Alberta called for newcomers, but too many answered. Is Trudeau to blame for a surging population and the need for more schools? Also, our amateur transit planners muse about a new name for the doomed Greenline. And speaking of doomed, the carbon tax has veered off the road into the ditch. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by Kelly Cryderman, Corey Hogan and Lisa Young.

Ms. Smith’s summer road trip took her across the province to town halls with UCP supporters. And we got some hints about her government’s direction this fall. But should big policy discussions be held behind closed doors?. Joining West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is Shannon Phillips, former Lethbridge NDP MLA and now with Meredith, Boessenkool and Phillips Policy Advisors. Evan Menzies is with Crestview Strategy and is former Director of Communications with the UCP. Jason Markusoff is a writer and producer with the CBC.

Alberta's next provincial election is more than three years away, but with a new NDP leader, it's not going to be a quiet political summer. NDP strategists Keith McLaughlin and Cheryl Oates, along with CBC Calgary writer Jason Markusoff, join West of Centre host Kathleen Petty to discuss why “politics has no chill” in Alberta — especially now with Naheed Nenshi at the NDP helm. Nenshi is asked to clarify his position on federal climate policies and their impact in Alberta — including if he'd consider returning to an Alberta carbon tax should Pierre Poilievre become prime minister and axes the federal carbon tax.

As the provincial political campaign begins a slow burn toward the fall election in British Columbia, the governing B.C. NDP are heading into the summer with a comfortable lead in the polls ahead of their two rival, centre-right parties. But momentum is suddenly building for the B.C. Conservatives, with the party snatching candidates from the opposition B.C. United (formerly known as the British Columbia Liberal Party). What matters more to B.C. United, according to one of West of Centre’s guests, is how that "blast radius" affects the party’s ability to ready itself to fight in October’s election. Are we seeing the "end of the B.C. Liberal era," as another of our guests suggests? Joining West of Centre host Kathleen Petty this week to break down why politics in British Columbia is never boring are Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute; Les Leyne, legislature columnist with the Victoria Times Colonist; and Mike McDonald, political strategist and co-host of Hotel Pacifico, a West Coast political podcast.

Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre opposes the government’s capital gains inclusion rate increase, and he stands firm in his refusal to get a security clearance to review the unredacted national security report that’s causing a cloud of suspicion to hang over Parliament. CBC Parliamentary Bureau senior writer Aaron Wherry and University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young join West of Centre host Kathleen Petty to discuss the strategy behind Poilievre’s positions. But first, Petty explores what makes the Conservative leader tick, with journalist Andrew Lawton, the author of Pierre Poilievre: A Political Life.

The spring sitting of the Saskatchewan legislature went out with a bang. The Opposition NDP is calling for a government committee to meet and appoint an investigator in the wake of allegations made last month by the Speaker against former House leader Jeremy Harrison. He initially denied bringing a long gun into the legislature nearly 10 years ago, but has since admitted family helped jog his memory, and the allegation is indeed true. There are further complaints that will reverberate into the summer ahead of a provincial election this coming October. But some pundits believe there's not enough Pilsner in Saskatchewan to convince them that Scott Moe’s governing party isn't going to get re-elected this fall. Helping West of Centre make sense of the twists and turns in this story are Murray Mandryk, the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix; Tom McIntosh, a professor in the department of politics and international studies at the University of Regina; and Adam Hunter, who covers politics for CBC Saskatchewan.

An ambitious spring sitting in the Alberta Legislature has resulted in 13 bills passed by the UCP government over 14 weeks. One of the many approved powers enhances the government’s authority to remove municipal councillors or overturn bylaws. This week’s panel dissecting the “pothole politics” coming out of this busy spring sitting are CBC provincial affairs reporter Janet French, Catherine Griwkowsky of political newsletter Alberta Today and the Globe & Mail’s Kelly Cryderman.

We’ve assembled a panel of number nerds to dissect our CBC news poll which shows support for the UCP remains roughly the same as it did when the party was elected nearly a year ago. But the NDP is not far behind. Pollster Janet Brown breaks down the numbers along with the CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Duane Bratt of Mount Royal University.