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Oliver Pare and Drew Eldrege-Martin join to talk about the recent domination of YouTube shorts in presenting political narratives and the new tools campaigns use to track the strength and shifts of political narratives. And we ask if central campaigns should rethink their structures to better focus on advancing strategic narratives.   Plus, Nikki talks about the future of the North Pacific tanker ban. And Tom talks about some polling shifts and some wildly off polls  in the recent Toronto mayoral and council elections.  Support the show

Key votes in BC and Alberta have made it clear that the political landscape is shifting. Raj Sihota, Aileen Machell and Shannon Phillips join Nikki to dive into the lessons learned. Raj highlights that there isn't a single narrative across Canada, but common threads emerge, particularly concerns about economic insecurity.  "People are feeling very economically insecure. They're worried about housing, they're worried about the cost of living and their jobs." — Raj Sihota   Our panelists discuss critical lessons for progressive parties. Shannon emphasizes the importance of storytelling in politics, arguing that ideas matter greatly, even in times of algorithm-driven communications.  "Telling a story about yourself and your government still matters." She critiques the federal government's approach during the Alberta referendum, suggesting that a stronger narrative around the benefits of remaining in Canada was necessary.  Aileen points out the dual narratives at play: frustration versus hope.  "You have frustration on one side, and that came through because in the separatist referendum...you have the sort of community of people who are very frustrated and angry." — Aileen Machell She stresses that without a hopeful vision that resonates with people, frustration can win the day, as seen in BC.  The pressing issue of affordability remains a top concern for voters. Our panel stresses the need for progressive parties to connect their policies to the everyday lives of people.  Shannon shares her door-knocking experiences, revealing that specific affordability measures, like savings from ICBC, resonated well with voters.  "The only affordability one that really worked...was the ICBC one." — Shannon Phillips Progressives need to address the economic anxieties of voters with tangible solutions and compelling narratives. The insights shared by our panelists provide a roadmap for navigating the complexities of modern political campaigning in Canada. For a deeper dive into these insights and more, listen to the full episode. Support the show

Ron Wells, president of USW 1005, and Jillian Watt, president of CUPE 7800, talk about hundreds of layoffs hitting their members, the reasons for it, the impact on Hamilton, and their mobilization to protect jobs. Tom digs into the nation-wide labour response to the Federal Liberals’ Bill C-39, which institutionalizes the power of the Labour Minister to ban strikes she deems to be contrary to the “national interest,” a term without legal definition. Unions are developing their campaign to oppose C-39. Some have explicitly pledged to defy it, which was how how workers prevented section 107 from being used against Air Canada on-flight staff and Ontario’s Bill 28 from being used against school support workers. Support the show

Avi Lewis, leader of the Federal NDP, joins to tell us a bit more about himself and his read on where Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading with Canada. Avi shares his thoughts on how to rebuild the federal NDP by organizing grassroots opposition to privatizations and labour right roll-backs and grassroots support for protecting healthcare.  Also, Nikki looks at Danielle Smith's legislative changes that rob opposition parties of their access to voters' lists. And Tom looks at another Doug Ford scandal --  foot-dragging on investigating an apparent $500 million organized scam from a fund intended to help students get an education. Support the show

Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, talks about big data centres planned for just outside Regina and Moose Jaw and the Moe government's refusal to explain how the electricity will be provided, the cost to ratepayers or how many jobs will be created. Until the secrecy is lifted and important questions are answered, the Saskatchewan NDP is asking for a pause on the projects. Also, Nikki takes a look at the internal division that drove Manitoba PC leader Obby Khan to quit. Tom takes a look at some damning Ontario fiscal reports and wonders if we haven't been strong enough in asking conservatives "how will you pay for it?" Support the show

Shannon Devine joins us to talk about her doorstep experience as the NDP's candidate in the April 2025 general election and the August 2026 by-election in Beaches-East York. Shannon talks about the different strategic conditions, the improvement in volunteers, what voters want to talk about on the doorstep, and how she tried to get voters to engage. Also, Nikki reflects on recent comments from the prime minister that revealed the Canadian military has developed plans for a Trump invasion. Tom digs into the Quebec election and how the "reasonable accommodation" debate that all parties have toyed with is now fueling a culture war from the Quebec Conservative Party. Support the show

Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, joins Left East to West to talk about the trade war that President Trump has declared on Canadians and about Prime Minister Carney's investor agenda. Bea tells us workers are worried about the impact of Trump's attack on them, but also expresses labour's concern that Carney's investor agenda will limit worker rights and privatize key public infrastructure. Also, Nikki gives us the latest on the BC Conservatives' turmoil and the likelihood of Premier David Eby calling a snap election. Tom looks at the European far-right, its supporters in Premier Danielle Smith's office and their shared focus on taking away rights and benefits from immigrants or temporary workers. Support the show

