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 contracts and procurement. His calls for a public inquiry into the matter led to his expulsion from the UCP caucus.

Since then, Guthrie has become a sharp critic of the Smith government and has been organizing to present Albertans with a more moderate - and federalist - conservative option. Efforts to revive the Alberta PC Party have been met with lawsuit threats from the UCP and ultimately legislative roadblocks in the form of Bill 14.

In this episode, we discuss Guthrie's own political journey and what future holds for the Alberta Party and its possible rebranding. We'll also discuss the referendum question whether the UCP has been co-opted by the separatist movement, and what it all means for the possibility of an early election in 2026.

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) on a new pipeline deal and to express support for the First Nations on the BC coast who have spoken out against the proposal.

Stephen Buffalo, though, maintains that the AFN resolution was pushed through without meaningful debate and that the process excluded the Indigenous voices that support energy development and see the benefit in partnerships and ownership stakes in such projects. The Indian Resource Council, for example, represents more than 150 First Nations.

We'll get Buffalo's perspective on how the conversation about First Nations and energy developments needs more balance and how much progress has been made with government and industry on moving projects forward with Indigenous involvement and partnership. He believes that there is tremendous opportunity for communities to generate wealth and employment opportunities and that these First Nations can also help be guardians when it comes to ensuring environmental protections.

Certainly the issue of Indigenous consultation and participation will be front and centre as this MOU and the pipeline project move forward. We'll find out what a successful path forward might look like.

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 with Robert (RJ) Johnston, director of energy and natural resources at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. We’ll get his thoughts on the significance of the Alberta-Ottawa MOU and the potential impact of the policy concessions made by both sides. We’ll also look at what still needs to happen to make a new west coast pipeline a reality, including the question of who, exactly, will build and own this project.

We’ll also be joined in this episode by Dr. Brian Day, founder of the Cambie Surgical Centre, an award-winning surgeon, a former president of the Canadian Medical Association, and author of the new book “My Fight for Canadian Healthcare: A Thirty-Year Battle to Put Patients First.” We’ll get his reaction and analysis of Alberta’s proposed healthcare changes, and whether he believes this represents the sort of health reform that our system needs.