Tag: Alberta Politics Podcast

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Daveberta Podcast

Water Not Coal with Corb Lund

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As the Water Not Coal citizen initiative enters its final week, country music singer-songwriter and rancher Corb Lund joined the Daveberta Podcast to explain why it’s important for Albertans to sign the petition to block new coal mining projects, like Grassy Mountain, from opening in the Eastern Slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

The Water Not Coal campaign needs to submit more than 177,732 signatures to Elections Alberta in order to force the Alberta government to respond to the following statement through a vote by MLAs in the Legislature or a province-wide referendum:

“The Government of Alberta shall prohibit through legislation all coal exploration and mining activities within the Eastern Slopes of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, other than mines that are in actual production as of January 1, 2026. For clarity, this prohibition includes Northback Holdings’ Grassy Mountain Project and Valory Resources’ Blackstone Project as well as any projects to expand any producing mines.”

Ranchers, farmers, landowners, residents of communities downstream of the Eastern Slopes, and Albertans across the province are concerned about the impact of large industrial coal mines on the fresh water that flows from the Rocky Mountains.

Read more on the Daveberta Substack

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Daveberta Podcast

In Session: Danielle Smith charms rural leaders as secret Saudi side trip raises questions about loose ethics rules

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

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This is the third in a series of Daveberta Podcast episodes I’m calling Daveberta In Session. In these short episodes available to paid subscribers, I’ll sharing a few key things that I’m watching in Alberta politics this week and some other things that have caught my attention.

In today’s Daveberta Podcast episode, I discuss:

  • Premier Danielle Smith reluctantly admitted last week to taking jet flights and hotel stays from a Saudi Arabian prince that were not previously disclosed during her recent trip to the Middle East. The secret Saudi side trip is raising questions about loose ethics and disclosure rules.
  • Smith charmed rural municipal leaders at the recent Rural Municipalities of Alberta convention in Edmonton. A new report from a joint government working group acknowledges that unpaid property taxes from oil and gas companies are a sore spot for rural municipal governments and proposes solutions for the future, but not much hope that the already due back-taxes will ever get paid.
  • A new report from the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters highlights the importance of investing in transportation in rural communities in order to save lives and makes four recommendations.
  • The ongoing police investigation and expected Auditor General report into serious allegations of corruption and political interference involving hundreds of millions of dollars in medical supply procurement and private surgical contracts by the provincial government. MLAs will soon select a new Auditor General before Doug Wylie retires on April 28.
  • A few things I’ll be watching in Alberta politics in the week ahead, including the final report of the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission, Smith and energy minister Brian Jean’s trip to CERAWeek in Houston, Texas (federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson will be there too), and the federal NDP leadership vote next weekend.

I decided to test this podcast series during the spring session of the Alberta Legislature. I’m planning to do this for most weeks until the Assembly breaks for the summer — and then we’ll see where we go from there.

Thank you for subscribing and listening to this episode of the Daveberta Podcast. A sincere thank you to new paid subscribers, Selena, Megan, Sandeep, and Nate.

Share your feedback in the comments and if you enjoyed the podcast feel free to share it with a friend.

Listen to the entire episode

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

In Session: Jeromy Farkas pushes back against Danielle Smith’s provincial property tax hikes — compares it to equalization

Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas in December 2025 (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)
Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas in December 2025 (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

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The Daveberta Podcast is back In Session

You’ve probably noticed I haven’t recorded an episode of the Daveberta Podcast in a while — so if you were missing listening to it, please know that I was missing recording it.

Starting today and over the next few weeks I’m going to record a series of short episodes in which I will share a few key things that I’m watching in Alberta politics in the week ahead and some other things that have caught my attention.

I decided to test this podcast series — which I’m calling Daveberta In Session — during the spring session of the Alberta Legislature. I’m planning to do this for eight or nine weeks until mid May when the Assembly breaks for the summer months — and then we’ll see where we go from there.

In this week’s episode, I discuss:

  • Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas’ threat to hold a municipal referendum on provincial property tax increases that he compared to equalization.
  • NDP MLA Heather Sweet’s private members’ bill to improve whistleblower laws for health care workers.
  • the storm of misinformation and disinformation that is barrelling towards us as Albertans are faced with ten or eleven referendum questions on October 19, 2026.