USW District 3 Director Scott Lunny joins to talk about how Trump's economic attack is affecting workers represented by his union, particularly those in the forestry sector. Scott gives us an update on key USW initiatives focused on boosting jobs, including stronger buy-Canada procurement, bringing predictability to forest harvests, and taking on a stronger role in worker skills training in mining. With municipal elections in BC, Manitoba and Ontario next month, Nikki and Tom talk about party dynamics in Vancouver, where incumbent mayor Ken Sim is battling several candidates, and between Olivia Chow and her main competitor for the Toronto mayor's chair. Support the show

Jeremy Withers, senior researcher with the University of Toronto's New Housing Alternatives, sits down with Nikki to find out more about the causes of the 2020-2022 housing market bubble, its big pop in 2022 and the price collapse still going on in Toronto four years later. Jeremy shares his thoughts about government responses to the condo crisis in Toronto and Vancouver and falling home ownership rates as big investors take control of the housing stock. Also, Nikki and Tom talk about the on-going chaos in the BC Conservative Party, Marit Stiles' by-election success and the opening weeks of the Quebec provincial election. Support the show

Jared Walker, Canadians For Tax Fairness Executive Director, joins Nikki and Tom to talk about C4TF's recent report detailing growing extreme inequality in Canada, province by province. Jared believes a wealth tax on fortunes of $100 million and more and a new income tax bracket on annual income over $1 million will reverse growing extreme inequality while providing revenue to end cuts to key programs, like healthcare and schools Jared also outlines how we can put some money back in Canadians' pockets with a levy on the windfall profits oil companies are making off high pump prices during this US-Iran War. And according to C4TF research, unless repatriated by a windfall tax, most of that profit windfall from Canadian oil resources will flowing to investors in the United States.  Nikki digs into some polling data suggesting wildfires across the world are pushing global warming up the priority list of Canadians and asks if the Mark Carney government or Avi Lewis' NDP will address that re-emerging concern. Tom speaks with Toronto NDP MPP Chris Glover, who was in the trenches battling the plan by US bank JP Morgan to expand Toronto's waterfront airport. JP Morgan had Doug Ford's PCs and Mark Carney's Liberals onside. But Toronto City Council, community groups and the Ontario NDP fought the deal -- and for have won, for now. Support the show

Marit Stiles, leader of the Ontario NDP, sits down with Nikki and Tom to discuss the scandal-plagued Doug Ford government and her drive to raise people's expectation and break out of the cycle of cynical politics and bad outcomes Ontario has settled into. Marit tells us about the work she’s been doing as official opposition to Premier Doug Ford, digging up scandal after scandal. But she also talks about the need to propose solutions and raise people’s expectations about what government can get done for them. Recently, her NDP put out proposals for a forestry sector strategy, summer jobs for young workers, housing and healthcare staffing. In our interview Marit also talks about the need to reform the food distribution sector, which consistently delivers prices that rise faster than general inflation. Marit also reflects on Ontario regionalism and the very different levels of public services and infrastructure in different parts of Ontario — or even different neighbourhoods of the same city. Doug Ford’s destructive focus on Toronto may be amusing to some in have-not regions, but the politics of resentment isn’t helping their access to healthcare, schools, job opportunities or even safe highways. Is "One Ontario" waiting to be built? Nikki takes a look at a by-election win in PEI by the provincial Greens that could be signalling a coming political realignment in that province. Or it might just a by-election blip, though the scan polling evidence available suggests it is more than that.   Tom digs into the signals sent by Prime Minister Carney appointing his principal secretary, Tom Pitfield, to the Senate and replacing him with Scott Gilmore. While Pitfield comes from a legacy Liberal family, Gilmore was an active Conservative until a few years ago.  Support the show

