership?

* What were the worst calls Philippe and I ever made?

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Are you a paid subscriber to The Writ? Then keep an eye on the chat, where I often solicit questions for the podcast. You can find The Writ’s subscribers-only chat here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

Caucus revolts, ministerial resignations, cabinet shuffles, leadership challenges and the threat of an early election — you don’t need to go much further than New Brunswick to get your fill of political drama.

Premier Blaine Higgs has been facing down opponents within his caucus and within his party over the last few weeks. The spark was a proposed change to laws regarding LGBTQ students but the turmoil goes far deeper than that, as some members of his Progressive Conservative government and party denounce his top-down, autocratic style. A few of the renegades were shuffled out of cabinet but a leadership challenge is in the works.

It isn’t clear how much longer this can go on without the pressure release of an election.

To try to explain what’s happening, I’m joined this week by Michelle LeBlanc, journalist with Radio-Canada Acadie, and Jacques Poitras, New Brunswick provincial affairs reporter for the CBC.

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Are you a subscriber to The Writ? Then keep an eye on the chat, where I often solicit questions for the podcast. You can find The Writ’s subscribers-only chat here.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

With the House of Commons adjourned for the summer, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is now heading into the back half of its four year mandate. Where do things stand at this midway point, as Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives move ahead in the polls and Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats prop up the Liberals in the minority parliament?

Joining me this week to take stock of the state of federal politics nearly two years after the last election is the CBC’s Aaron Wherry.

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

With Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day now upon us, I invited Philippe J. Fournier of 338Canada.com to join me for a little game — a draft of Quebec’s best (and most notorious?) premiers!

Who makes it No. 1? Which premier gets drafted higher than of the scouts had him?

After listening, let us know which team of premiers you think is the best team!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

Polls are ubiquitous in Canadian election campaigns, but that wasn’t always the case. Before political polling arrived in the 1940s, journalists and politicians had to go about gauging public opinion differently. But once polls made their way here, they became an indispensable part of Canadian politics.

Joining me this week to tell the story of the development of polling in Canada is Christopher Adams, rector of St. Paul’s College and adjunct professor in political studies at the University of Manitoba. Chris has worked in the industry and is now working on a history of polling.

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe

With just a few weeks to go before Toronto chooses its next mayor, the polls are giving a big lead to Olivia Chow, former NDP MP and the third-place finisher in 2014’s mayoral race.

So, is this election Olivia Chow’s to lose?

To set up this last stage of the mayoral campaign, I’m joined again by Matt Elliott, a contributing columnist to the Toronto Star and publisher of the City Hall Watcher newsletter.

As always, in addition to listening to the episode in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, you can also watch this episode on YouTube.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thewrit.ca/subscribe