Listen to this episode of the podcast on the Daveberta Substack.

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Alberta Politics

🎙️ Podcast: Unpacking Alberta’s political mystery

Medicine Lake in Jasper National Park (photo: Dave Cournoyer)
Medicine Lake in Jasper National Park (photo: Dave Cournoyer)

I’m Dave Cournoyer and this isn’t the Daveberta Podcast but it might be the next best thing.

A few weeks ago I joined my friend and former Daveberta Podcast co-host Ryan Hastman on his new podcast, the Alberta Edge, for a discussion about Alberta politics along with respected pollster Janet Brown.

I’m happy to share that episode of Alberta Edge with Daveberta subscribers today. Be sure to visit TheHub.ca and subscribe to Ryan’s podcasts.

Enjoy the show and thanks for listening.

Listen to the podcast episode on the Daveberta Substack

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Alberta Politics

Subscribe to the Daveberta Newsletter on Substack

Alberta's Legislature Building (photo licensed by University of Alberta Libraries under the Attribution - Non-Commercial - Creative Commons license)
Alberta's Legislature Building (photo licensed by University of Alberta Libraries under the Attribution - Non-Commercial - Creative Commons license)

For about 15 years I published a post almost daily on Daveberta.ca. A growing family and full-time day job meant that I had to scale back the quantity of content I was publishing but moving to a Substack newsletter has been a good change of pace.

I enjoy having a bit of time to write a weekly (and bi-weekly in the summer) column about Alberta politics and not feeling the pressure to publish new content every single day.

Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with me and joined the Daveberta readership since I launched Daveberta nearly 20 years ago.

I still publish links to my Substack newsletter on this site, but if you want them delivered directly to your email inbox you can sign up at Daveberta.Substack.com/Subscribe.

If you find my columns and podcasts about Alberta politics useful and interesting, please consider contributing $5/month for a monthly subscription or $50/year ($4.17/month) for an annual subscription. And if you’re feeling very generous, please consider becoming a Friend of Daveberta for $150/year (this includes some limited edition Daveberta swag).

Paid subscribers will have access to new episodes of the Daveberta Podcast and extras.

Thank you!

Dave

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Alberta Politics

Why Kathleen Ganley is running for the Alberta NDP leadership

Alberta NDP leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley (source: Kathleen Ganley / Facebook)
Alberta NDP leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley (source: Kathleen Ganley / Facebook)

Calgary NDP MLA Kathleen Ganley joins the Daveberta Podcast to share why she is running to replace Rachel Notley as leader of the Alberta NDP.

Subscribe to the Daveberta Substack to listen to the interview.

 

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

“We win by being more New Democrat, not less,” says NDP leadership candidate Gil McGowan

NDP leadership candidate Gil McGowan
NDP leadership candidate Gil McGowan

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Longtime labour leader joins the Daveberta Podcast to explain why he’s running for the Alberta NDP leadership

Labour leader Gil McGowan joins the Daveberta Podcast to share why he’s running to succeed Rachel Notley as leader of Alberta’s NDP.

The full interview with Gil McGowan is available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack

McGowan was first elected as President of the Alberta Federation of Labour in 2005 and is an outspoken advocate for working Albertans, especially when it comes to the impact of the incoming energy transition on the province’s workforce. He has been one of the most vocal critics of the United Conservative Party government’s plan to withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan.

The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart. This episode was recorded on April 30, 2024 in comfort of the fully-furnished bank vault-turned-podcast studio in the basement of the Homestead building in beautiful downtown Edmonton.

The full interview with Gil McGowan is available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack

New and recent episodes of the podcast are available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack. Sign up for an annual or monthly subscription to listen to the whole episode.

Extra! Paid subscribers can also read a federal nomination update accompanying today’s podcast about former Enoch Cree Nation Chief Billy Morin being acclaimed as the federal Conservative candidate in the new Edmonton Northwest riding.