Sabrina Fernandes, author and well-known Brazilian political commentator, talks about this fall's pivotal elections, which pits incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — Lula — of the social democratic Workers Party against Trump-backed candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his Liberals. What's at stake for Canada is that while we seek more trade partners to reduce dependance on US trade, a Trump-aligned president will reduce Brazil's current search for increased trade diversification for the same reasons. Brazil has the world's the tenth largest economy by GDP. In the past year, pro-Trump politicians have won presidential elections in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Chile. Brazil and Mexico remain the most important hold-outs. Like Canada, Brazil has significant natural resources including oil, forests, farming and minerals. It has a big manufacturing sector, anchored by auto assembly plants and steel mills. But while about 75 of Canadian exports go to the U.S., the United States is the market for only about 10 percent of Brazilian exports. But there will still be economic pain from the 25 per cent tariff on many exports imposed by Trump last week. The Trump administration claims Brazil's Pix payment system prevents market access for companies like Visa or PayPal. It says Brazilian court orders unfairly restrict U.S. media platforms X and Meta. Bolsonaro says his alignment with Trump will allow him to remove the tariffs, if elected. Brazil's largest export market is China, which purchases substantial amounts of food and oil. Trump's National Security Strategy overtly states the resources of The American exist to power US wealth, not it's competitor, China. And while even the election of Bolsonaro likely will not change sales of food and oil to China, he would pursue a different path than Lula on mineral resources, which the U.S. president wants to control. Like Canada, Brazil has significant critical mineral reserves and Lula has promoted a value-adding approach to mineral extraction to develop a domestic industry and maintain sovereign control. But Bolsonaro is agreeable to exporting unfinished products at low royalty costs, a position supported by foreign mining companies and Trump.  A Bolsonaro presidency would also take a different path on the new international alliance created by Trump this spring, The Shield of The Americas. The new organization's stated purpose is to co-ordinate work against drug trafficking. But it's militarized approach raises concern it is a trojan horse for greater Trump influence within national police and military forces and even military intervention. While several governments in The Americas have joined, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia have not. Colombia may join after it's new pro-Trump president-elect takes office in August. And likely Brazil will join if Bolsonaro wins in October. Lula's Workers Party (PT) was created in the early 1980s in the context of military dictatorship and as a coalition of unions, church groups and rural peasants. PT candidates have won five of the past six presidential elections. But the PT has been unable to convert presidential wins into a majority in the federal chamber of deputies or senate. The right has used it's legislative majority to impose spending caps on the government, reducing the president's fiscal power and limiting federal transfer payments to state governments to support health care, education and infrastructure. Whatever the outcome, October's elections are significant for global politics. They will either result in a president happy to serve Donald Trump or one trying to limit the U.S. president's global power. They will either elect a legislature that supports or seeks to limit presidential powers. In our view, a Brazilian president with the legislative backing to limit Trump's power over Brazil is in the interests of Canadians, if only because adding to Trump's global power certainly is not. Support the show

Nikki and Tom celebrate six months of Left East to West with a retrospective on federal politics, federal-provincial relations and shifts in provincial politics across the country. The overriding federal story is continued Liberal strength. But polls show a drop in Mark Carney’s net approval score. Can Pierre Poilievre or Avi Lewis benefit? In federal-provincial relationships, alignment between provinces and with federal government seems better. But has it come at the cost of having any climate policy and enforcing the Canada Health Act? Provincially, many premiers face sagging support. Can they successfully increase perceptions of the risk of change? Can opposition leaders lower voters’ perception of the risk of change? Nikki and Tom look at different strategies for addressing risk perceptions. Nikki gives some love to properly-done long-term land use planning. Tom heaves pollsters who claim decimal-point accuracy or to know the reasons behind poll changes that may not even exist because they don’t exceed the margin of error. Support the show

Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, sits down with Nikki and Tom to talk about her strategy to defeat Scott Moe and her economic plan to spur Saskatchewan growth. Carla launched her Grid and Growth plan more that two years before the next provincial election, due in October 2028, just before leaked information from inside SaskPower showed premier Scott Moe's coal-generation electricity plan would cost billions more than admitted and modelling proving it was the most expensive energy option. Carla also talks with Nikki and Tom about help the federal government can give to her Saskatchewan plan, and the significance of Scott Moe's cooling relationship with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Also, Tom talks about new StatsCan data showing a stagnating Alberta average wage despite oil companies pump record volumes and high prices. Nikki reflects on the heat dome that sent temperatures soaring five years ago, leading to 619 deaths, and the unfinished work of preparing for another heat emergency. Support the show

Economist Jim Stanford discusses the cost of Trump’s Iran War to Canadians and Mark Carney’s economic agenda. Jim estimates the direct economic cost of high fuel prices will reach $50 billion and go higher if it  prompts the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates to reduce inflation. Jim also explores the investment banker vision of Mark Carney and concerns that his proposed “sovereign wealth fund” will be a mechanism for privatizing airports, ports and other public infrastructure. Nikki looks at the series of federal-provincial deals from the Build Canada fund but questions why Nova Scotia seems to have no plan in the works to get federal assistance for provincial priorities. Tom digs into some new data showing the sales margin for food and fuel retailers is growing at twice the rate of inflation, pouring money into the accounts of food billionaires like the Weston family, who are now using their wealth to fund a new media platform.  Support the show