Left East to West

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 electricit...

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...

Stefan Löfven, former prime minister of Sweden and now president of the Party of European Socialists, talks with Tom about the Nordic model, the key role played in it by the labour movement, and its ability to deliver strong economic and social results. Nikki dives into the results of the B.C. Conservative leadership race and how Kerry-Lynne Findlay will shape the contest leading up to the electio...

Shauna Sylvester, Founder and Lead Convenor of Urban Climate Leadership, sits down with Nikki and Tom to talk about Canada's city halls, convening nascent economic sectors, and long-term change that creates jobs, increases energy efficiency and helps people. The Urban Climate Institute is currently convening those who bring social capital -- skills, knowledge, production, finance, policy -- t...

Jennifer Howard, former Manitoba Minister of Labour and Finance, and 2025 NDP campaign director, joins Left East to West to talk about Mark Carney's direction for Canada, the Liberals undoing pharmacare, the NDP's unsolved strategic challenges and building a stronger brand for the NDP on jobs and economic development. Nikki checks in with James Valcke from Viewpoints Research with an upd...

Coree Tull, chair of the the BC Watershed Security Coalition, explores the challenges facing Canadian watersheds in our Feature Interview. Canada's watersheds face intensifying demands from industry, including new data centres, while Donald Trump makes unsettling comments about US desires for Canadian water. Coree believes that to protect jobs and the natural water so central to Canadian iden...

Josh Bizjak, Douglas Caldwell Layton Foundation executive director, talks with Left East to West about his organization’s movement-building work, the varying themes and challenges in different regions of the country -- and trying to build a national story from them. A major effort of the DCLF is their series of annual speaker and social events in eight cities across the country. Their region-focus...

Dave McGrane, University of Saskatchewan political studies professor and “Social Democrats of the North” podcast host, tells the history of Canada’s social democratic impulses, and the movements and people that have advanced them. Through Canada’s labour and farm movements, Dave tracks the women and men who fought to take power from old extractive elites and  democratized and modernized the Canadi...

Siobhan Vipond , Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, joins Left East to West ahead of the labour federation's policy convention, which opens on May 11 in Winnipeg. Siobhan talks about the shifting demands in representing workers as Canadians took hits from the pandemic recession and inflation -- and now Trump 2.0. With an economic attack from outside and 1.5 million jobl...

Jen Pedersen, foreign policy expert and advisor, took her passion for international politics through a PhD, publishing analyses on regional conflicts included Yemen and Liberia, becoming a Broadbent Institute Fellow, and into advising the Federal NDP on foreign affairs. Jen talks with Nikki and Tom about the implications for Canadians in Trump shifting the global power system farther from multilat...

Claudia Chender, Nova Scotia NDP leader, joins to talk about the PCs government's budget-backdown, rising electricity and housing costs and Premier Tim Houston's mistake of attacking support to the culture of small town and rural Nova Scotia. Nikki delves into what Canadian municipalities are doing around maternity and parental leave for city councillors and Tom digs into first quarter f...

From the Winnipeg convention centre, Nikki and Tom dig into details about the Federal NDP convention and Avi Lewis' win to become party leader. Then, Nikki and Tom are joined by our NDP comm pro panel to talk about the challenges that lay ahead for Avi as he works to rebuild the federal NDP. Our comms pro panel is: - Melanie RIcher, former communications director for Jagmeet Singh - Farouk Ka...

Heather McPherson, candidate for leader of Canada's NDP and Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona, takes a break from her campaign to join Left East to West from Edmonton, Alberta: - how the NDP can escape polarization and the strategic voting trap - being a partner for provincial NDP leaders trying to defeat conservatives - deepening the relationship with labour - organizing stronger...

Rob Ashton, candidate for the leader of Canada's NDP and President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union of Canada takes a break from his campaign to join Left East to West from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan: - how the NDP can escape polarization and the strategic voting trap - being a partner for provincial NDP leaders trying to defeat conservatives - deepening the relationship wi...

