The Strategists

Zain Velji, Shannon Phillips, and Stephen Carter talk about Avi Lewis’s leadership win and the immediate political shockwaves across the country. They dive into how provincial NDP leaders are reacting, what this means for party unity, and whether this is a reset or a rupture. They also revisit Alberta gerrymandering from last week’s Patreon exclusive episode and the strategy behind it. Who handled Avi Lewis’s moment the best? What’s actually going on with Alberta’s boundaries fight, and who benefits? And how does Wab Kinew keep getting away with it?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

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Is this about rights or strategy?

This week on Balance of Power, Annalise Klingbeil, Leah Ward and Shannon Phillips talk kettlebells (kettleballs?) before digging into the politics behind the latest waves of anti-trans policy in Canada and what it reveals about how governments choose to fight.

First: the framing. How “parental rights” moved from the margins to the centre of the debate and who it is actually for. Is this persuasion? Base mobilization? Or something else entirely?

Then: the shift from clinical care to political conflict. What happens when decisions that used to sit with doctors, patients, and families get pulled into legislatures, and why that shift matters.

Plus: the limits of the Charter. If governments are willing to test or override legal protections, what does that mean for how these fights play out going forward?

And finally: if the courts are not enough, what options are left and what does an effective political response actually look like?

Strategy, framing, legal limits, and what happens when politics moves faster than institutions.

Welcome to Balance of Power.

Have a comment or idea? email us: [email protected]

Correction: Around 51:55 where Leah mentions the Alberta case before the courts, it is actualy the Saskatchewan challenge before the Supreme Court. Alberta had applied as an intervenor. As of recording Alberta's challenge is currently at the appeal stage.
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Stephen Carter and Shannon Phillips dive into the most important poll in Canadian political history. They break down what name ID actually means and what this poll is really measuring. Then they pivot to the real game: golden cats, free Saudi planes, and how political scandals actually get built and stick. What does this poll actually tell us about polling, attention, and political relevance? Why do some stories take off while others need a push to build momentum? And how many defamation suits is producer Haxim quietly preventing?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.
https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Big news.
Serious business.
No press conference.

Just a leak.

This week on Balance of Power, Annalise Klingbeil, Leah Ward and Shannon Phillips dig into how this actually works.

Government wants something out there.
Not a scrum. Not a pile of questions.

Their version. First.

So it shows up in a column.
A scoop.
Headline already pointed where they want it.

Why do it this way?
What do they get out of it?
And why does it still work?

Then it gets into the weeds.

Carbon pricing.
Credits. Markets.
How it’s supposed to work.
How it actually works.

Shannon Phillips walks through it.
Why some companies are sitting on credits.
Why the price isn’t what people think it is.
And why this is heading for a fight with Ottawa.

Policy is one thing.
The story is another.

Have a comment or idea? email us: [email protected]

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Shannon Phillips and Stephen Carter dive into the latest NDP leadership drama after Avi Lewis finds himself at the centre of a resurfaced clip mocking Shannon’s time as Alberta’s environment minister. What started as an old video quickly turns into a conversation about factional politics inside the NDP, leadership style, and what happens when activists try to run political parties. Is Avi Lewis trying to build a movement—or just impersonate one? Why does the “Zohran model” work in New York but struggle to translate to Canadian politics? And at what point does Carter’s haircut become a national unity issue?

Zain Velji, as always, picks the questions and keeps everybody in line.

Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and access to our exclusive Discord.
https://www.patreon.com/c/strategistspod

You can also watch our episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/@strategistspod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.