The BC leaders' debate lands no knockout punches, Vancouver posts record early turnout, and the mayor's race comes down to two.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 342:

• The leaders' debate: David Eby, Lorne Doerkson and Emily Lowan, and why nobody landed the big hit.
• Lowan pitches herself as the balance of power, and George's Gordon Wilson lesson from 1991: why not run for premier?
• Ten years in power, so why are the new machines and hospitals only showing up now?
• Big promises, no costing: where would the Conservative cuts come from? George and Jody disagree on whether it matters.
• Governments lose elections, and why there are real savings to find in Victoria.
• Record early turnout in Vancouver, and why southeast Vancouver could decide it.
• Ken Sim versus Pete Fry, a possible 2018 rerun, and could ABC sweep all nine council seats?
• Free Kits Pool: open it when the flowers bloom, close it when the leaves fall, and find the park board candidates at freekitspool.com.
• Surrey, Richmond, West Vancouver, Delta and Langley Township: where the upsets could happen.
• Alberta votes October 19 on whether to start down the road to separation, and what that means for BC.
• A US president polling below George W. Bush, a White House leaning toward Russia, and the November 3 midterms.
• Is the American economy booming? Depends whether you own a business or sit at the kitchen table.

Municipal election day is Saturday, October 17. Provincial election day is October 24.

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The BC NDP comes up a candidate short, Lorne Doerkson keeps his cards close, and George calls a Conservative majority. Plus a dead heat for mayor.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 341:

• The NDP campaign: one candidate short after a paperwork error, and why the election call came from the top.
• New MRIs and CT scanners now. Where were they for the last ten years?
• Lorne Doerkson's likability, the Vassy Kapelos interview, and the leader or front man question.
• SOGI 123, the UBC bullying study, and why governments cut programs that work.
• The ridings in play: Yaletown, South Vancouver, Surrey and maybe Eby's own Vancouver-Point Grey.
• Dueling tax breaks, and cutting the paperwork that buries doctors.
• The predictions: Jody says NDP minority, George says massive Conservative majority.
• Inside the polling station: a two-sided ballot, the plebiscite, and the viral video that got it wrong.
• Vancouver mayor: a dead heat between Ken Sim and Pete Fry, and why Rebecca Bligh drifted left.
• Surrey: Janet Brown runs for council and the mayor's race is wide open.
• Trump tells a rally Iran could take out Los Angeles and San Diego, and George calls it treason.
• Anne Carson wins the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Canada gets a poet's answer.

Advance voting October 10 and 13. Municipal election day October 17. Provincial election day October 24.

Subscribe for weekly Vancouver, BC and national politics with zero spin.

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Carney and Smith green-light the Pacific Link pipeline, the BC Conservatives get election amnesia, and Vancouver's mayor race tightens as advance voting opens.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 340:

• Pacific Link: the first project of national importance under the Building Canada Act
• 1,250 km, shovels in the ground September 2027, and 100,000 short-term jobs
• Roberts Bank tankers, the north coast tanker ban, and orca protections
• Ethical oil for Korea and Japan, and why the Strait of Hormuz changes everything
• First Nations at the table, and the Alberta referendum behind the speed
• BC Conservatives: who leads after October 24, and why the party's infighting suddenly went quiet
• Why the Eby snap election question will not go away
• Vancouver mayor lightning round: Ken Sim, Pete Fry, Kareem Allam, Rebecca Bligh and Colleen Hardwick
• Safety is the number one issue, and the St. Paul's "prison downtown" debate
• Could we see a 2018 repeat, and will Vancouver elect its first woman mayor?
• Free Kits Pool and the park board race

Advance voting starts Saturday, October 3. Municipal election day October 17. Provincial election day October 24.

Subscribe for weekly Vancouver, BC and national politics with zero spin.

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

Follow George: @george_affleck

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David Eby calls a snap election on top of the municipal vote, Lorne Doerkson steps into the spotlight, and Vancouver heads into advance voting.

This week on Unspun with Jody Vance and George Affleck:

• Eby calls a snap election with a majority of one, and why it will be forgotten by tomorrow.
• Who is Lorne Doerkson? The interim BC Conservative leader, Cariboo fire fighter and former newspaper publisher.
• The question for Doerkson: the fringe corners of his party.
• "Anybody but Eby" and what we should have learned from the US.
• John Rustad out, Elenore Sturko leads CentreBC, Andrew Weaver joins, Richard Zussman runs for the NDP.
• Brenda Bailey, Ravi Kahlon and Lana Popham not running again.
• Eby courts US health care workers from red states, and the doctor shortage in the north.
• Three elections in three weeks: October 17, October 24 and the US midterms November 3.
• Vancouver: ABC's $2.1 million war chest, the safety plebiscite, and is it down to Sim and Fry.
• Surrey, Richmond and the ballot draw.
• Park board, pools and community amenities topping the polls for the first time.

Advance voting October 3, 7, 10 and 13. Municipal election day October 17. Provincial election day October 24.