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Alberta Politics

Danielle Smith’s Fundraising Machine

Premier Danielle Smith at the United Conservative Party's leader's dinner in Edmonton (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)
Premier Danielle Smith at the United Conservative Party's leader's dinner in Edmonton (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

A special weekend episode of the Daveberta Podcast

It’s rare that I send out a newsletter on the weekend but I thought subscribers would enjoy listening to a new episode of the Daveberta Podcast we recorded this week.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, including:

  • Premier Danielle Smith’s recent packed leader’s dinner fundraisers in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Bonnyville.
  • how the Alberta NDP leadership candidates are leaning into digital advertising on the Meta platform and what this might say about their campaigns.
  • how federal boundary changes are impacting the electoral map in south east Edmonton (I’m calling it the Mill Woods Shuffle) and former Progressive Conservative MLA Naresh Bhardwaj’s campaign for the Conservative nomination in the new Edmonton-Southeast riding (I’ve updated the list).
  • how electoral boundary commissions work in Alberta (one of my favourite topics).

The full episode of this Daveberta Podcast is available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack.

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

Why Naheed Nenshi is running for the Alberta NDP leadership

Naheed Nenshi speaks to supporters in Calgary on the day he launched his campaign (source: Naheed Nenshi / Facebook)
Naheed Nenshi speaks to supporters in Calgary on the day he launched his campaign (source: Naheed Nenshi / Facebook)

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Nenshi shares his thoughts on Rakhi Pancholi’s endorsement and what it means to be NDP in 2024

He’s a household name in Calgary, Alberta, and across Canada, and now he’s running to become the next leader of the Alberta NDP. Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi joins the Daveberta Podcast to share why he jumped into the race to replace Rachel Notley.

Since Nenshi entered the race on March 11, the NDP has seen the size of its membership double from around 16,000 to more than 30,000, a factor that likely played a big role in convincing rising political star Rakhi Pancholi to bow out of the race and endorse Nenshi.

“We must move forward to offer a positive alternative to the UCP that Albertans can enthusiastically support in the next election. And I believe that means uniting behind the next leader, Naheed Nenshi,” Pancholi said in her surprise endorsement of the now perceived frontrunner.

In this episode of the Daveberta Podcast, we sit down with Nenshi to discuss Pancholi’s endorsement, what it means to be an Alberta New Democrat in 2024, his time as mayor of Calgary, growing up in Red Deer, empathy in politics and much more.

The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart. This episode was recorded on March 26, 2024. The Daveberta Podcast was the 2020 winner in the Outstanding News & Current Affairs Series category in the Canadian Podcast Awards.

The full interview with Naheed Nenshi is available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack.

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Why Sarah Hoffman is running for the Alberta NDP leadership

Edmonton-Glenora MLA Sarah Hoffman launches her campaign for the Alberta NDP leadership (source: Sarah Hoffman / Facebook)
Edmonton-Glenora MLA Sarah Hoffman launches her campaign for the Alberta NDP leadership (source: Sarah Hoffman / Facebook)

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The former health minister shares her plans for health, climate, and housing

NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman joins the Daveberta Podcast to talk about why she is running for the Alberta NDP leadership and her plans for health care, climate, and housing.

We discuss Hoffman’s experiences as Minister of Health and chair of the Edmonton Public School Board, the NDP’s challenges in rural Alberta, the party’s focus on Calgary and it’s relationship with the federal NDP. We also chat a bit about the possibility of former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi entering the race to replace Rachel Notley.

The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart. This episode was recorded on March 1, 2024.

New and recent episodes of the podcast are available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack. Sign up for an annual or monthly subscription to listen to the entire episode.

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Daveberta Podcast

Ask Me Anything about Alberta politics episode

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You shared your Alberta politics questions and we answered them in our annual Ask Me Anything episode of the Daveberta Podcast.

New and recent episodes of the Daveberta Podcast are available to paid subscribers of the Daveberta Substack. In case you missed them, you can catch up on recent Daveberta Podcast episodes with Edmonton Public School Board chairperson Trisha Estabrooks, thewrit.ca publisher Éric Grenier, and strategist Chris Henderson.

The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart. This episode was recorded on July 12, 2023.

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

Episode 85: Naheed Nenshi on Calgary in Alberta’s 2023 election

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Former Calgary mayor shares his thoughts on Danielle Smith, Rachel Notley and the city he calls home ahead of Alberta’s provincial election.

Former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi joins the Daveberta Podcast to talk about provincial politics in Alberta’s largest city, the upcoming election, and The Last of Us and the city’s film industry.

Sign up for a monthly or annual paid subscription to the Daveberta Substack to get access to new episodes of the Daveberta Podcast and upcoming election extras.