Sussanne Skidmore, President of the BC Federation of Labour, shares her thoughts about growth and austerity, labour law reform including sectoral bargaining, and trying to bring that magic alignment to the social democratic labour movement both in BC and federally. Nikki and Tom discuss Canada's most popular premier Wab Kinew supporting working women by requiring workplace menstrual product a...

Mon Mar 16 - Guio Jacinto, economic and trade analyst, United Steelworkers Mon Mar 23 - Sussanne Skidmore , President, BC Federation of Labour Mon Mar 30 - Special federal NDP convention episode Mon Apr 6 - taking a one-week break -- maybe? Mon Apr 13 - Claudia Chender , Leader, Nova Scotia NDP Mon Apr 20 - Jen Pederson , foreign policy analyst Mon Apr 27 - Bea Bruske , President, Canadian Labour...

Guio Jacinto, Steelworkers union economic and trade analyst, talks about the impact of Trump's "economic force" against Canada and how adding industrial policy to existing strategies can create jobs and industries. Nikki and Tom talk about MP Lori Idlout's floor-crossing and the wild -- and wildly false -- accusations of drug dealing by Vancouver's mayor. Support the show

NDP interim leader Don Davies talks about the NDP's opposition to Mark Carney backing Trump's Iran War, the need to be clear-eyed about Modi, and how social democratic approaches can build housing where other's won't. Nikki and Tom also talk about BC including hormone replacement therapy for menopause in national pharmacare and John Tory quitting the Toronto mayor race and what...

Former Alberta NDP minister Shannon Phillips joins to discuss dark money and foreign interference in Alberta referendum and where the Alberta NDP needs make gains to defeat Danielle Smith. Plus, she has some advice on how the next federal NDP leader can help Albertans get rid of the UCP. Also, Nikki and Tom touch on the corruption scandal roiling Toronto Police Services and a parliamentary report...

Iglika Ivanova, co-executive director of BC Policy Solutions, joins to talk about how getting the public sector right is critical to the private sector and some of the environmental causes of food price inflation. Nikki and Tom touch on a new Manitoba probe into predatory grocery pricing and the political aftermath of a Nova Scotia snowstorm that left thousands without power for over two days. Sup...

Bynn Bourke, Executive Director of the BC Building Trades, talks about rebuilding the trades system after it was gutted by the BC Liberals and that challenges of the major projects agenda. Nikki and Tom talk about provinces vying to have the new Defence Industry Bank head office in their selected cities and and the Ontario Liberals' ongoing problems getting a new leader in place. Support the...

Aileen Machell, former Deputy Chief of Staff to BC Premier David Eby, talks about how Trump's talk of Canada as a 51st state caused a major shift to an economic focus in BC. Nikki and Tom discuss how the Ontario NDP's loss of an MPP also causes trouble for the Ontario Liberals and how the federal Conservatives encouraged influencers to cover their convention.. Support the show

Karl Belanger, Quebec political analyst, talks with Nikki and Tom about the rise and fall of Francois Legault , who announced his resignation as premier as polls show support for his CAQ party collapsing to near single digits. We also touch on the help Alberta separatist Jeff Rath has received from Donald Trump and Danielle Smith and the backlash to news of BC billionaire Jimmy Pattison doing busi...

Nikki and Tom discuss the leadership contests of the BC Conservatives and Quebec Liberals then a joint letter on lumber tariffs from Ontario, Alberta and Quebec aimed at Nova Scotia. Following, we have a feature interview with award-winning defence reporter and journalist David Pugliese touching on Arctic sovereignty, F-35s v Gripen, Golden Dome and the soon-to-be released Defense Industrial Strat...

Nikki and Tom welcome you to a new podcast where we check-in across the country and interview the Canadians working to build this country. Episodes weekly. Join the Left East to West community ! Support the show