Subscribe for weekly Vancouver, BC and national politics with zero spin.

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

Follow George: @george_affleck

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Mark Carney gets a VIP welcome in Europe, the US president calls the AI risk a hoax, and Vancouver voters get two plebiscite questions on the ballot.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 338:

• Carney at the EU summit, the Nobel chatter, and a White House threatening Europe over a Canada deal
• AI without guardrails, and why Kara Swisher puts it beside fire, electricity and the bomb
• Carl Sagan in 1985 calling all of this, and the reminder that we did heal the ozone layer
• Brampton's assembly plant, the Gibsons mill and 400 jobs, and when a bailout stops making sense
• $500 billion in commitments out of the Canada Summit, and data centres that come with strings attached
• Privatizing the major airports, the $200 million parking lot at YVR, and Canada Line versus Broadway
• Eby names a campaign manager and tells caucus to be ready
• Angus Reid: 51% of British Columbians feel politically orphaned
• Vancouver's two plebiscite questions, and what a yes vote actually does

Early voting October 3, 7, 10 and 13. Election day October 17.

Subscribe for weekly Vancouver, BC and national politics with zero spin.

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📬 Follow George: @george_affleck

📬 Follow Sitka: @sitkamedia

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Episode 337 of UnSpun with Jody Vance and George Affleck opens with counter-tariffs finally in effect and a US media campaign working to make Canada the villain. From there, it is Zelenskyy in Ottawa, a premier in a lumberjack jacket, and a Vancouver mayoral race with the filing deadline tomorrow.

Here is what is inside:

The Reciprocal Tariffs Are Live: Motorcycles, booze, paper products — but not oil and gas. Canada’s list is surgical. Theirs is willy-nilly. Do we counter-tariff the counter-tariffs?

Enough of the Minutiae. Get Back to Work: George’s view as a business owner: we know where we stand. Stop relitigating tariffs every day and let people run their companies.

Americans Are Asking What You Are Doing to Canada: Close to nine in ten do not want a trade war. So why is it still happening?

We Had a Deal and Canada Walked Away: Jamieson Greer is repeating that line on US cable. But everyone in the room signed an NDA, and reported 11th-hour demands involving Canada’s trade relationships and French language were non-starters.

Say It Often Enough and the Viewer Believes It: Jody on the messaging taking hold on American news. George on the rules inside Trump’s orbit.

Trumpapalooza in Dallas: JD Vance, RFK Jr., Dr. Oz and more, with Trump headlining Thursday. George’s warning: never underestimate him.

The FCC Comes After Jimmy Kimmel: Brendan Carr threatens the licence if Kimmel airs his James Talarico interview. Kimmel’s answer: put it on YouTube.

Vote for Me and Here Is $5,000: Trump’s midterm promise comes with an enormous price tag. George compares it to political cheque promises closer to home.

Zelenskyy Is in Canada: Jody and George discuss the parallels between how Washington is treating Canada and Moscow’s treatment of Ukraine — and why even unlikely threats have to be planned for.

A Trillion Dollars on the Table in Toronto: Investors are gathering and even Mr. Wonderful says Canada is a good place to invest.

The Mac Jacket Press Conference: A giant flag, “never the 51st state” and a rap. George’s take: voters want solutions, not comedy.

Cancel the Tax Instead: John Rustad points to the October 1 PST expansion to accountants, engineers and strata companies. George says cancelling it would offer real relief.

Vancouver: The Deadline Is Tomorrow: September 11 is when the mayoral field becomes official. With William Azaroff out and the left divided, polling suggests the split could return Ken Sim to City Hall.

Where the NDP Machine Puts Its Money: With Azaroff gone, where does union support go? George looks at the remaining options.

This Race Is About to Get Ugly: George expects ABC has spent the past year building a file on its opponents — and will use it when needed.

Rebecca Bligh Stays In: Polling around 3 or 4%, Bligh has launched her platform. George questions the political logic of staying in.

Pete Fry Wins Either Way: Win or lose, George argues Fry can emerge with a higher profile and potentially position himself for a future federal run.

The Bottleneck Nobody Is Pricing In: Little is being submitted or built. George warns that could mean fewer housing starts today and a price spike in four years.

Poilievre Tells US TV Canadians Are Wounded and Confused: George’s advice: rebuild the message and focus on winning the small battles in the House.

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

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Episode 336 of UnSpun with Jody Vance and George Affleck starts with a trade war that has turned juvenile and ends with a Vancouver mayoral race where the deadline to file is days away and nobody wants to blink first.

Here is what is inside:

Walk Away From the Table: Mark Carney ordered the negotiators home from Washington. George and Jody on how a deal written in pencil turned into renamed lakes, armed goose memes and an escalation neither of them saw coming.

68% of Americans Do Not Want This Fight: Americans agree on almost nothing, and they agree on this. Roughly nine in ten Canadians say stand up to the bully. Picking a fight with your best friend is not a winning play.

