The Line: Alberta Podcast

In this episode of The Line: Alberta podcast, a closer look at Alberta's Year of the Referendum. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has set October 19th as referendum day, and she has nine questions to put to Albertans on issues related to immigration and the constitution. That ballot will also include a question on separation, the premier says, if separatists are successful in their petition cam...

It's been three months since the Alberta government controversially legislated an end to a bitter teachers' strike, but have conditions in the classroom - which were key issues in the labour dispute - improved at all? The Alberta Teachers Association has released a comprehensive new survey of its members, showing widespread frustration and pessimism about the state of the province's...

Between the Alberta-Ottawa pipeline MOU and the growing push to diversify Canada's export markets, 2026 could prove to be a key year for the oil and gas industry. Still, though, there remains some uncertainty on the policy front and questions linger about whether there's enough political will and determination to make progress and really capitalize on this moment. In this episode of the...

The topic of Alberta separation has been thrust into the national spotlight, amid the ongoing petition campaign by separatists to force a referendum, and reports about possible U.S. involvement. We've heard provocative comments from Trump's treasury secretary and other Republican and MAGA figures. We've also had new reports about Alberta separatist delegations to Washington, D.C. to...

In this episode of The Line Alberta podcast, host Rob Breakenridge explores two big topics of interest right now in Alberta: why the U.S. is suddenly so interested in a possible Alberta independence referendum, and what it's going to take to meaningfully diversify the export markets for Alberta oil so that we're less reliant on the Americans. First, a conversation with National Observer...

In this episode of The Line: Alberta podcast, host Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the growing concern over the state of acute care in Alberta and what many doctors are describing as a crisis in the province's emergency rooms. Calls have been mounting for the Alberta government to declare a state of emergency in acute care, and those calls have grown louder following the high-profile...

In this episode of The Line: Alberta podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the latest water crisis in the city of Calgary following the latest catastrophic failure of a crucial water line. As Calgarians face weeks or months of water use restrictions and costly and lengthy work on the system, an independent panel (established after the last crisis, just 18 months ago) has released its fi...

In this week's episode of The Line Alberta podcast, Rob Breakenridge sits down for a conversation with Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie, who just recently became leader of the Alberta Party. Guthrie, of course, started the year as a member of Danielle Smith's cabinet, before stepping down over his concerns about how the government was handling the controversy around health care contrac...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge speaks with Stephen Buffalo, who is president and CEO of the Indian Resource Council, board chair of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, and a member of the Samson Cree Nation. The Assembly of First Nations has voted to call on the federal government to withdrawal the Alberta-Ottawa memorandum of understanding (MOU...

Two big topics in this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta podcast, as Rob Breakenridge breaks down the hugely significant Alberta-Ottawa memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy as well as Alberta’s proposed health reforms that will open the door for physicians to practice in both the public and private systems in the hopes of bringing down wait times. We begin the episode with a conversation...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at one of the more fascinating stories emerging from the recent municipal elections: the political evolution and successful comeback of Jeromy Farkas In this conversation with Calgary's new mayor, we reflect on his political journey from firebrand city councillor, to unsuccessful mayoral candidate, to th...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the debate over direct democracy and how opponents of the government have taken advantage of the UCP’s own voter recall and citizen initiative laws. In the aftermath of the teachers’ strike and the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause, a number of UCP MLAs are now being targeted with voter recall...

In this episode of The Line Alberta podcast, Rob Breakenridge sits down for an in-person conversation with former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. As Alberta faces a possible independence referendum next year, Jason Kenney is becoming increasingly vocal about the need to take on the separatists and to make the case for a united Canada. We'll hear more from Mr. Kenney about why he's been mor...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the debate around the notwithstanding clause and Alberta’s decision to invoke Section 33 of the Charter as part of their back-to-work legislation to end the teachers’ strike.  First of all, we’ll hear a defence of the notwithstanding clause and Alberta’s decision to apply it in this situation. We’ll hear f...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the Alberta government’s decision to introduce back-to-work legislation.  Alberta teachers went on strike over three weeks ago and after virtually no progress was made at the bargaining table, the Alberta government has taken the opportunity with the fall sitting of the Legislature underway to use the meta...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the controversy surrounding procurement at Alberta Health Services and what we learned last week with the release of a major report into the matter. Retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant was brought in by the province to conduct a third-party investigation into the contract for the 2022 purchase of children...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the debate around education funding in Alberta. The province-wide teachers’ strike has helped to illustrate some of the challenges and frustrations that have been building up in the public school system. Alberta’s population has risen rapidly in recent years, and it’s been a challenge for the system to kee...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at the big pipeline announcement last week from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Basically, the Alberta government intends on acting as the main proponent in a pipeline application in the hopes that Ottawa will pick up the ball and green light such a project through the Major Projects Office.  But there are a...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge explores the politics and economics of the province’s minimum wage policy.  Effective October 1st, Saskatchewan’s minimum wage rises to $15.35 per hour, leaving Alberta with the lowest minimum wage in the country. In fact, Alberta’s rate has been unchanged since 2018, when the Notley NDP completed their rapid push to $15 per hou...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge takes a closer look at a case in Edmonton that has made national headlines: the horrific murder of an eight-year-old girl and the very public - and controversial - opposition from Edmonton Police to a possible plea deal for the accused killer. To some, including Alberta’s premier, it’s a welcome jolt to the system and an express...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge is joined by Heather Exner-Pirot, a Calgary-based senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Institute’s Director of Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment. We begin the conversation with some analysis of the recent announcement of five projects identified as being in the national interest and will now be a...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with Calgary Confederation Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Corey Hogan. Despite hopes for a Liberal breakthrough in the recent federal election, Hogan was the only Liberal to prevail amid the blue Conservative sea that is Calgary and...

In this week’s episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge highlights a couple of unique perspectives on the question of Alberta’s nuclear future.  Alberta's premier has launched a new process to explore the possibility of adding nuclear capacity to Alberta's power mix. Between a growing population and expanding electrification, Alberta’s power demand is growing. But with the...

In this episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast, Rob Breakenridge is joined by Dr. Kent Fellows, assistant professor of economics at the University of Calgary and fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute.  Sagging oil prices have once again highlighted the perils of Alberta’s over-reliance on energy revenues, even if the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has helped to provide a revenue boost. T...

In this episode of The Line: Alberta Podcast , Rob Breakenridge delves into the future of policing in Alberta and whether that will - or should - involve the creation of an Alberta Provincial Police Force.  The RCMP contract for community policing ends in 2032, and we may see the RCMP exit community policing altogether in favour of a more focused, national mandate. At the same time, however, the i...