The Daveberta Podcast is hosted by Dave Cournoyer and produced by Adam Rozenhart.

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Daveberta Podcast

Episode 84: The Daveberta Podcast is back! Now on the Daveberta Substack.

Dave Cournoyer and Adam Rozenhart are back with the Daveberta Podcast, now on the Daveberta Substack.
Dave Cournoyer and Adam Rozenhart are back with the Daveberta Podcast, now on the Daveberta Substack.

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The Daveberta Podcast is back after a brief 11-month semi-permanent hiatus! Enjoy the podcast and find future episodes exclusively at the podcast’s new home on the Daveberta Substack.

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Alberta Politics

The race for UCP leader on the Cross Border Politics Podcast

As the United Conservative Party leadership race begins to take shape, I joined Chris Brown on his Cross Border Interviews Podcast to talk about the race, the declared and prospective candidates, and what impact it will have on Alberta politics.

Cross Border Interviews with Chris Brown · Episode 393 – The Race For The UCP Leadership

It appears that the UCP will allow Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner to enter the leadership race, if she chooses, even though she has not had a current party membership for the full past six months as required (there is no doubt she is a committed Conservative partisan).

A similar request for an exemption by former Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman was denied.

Kenney’s caretaker cabinet shuffle

Outgoing Premier Jason Kenney announced a cabinet shuffle to fill in the spots left by ministers leaving to run in the race to replace him.

Changes to the caretaker cabinet, which will be in place until a new Premier takes office after the October 6 UCP leadership vote, include:

  • Minister of Environment and Parks and Acting President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Jason Nixon becomes President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance.
  • Associate Minister of Status of Women Whitney Issik becomes Minister of Environment and Parks.
  • Calgary-South East MLA Matt Jones becomes Minister of Children’s Services.
  • Minister of Infrastructure Prasad Panda becomes Minister of Transportation.
  • Calgary-Currie MLA Nicholas Milliken becomes Minister of Infrastructure.
  • Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong Homeniuk becomes the Associate Minister of Status of Women.
  • Deputy Government Whip Brad Rutherford becomes Chief Government Whip and Minister without Portfolio.

Unsurprisingly, everyone on the list is considered a loyalist, and a few, notably Issik, Milliken, and Rutherford, are considered vulnerable to strong NDP challenges in the next election.

Issik, Jones and Armstrong Homeniuk have publicly endorsed former finance minister Travis Toews for the UCP leadership, who is widely considered the establishment favourite in the race.

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Alberta Politics Daveberta Podcast

Episode 83: Take care, stay safe, be kind, and see you next time.

Daveberta Podcast Alberta Politics

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We got the band back together for the final episode of the Daveberta Podcast. That’s right, folks. We are going on a semi-permanent hiatus. And to help mark this announcement, our good friend Ryan Hastman joined Dave Cournoyer and Adam Rozenhart for a trip down memory lane, reminiscing and reflecting on Alberta politics since we launched the Daveberta Podcast in 2017.

Barry Morishita

In our second segment, we were thrilled to welcome Alberta Party leader Barry Morishita as our guest on this episode to talk about his time as Mayor of Brooks and President of the AUMA, and why he decided to make the jump into provincial politics (he also confirmed his plans to run in the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding in the next election).

You can listen to and find archived episodes of the Daveberta Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you find podcasts online.

Thank you to our friends at the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally grown. Community supported, for their support over the years. Make sure to check out their growing roster of great made-in-Alberta podcasts.

We’d like to send a big heartfelt thank you to everyone who has listened, subscribed to, supported, and joined us as a guest on the podcast over the years. It has been a lot of fun for us, and even more fun that many of you joined us on this ride (and a special thanks to our friend Mountain Ted for your always insightful and interesting questions).

Daveberta Podcast - Ryan Hastman Adam Rozenhart Dave Cournoyer
The OG Daveberta Podcast crew. Ryan Hastman, Adam Rozenhart and Dave Cournoyer (Jan. 2018)

We are signing off for now, but we are still around and might pop up again with some new special episodes when next year’s provincial election is called. Stay tuned.

And, of course, Dave will continue to write about Alberta politics and obscure Alberta political history at Daveberta.ca.

Take care, stay safe, be kind, and see you next time.

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