Assume Free Trade Is Done: George's working assumption: this is the long term, tariffs are the historical norm, and we should build everything around a pre-1990s model. If it turns out better than that, great.

Two Months to the Midterms: Texas closing 92 voting places while moving against mail-in ballots. Immigration enforcement at polling stations. Suppress the vote is the dirtiest phrase in politics, and George explains the turnout math that makes it work.

How Do You Lose Track of $1.5 Billion?: A gas royalty accounting error, a four-month delay, and a story that keeps changing. George's position is blunt: at any nonprofit in this province, the executive director and the board president would have been gone on day one.

Nine MLAs and Counting: The BC Conservatives are shedding members by the day while the leader's office says the caucus remains focused. George is watching for the number 20, when the math flips and a new party becomes possible.

The Seat That Opened Up: The allegation was that an MLA was offered a plum party job to give up their seat. It was denied, and then a seat opened up and the person who stepped aside became assistant chief of staff, then chief of staff. Third one in three weeks.

September 11 and a Game of Chicken: The Vancouver filing deadline is days away. COPE's Stephanie Allen stepped aside for the good of the city. Two hours later, everyone else said they are staying in. George reads it as a standoff, and thinks the NDP machine simply will not put its money behind a Green.

The Polls Are Not Measuring What You Think: Jody's catch: the summer polling asked by party name, not candidate name. A party with no declared mayoral candidate still registered. That is a manufactured progressive battle and a very useful wedge.

Do Your Homework on the Candidates: Jody watched the full Stephen Quinn and Justin McElroy debates on CBC and got to know the candidates past the six o'clock soundbite. The slick candidate wins when nobody looks closer.

Free Kits Pool: New designs, a mayor on side, and one simple ask for the Park Board: keep it open a month longer, no reservations, show up, pay, swim. The best days are the rainy days.

Subscribe, comment, and tell us: who should be resigning over the $1.5 billion, and will anybody blink before September 11?

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

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Here is what is inside of Episode 335 of UnSpun with Jody Vance and George Affleck:

The Trade Talks Blow Up: A week ago the US president was already selling it to his farmers. Then Carney picked up the phone and called everyone home. George and Jody on what actually happened and why nobody should be surprised.

Signed in Pencil: Trump tore up NAFTA, negotiated CUSMA himself, called it the greatest deal ever, then shredded it with the ink still on the page. So what exactly would a new signature be worth?

The Distraction Theory: Greenland, Venezuela, the Kennedy Center naming fight. Jody makes the case that the trade war is the shiny object keeping the news cycle off everything else.

Gavin Newsom Does the Canadian Media Tour: CTV, CBC, Global, the full rounds. Rosemary Barton presses him on the obvious: Biden never removed Trump's first round of tariffs, so why would a Democratic White House remove these? His answer is the part Canadians need to hear.

Tariffs Are the New Normal: George on why the US keeps reaching for tariff revenue. No appetite for income tax, no national sales tax, and a debt they cannot service. Free trade was the historical exception, not the rule.

What Was Actually on the Table: Reports that Ottawa would have had to clear future trade deals with a joint board, plus first right of refusal on our minerals and potash. Hell no, says Jody.

Turning Off the Taps: Winter is coming, the northeastern US runs on Ontario and Quebec power, and middle America needs our potash. Jody asks whether we would ever use it. George says weaponizing it would be a mistake.

Seafood Gets a Backtrack: Tariffs on fish and seafood pulled back the morning of taping. Somebody did the math, and on both coasts that math matters.

Grants, Loans and the 75% Wage Backstop: George worries subsidies blunt the very leverage the tariffs are meant to create. Jody's counter: the 75% wage coverage for a laid off Canadian worker does not exist south of the border, and that is the difference.

Loblaws Puts the Canada Signs Back: The backlash worked. Read your labels, buy local, and the elbows up thing is still on us.

The BC Conservatives Are Coming Apart: Down to 32 seats. Five MLAs gone in 12 days: Teresa Wat, Brennan Day, Rosalyn Bird, Peter Milobar and Ian Paton. Stated reasons: lost confidence in the leader's judgment, ethics and conduct.

George's Prediction: Watch for 20: At roughly 20 departures the math flips. That is when they have the numbers to either finish Kerry-Lynne Findlay or fund a new party, and she loses official opposition status and the money that comes with it. At two a week, he puts that as early as October.

The Leaked Audio: Jas Johal posts a phone call. Somebody talks about holding fundraisers, getting in there and pillaging, and not leaving without half a million dollars. Jody has watched it several times and it still curls her toes.

There Are Still Good People Running: George's counterweight to the cynicism: this Vancouver civic election has a deep bench on every side. And a reminder most voters never get, you do not have to fill out the whole ballot. Vote only for the people you actually believe in.

Helmcken, Yaletown and a Snap Election: The NDP walks back the overdose provention consumption site in a swing riding. George reads that as polling, and thinks Eby calls an election as early as November. If he were advising, he would say next week.

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

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