Andrew Weaver is a climate scientist, former leader of the BC Green Party, and one of Canada’s most prominent voices on climate policy.

Widely reported to have endorsed John Rustad and the BC Conservatives’ climate plan during the last provincial election, Weaver begins by pushing back on that framing, using it as a starting point to discuss what it means to engage across political lines in an increasingly polarized environment.

We explore his path from science into politics, his time holding the balance of power in British Columbia, and the challenges of translating technical expertise into public policy.

Weaver argues that climate change is real and serious, but that framing it as an emergency can sometimes undermine practical solutions. He outlines his support for approaches like carbon capture and decarbonized oil, and reflects on why some of his strongest opposition has come from activist groups rather than industry.

Running through the conversation is a broader concern about the breakdown of public discourse, and the growing difficulty of having honest, good-faith conversations across political and ideological divides.

Andrew Weaver is a climate scientist and professor in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Victoria. He previously held the Canada Research Chair in Climate Modelling and Analysis, served as a lead author on multiple United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific assessments, and has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers. He was elected MLA for Oak Bay–Gordon Head in 2013, later led the BC Green Party, and served in the Legislature until 2020. He is also the author of two books: Keeping Our Cool and Generation Us, and continues to write on climate solutions and public policy through his website.

Recorded March 18, 2026

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Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Nick Osmond-Jones is a former investigator with the Office of the Ombudsman in British Columbia. Before entering government, he spent a decade working in Alberta’s oil and gas industry, eventually returning to school to pursue a career in public service aligned with his values.

What happens when someone inside a public institution begins to feel that the norms they once trusted are changing? And what are the consequences of pushing back in an environment where dissent is not easily tolerated?

Nick describes a gradual shift during his time in government. What began as a shared commitment to neutrality and political impartiality gave way, over time, to a more moralized and ideological culture.

After obtaining materials from one such workshop and sharing them with a journalist, a decision that would eventually be traced back to him, he found himself under investigation and, soon after, leaving his position altogether.

In the second half of the conversation, we widen the lens to questions of neutrality, institutional culture, and the difficulty of sustaining open dialogue in an increasingly polarized environment.

Nick has since rebuilt his life outside of government as an arborist, and continues to share his thoughts publicly.

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Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.

Eric Kaufmann is a political scientist and professor at the University of Buckingham, and one of the few academics who has tried to define what people mean when they talk about “woke” as an ideology, rather than just a term of criticism.

Much of the current discussion around these ideas is confused or imprecise. In this conversation, we slow things down and start at the beginning. What is “woke”? Is it a coherent worldview, or something more diffuse? How does it differ from older traditions on the left, and how much influence does it have in Canadian institutions and public life?

Kaufmann suggests that what we are seeing is less a traditional political ideology and more a moral or cultural movement, one that defines certain ideas as sacred, establishes strong taboos, and increasingly shapes the norms of public life.

What makes his perspective distinct is that he does not frame this as a top-down political project, but as something that has developed more organically, with real moral motivations behind it, even as it creates tension and conflict.

This is a conversation about definitions, assumptions, and trying to think more clearly about a set of ideas that are often talked about, but not always carefully examined.

Professor Kaufmann is the author of several books on these topics, including Taboo and The Third Awokening.

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Opening Song: Aria 51 by MicroBongo Soundsystem, used with permission.