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.