Balance of Power

What happens when the agency responsible for running Alberta’s referendum is already warning that it is stretched too thin?This week on Balance of Power, Annalise Klingbeil, Leah Ward and Shannon Phillips look at growing concerns around Elections Alberta, the referendum process, and what happens when public confidence starts to erode before voting day even arrives.First: referendum watch. With hundreds of thousands of special ballots already requested, confusing paperwork in the mail, and Elections Alberta itself warning about chronic understaffing, does the agency have the resources it needs to administer one of the biggest votes in Canadian history?Then: the trade war enters a new phase as Canadian counter-tariffs take effect. Mark Carney is leaning into a new style of direct-to-camera political communication, while Leah and Shannon argue that Ottawa still has much more work to do to protect workers if the economic pain deepens.Plus, for Patreon subscribers: Calgary city hall erupts over a confidential budget leak, Jeremy Farkas calls bullshit, and the panel asks what happens when politicians decide the rules no longer apply to them.Elections Alberta, special ballots, public trust, tariffs, EI reform, and whether it’s time to pull the fire alarm.Welcome to Balance of Power.Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.caJoin the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for ad-free episodes and access to extended episodes of Balance of Power:https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

What does it mean to win a referendum if the result still leaves the separatist movement alive and kicking?This week on Balance of Power, Annalise Klingbeil, Leah Ward and Shannon Phillips look ahead to Alberta’s referendum and ask what a decisive federalist victory would actually have to look like.First: turnout. More than 200,000 Albertans have already requested special ballots, but does that tell us anything about who is motivated, which side has the advantage, or how ugly election day could get with ten separate questions on the ballot?Then: Shannon argues that simply winning is not enough: if separatists come out of the referendum with 30 or 35 per cent support, does Alberta really get to move on, or does the issue dominate provincial politics for years to come? Plus, what AOC’s social media series says about reproductive health, political communication and reaching audiences far beyond the usual political conversation.Plus, for everyone: the long-awaited return of the Balance of Power Quarterly Report, with what Annalise, Leah and Shannon have been reading, watching and obsessing over lately. And a reminder that Patreon subscribers get extended episodes and no ads.Turnout, separatism, healthcare, affordability, AOC, books, and why sometimes winning isn’t enough.Welcome to Balance of Power.Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.caAnd if you like the show, join the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for extended episodes and no ads:https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

What happens when a crisis becomes an opportunity to make changes governments and business have wanted for years?This week on Balance of Power, Shannon Phillips and Leah Ward dig into the politics of “crisitunity,” the Team Canada response to the trade war, and what Canada risks giving up in the name of competing with the United States.First: the race to the bottom. Environmental protections are being weakened, labour rules are under pressure, and governments are promising to move major projects faster. But if defending Canadian sovereignty means stripping away the things Canadians say make this country different, what exactly are we defending?Then: Saskatchewan NDP MLA Sally Housser joins the show to talk about the Prairie response to the trade war, the politics of AI data centres, the pressure to actually build the workforce needed for major projects, and what opposition parties need to do to look like governments-in-waiting. Plus, what changes when you go from political staffer and pundit to the person whose name is actually on the ballot?Plus, for Patreon subscribers: new Ipsos polling suggests Albertans are far more willing to fight back against the United States than their provincial government is. Shannon and Leah dig into Danielle Smith’s opposition to retaliatory measures, why the UCP may be badly offside with its own voters, and how the Alberta NDP could turn that gap into a political message that actually breaks through.Trade wars, data centres, labour, environmental protections, Prairie politics, polling, and just how much “crisitunity” Canadians are willing to tolerate.Welcome to Balance of Power.Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.caJoin the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for ad-free episodes and access to our exclusive Discord:https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspodGuest:Sally HousserMLA for Regina University

What happens when a referendum starts to feel less like a vote and more like a warning?This week on Balance of Power, Annalise Klingbeil and Leah Ward are joined by political scientist Lisa Young to talk about the strange political fall Alberta is heading into, the separation debate, and what happens when a fringe idea becomes a live political question.First: be careful what you wish for. Lisa explains the thinking behind her recent speculative fiction imagining a future Alberta outside Canada, and why she sees separation as a fundamentally radical leap into the unknown.Then: misinformation, foreign influence, and the widening gap between the information ecosystems shaping the stay and leave sides. What does that mean for the referendum, and how do you have a productive political debate when people are starting from completely different versions of reality?Plus, for Patreon subscribers: the other nine referendum questions, why Lisa is surprised by the lack of organized opposition to them, and what their outcome could mean for politics far beyond Alberta.Separation, misinformation, resentment, turnout, and the weirdest fall in Alberta history?Welcome to Balance of Power.Mentioned in this episode:Lisa Young’s Substack: What now?!? An Alberta Politics newsletterhttps://lisayoung.substack.com/Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.caJoin the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for ad-free episodes and access to our exclusive Discord:https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

What should politicians actually be doing while everyone else is trying to enjoy August?This week on Balance of Power, Annalise Klingbeil, Leah Ward and Shannon Phillips remember Jeff Sloychuk, a longtime labour and NDP organizer whose politics were rooted in working-class people, practical action and getting the job done.First: summer politics. Is August a time to rest, work the barbecue circuit or quietly prepare for the fights coming in the fall? The panel looks at how Pierre Poilievre used summer advertising to reshape his image, what Danielle Smith’s small private fundraisers are really communicating, and why political campaigns should never assume voters have stopped paying attention.Then: labour, influencers and the changing media ecosystem. After CUPE partnered with Alberta content creators to explain the WestJet labour dispute, the panel digs into why audiences, not advertisements, have become the real political asset, and how shifting public attitudes toward unions are changing who gets heard.Plus, for Patreon subscribers: Leah shares lessons from the federal NDP’s experiment with political influencers, the panel debates whether campaign buses and traditional media tours still matter, and they offer direct advice for Alberta’s federalist campaigns on creators, YouTube, ground organizing and putting Canadian flags everywhere.Summer strategy, labour politics, influencer campaigns, Canadian flags and the value of getting politics out of the ether and onto people’s doorsteps.This episode is dedicated to the memory of Jeff Sloychuk.Welcome to Balance of Power.Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.caJoin the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for ad-free episodes and access to our exclusive Discord:https://www.patreon.com/strategistspod

What happens when politicians and their staff decide the questions are the problem?This week on Balance of Power, Leah Ward and Shannon Phillips break down two spectacular examples of how not to handle the media, and what competent political communication is supposed to look like when the stakes are high.First: Ontario’s wildfire response. After a ministerial staffer interrupted a live CBC interview to declare that there would be no more questions, Leah and Shannon explain why crisis communication requires more information, more availability, and fewer fights with reporters.Then: Devin Dreeshen’s continuing inability to answer a very simple question. Is Alberta’s transportation minister a separatist, and will he vote to keep Alberta in Canada? If he knows the question is coming, why can’t he answer it?Plus, for Patreon subscribers: what would a genuinely progressive response to tariffs, artificial intelligence and data centres look like? Leah and Shannon talk worker protections, digital sovereignty, public investment, Wab Kinew’s rejection of a proposed hyperscale data centre, and the case for a national electricity grid.Wildfires, media training, separatism, political staffing, worker power, artificial intelligence, and the revolutionary idea that ministers should just answer the Fing questions.Welcome to Balance of Power.Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.caJoin the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for ad-free episodes and access to our exclusive Discord:https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspodMentioned in this episode:Request a special ballot for Alberta’s upcoming referendum:https://specialballot.elections.ab.ca/Alberta’s Voice sign pickup information:https://albertasvoice.ca/