PolitiCoast: The BC Politics Podcast

We’re about a week and a half into the election and the promises have started coming. From the Liberals comes an ambitious PST holiday for the next year and a cut to 3% “until the economy recovers.” And from the NDP a $1.5 billion commitment to long-term care over the next decade. We look at the campaign promises, other issues and election news, the latest polls and where the cam...

We’re in the first few days of the provincial election and the debate over whether it should’ve been called is still underway. While the leaders didn’t present much at their speeches at UBCM, they were faced to confront the Coroner’s report of 147 people who died in August from toxic drug supply. But we also have some polling. Federally, Trudeau is daring the opposition to...

Ian & Scott break down John Horgan’s decision to call a snap general election. Find out how to register to vote by mail Thanks to Mo Amir for permission to use the clip of Sonia Furstenau from the latest This is VanColour

The BC Green leadership contest goes to two rounds but ultimately MLA Sonia Furstenau was victorious. We consider how Cam Brewer did so well despite joining the race so late. Then we pivot to look at the province’s StrongerBC restart plan and whether it might serve as a pre-election document. And in quick takes we look at the upcoming Throne Speech and the results in the New Brunswick electi...

Seth Klein’s book is out, so we’re having him back on the podcast to talk about why he thinks we need a WWII level mobilization to fight the climate emergency and what that would look like. Banner image credit: Meital Smith Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for...

Cam Brewer is the third candidate to enter the race to replace Andrew Weaver as leader of the Green Party of BC. We talk to him about why he’s running, why he thinks he’s best suited to lead the party and what he’s running on. Then we look at the individuals putting themselves forward for nomination races for the BC NDP and BC Liberals amid polls and projections showing that John...

The latest updates on the BC Back-to-School plan and Erin O’Toole wins the Conservative Party of Canada leadership. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an exclusive subscription deal if you decide to continue. Start your trial at  politicstoday.ne...

Scott speaks to Lisa Lalande, CEO of the Century Initiative, a nonprofit that advocates for Canada to aim for a population of 100 million by 2100. Then we look at the latest shakeups in Ottawa: Bill Morneau is out and Chrystia Freeland is in at the Ministry of Finance and Trudeau prorogues Parliament to either reset the government to present a fresh agenda in the fall or escape further scrutiny by...

Will there be a fall session? Will there be a fall election? Who knows. This may be the last week of sittings of the BC Legislature for 2020 so we brought BC Today reporter Shannon Waters back to talk about what was accomplished, what wasn’t accomplished and who had the best Zoom background. Then high school teacher Sonia Milbradt joins the conversation to talk about BC’s school restar...

Tej Heer is coauthor of Evidence for Democracy’s latest report Spotlight on Integrity . We talk to him about the independence and capacity of BC’s public scientific profession and what needs to happen to ensure the best impartial evidence is informing our democracy. Then we dig into the second quarter fundraising numbers, which was good news for the governing NDP and quite the downturn...

Ian and Scott celebrate 200 episodes with Jillian P Stead ( @JillianPStead ) and Stewart Prest ( @StewartPrest ) by talking about political strategy & political science during a pandemic. Watch the video on our Facebook page   Thanks for helping us get to 200 episodes!

We’re still in a pandemic and the federal government is still mired in the WE scandal. Ian & Scott catch up on the state of COVID-19 and the latest in the ongoing federal scandal. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an exclusive subscription deal i...

We speak to BC Green leadership hopeful Kim Darwin about her ambitions to lead the party. Plus safe restart plans, WE controversy, contracts with China, BC’s deficit and another record setting month for overdose deaths. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code...

Despite a conscious uncoupling, the Trudeau Government and WE Charity continue to receive scrutiny from media, the opposition and now the ethics commissioner. Plus we learn how big of an impact Canada’s response to the pandemic has had on our fiscal situation and why it’s still maybe not so bad. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC P...

(Reuploaded with correct audio – sorry!) BC Today’s Shannon Waters returns to talk about covering the legislature as it returns in a hybrid format. We also tease out some of what’s expected to come over the remainder of the summer session. Then we look at the controversy that’s erupted over the federal government’s decision to outsource management of the Canada Studen...

Phase 3 reopening means the Legislature is back, but still mostly remotely, with a plethora of bills. We look at what the latest developments in the hostage taking of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor mean for Canada and our relationship with China and the USA. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and...

One MP stood in the way of a motion that would condemn racism in the RCMP and launch a review of its expenditures. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called that MP, Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien, a racist and Singh was subsequently thrown out of the House of Commons for the day. We look at the history, the politics and procedure of politicians being thrown from legislatures. First, we do a little follow...

As #DefundThePolice becomes the rallying cry of recent protests, we take a brief look at the history of policing in Canada and BC, how police are governed in the province today and the possibility of reform going forward. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for...

Hogan’s Alley Society co-founder Stephanie Allen joins us to talk about Black history in BC, racism past and present, police brutality and possible paths forward. Plus in quick takes we look at political fundraising numbers, support for residential & commercial tenants, support for cities, 5G contracts and BC Budget 2021 consultation. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily ne...

Pharmacist Sasha Maleki joins us to talk science and pharmaceutical politics during COVID-19. Plus the latest on Canada-China relations, long-term care, Andrew Weaver’s meltdown and the return to the legislature. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an...

Dr Amita Kuttner is a British Columbian astrophysicist running for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada. We talk to them about their candidacy, the Greens’ science policy and how they’d achieve electoral success. Plus quick takes on the return of the BC Legislature, recovery infrastructure spending and the latest mask recommendations. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the...

A new paper from BC’s Basic Income Task Force has been published today in the School of Public Policy Paper Series titled “Considerations for Basic Income as a COVID-19 Response”. We had a chance to read the paper and speak to Professor Lindsay Tedds of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy about the paper. Read the transcript Read the paper

David Eby releases a report on how ICBC’s financials are faring amidst the pandemic and the answer is…complicated. The latest job numbers are out and they’re clearly bad but perhaps a report from the emerging economy taskforce will provide a path to a new future. And the MOU between Canada, BC and the Wet’suwet’en was signed but what will it mean for the future of Cro...

Premier John Horgan has announced the province’s (careful) plan to Restart BC. Trudeau uses an order-in-council to reclassify various firearms as prohibited. And further uncertainty over the tentative agreement between the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and the provincial and federal governments as the elected chiefs cry foul over the consultation process. Check out our partner:...

Politics continues in a pandemic as MPs meet virtually for the first time and all the media wants to talk about are the views of each MP’s home that we got a glimpse at. Then we look at the steps various (non-BC) provinces have announced to reopen their societies. Finally, there’s a new study out looking at the costs of restoring the old Island Rail tracks from Victoria to Port Alberni...