West of Centre

From a Trump trade war and a historic teachers' strike, to the UCP government’s use of the notwithstanding clause, 2025 has been a high-stakes whirlwind for Alberta.This week on West of Centre, the CBC’s own Jason Markusoff swaps his producer and writer hat for a clipboard as quizmaster for our "not-quite-annual" quiz show. Testing their knowledge of the year's headlines: Falice Chin, Alberta bureau chief of The Hub; Alex Boyd, Calgary-based reporter for the Toronto Star; and pollster Janet Brown of Janet Brown Opinion Research. Think you can beat our political smarties?Use our study guide to prep for a look back on such key topics as:The prime ministerial pivot (Justin Trudeau’s resignation).The Mar-a-Lago minute (Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s trip to Florida).The notwithstanding fall (when Albertans got a lesson on the Charter).The ‘La-La-La-We-Can’t-Hear-You’ Act of 2025 (Markusoff gave a certain piece of legislation a very catchy nickname).Mayoral shakeups (new faces in the big chair in Calgary and Edmonton).Test your knowledge, keep your own score, and stick around to find out which of the panellists wins bragging rights and the coveted ‘No. 1 Nerd’ trophy.Host: Jason MarkusoffGuests: Alex Boyd, Janet Brown, Falice ChinProducer and editor: Diane Yanko

What if the biggest danger to Canada isn’t a foreign enemy or even U.S. President Donald Trump? Rather, poor policy decisions and decades of deferred leadership that have created deep regional resentments – including here in Alberta – that threaten to tear the country apart. And what if the greatest threat to Canadian unity now comes from the west?John Ibbitson, veteran political journalist, and Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, join West of Centre host Kathleen Petty to discuss their third book together, Breaking Point: The New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk.The book is an urgent, necessary sequel to The Big Shift, where the political realignment the authors predicted – the movement of power away from the Laurentian Elite toward the West and suburban immigrant voters. Only now, the country is at a critical juncture where national stability is at stake – and Alberta is at the centre. They argue the horizontal threat is the refusal to face the fact that Canada is fundamentally a resource-based economy that has created deep regional resentments that threaten to pull the country apart. But, Ibbitson and Bricker say, the growing cracks in the country’s foundation can be fixed, in part by radical federal decentralization, forcing the federal government to finally govern the country it claims to represent. • Host: Kathleen Petty• Guests: Darrell Bricker, John Ibbitson• Producer and editor: Diane Yanko

For the second time this year, Alberta’s UCP government is lowering the barriers for citizen-led referendum questions while also stripping the Chief Electoral Officer of many powers.This week on West of Centre, host Kathleen Petty is joined by CBC writer and producer Jason Markusoff; Globe and Mail reporter Matthew Scace; and pollster and political analyst Janet Brown.As the UCP tinkers with its legislation yet again, Brown wonders, did the provincial government not think this legislation all the way through? As Scace points out, the new legislation would allow a proposed referendum question to contravene the Canadian Constitution. The province says it is ‘restoring confidence in democratic processes’. To Markusoff, it’s the ‘La-La-La We Can’t Hear You’ Act of 2025.And again, the panel is divided on the possibility of an early election next year in Alberta. But Brown, who for the past year has staunchly argued Premier Danielle Smith won’t pull the trigger before fall of 2027, has come around to the possibility that Smith is oiling the mechanism. Host: Kathleen Petty | Producer and editor: Diane Yanko | Guests: Janet Brown, Jason Markusoff, Matthew Scace

Alberta and Ottawa have sealed a new “grand bargain” – a long-awaited memorandum of understanding that could pave the way for a major new bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s remote northwest coast.Joining West of Centre host Kathleen Petty to dissect this week’s deal are Gitane De Silva, former CEO of the Canada Energy Regulator; Emma Graney, Globe and Mail energy reporter; and Mike McDonald, former chief of staff to B.C. premier Christy Clark and co-host of Hotel Pacifico, a podcast focusing on politics on the West Coast.They discuss the dramatic shift in the relationship between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ottawa; the MOU’s "impossible-is-now-possible" dynamic; a fascinating subplot that’s forming for the federal Conservatives, who represent the riding where a bitumen pipeline may end its long-distance run from Alberta; and why achieving this agreement was likely the easiest step in a marathon process.Host: Kathleen Petty | Producer and editor: Diane Yanko | Guests: Gitane De Silva, Emma Graney, Mike McDonald

Health care in Alberta is getting a massive makeover, as the UCP government introduces what it calls a dual-practice surgery model. Critics fear that by allowing some surgeons to simultaneously practice in both the public and private system, a patient’s wait time will be determined by their wallet. The province says it wants to try something new to solve wait times, and at least one panelist contends it’s time Canadians destigmatize the word "privatize."The plan comes as Alberta’s auditor general drops the receipts on the failed bid to privatize lab services in the DynaLife deal, and it is taxpayers who are on the hook for a tab worth over $100 million.There are questions about the risk to Premier Danielle Smith and her government as they invoke the notwithstanding clause for a second time in less than a month to shield three pieces of legislation affecting transgender youth from legal challenges.And as the federal and Alberta governments inch closer to reaching a memorandum of understanding on a new pipeline to the west coast, B.C.’s premier is shocked to find out he wasn’t invited to the party – but Saskatchewan’s premier was.West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined at the table this week by Evan Menzies, a vice-president at Crestview Strategy and former head of communications for the United Conservative Party; Shannon Greer, a senior consultant at New West Public Affairs, who worked in Rachel Notley’s NDP government; and Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary.Host: Kathleen Petty | Producer and editor: Diane Yanko | Guests: Shannon Greer, Evan Menzies, Lisa Young