The Carney government says a West Coast pipeline — now called Pacific Link — is a key nation-building project and essential to the country’s economic future. It's a hard-won victory for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. But what’s in it for the rest of Canada? Are they buying what Mark Carney is selling?

West of Centre host Kathleen Petty hears from residents in the heart of oil country — Fort McMurray — who want to avoid boom-time growing pains. Plus, energy industry experts Emma Graney and Gitane De Silva on the tricky negotiations for a permit. There’s a lot to get through before shovels can go into the ground, including Indigenous consultations, route mapping, ecological surveys, cost estimates and workforce planning.

Background listening:

Here’s a link to a previous episode where we talk to a citizen’s panel and industry insiders on the prospect of a West Coast pipeline.

https://link.mgln.ai/energy

• Host: Kathleen Petty
• Guests: Kyle Bakx, Emma Graney, Gitane De Silva
• Producers: Emily Senger, Emily Williams, Diane Yanko, Josh Pagé

New polling shows AI data centres in Alberta are a political problem for the UCP government. We hear from voters in the heart of conservative country who are saying “no” to these mega-projects near their farmland. As Technology Minister Nate Glubish tries to sell Albertans on the strategy to woo tech giants – including Meta – at a series of hostile town halls, many voters aren’t buying into the plan.

Host Kathleen Petty is joined by political watchers Jason Markusoff and Trevor Harrison, who dive into new data from Janet Brown Opinion Research that shows only seven per cent of voters in Alberta strongly support data centre projects. These numbers come as support for the UCP is slipping and Naheed Nenshi’s NDP are riding higher than ever. West of Centre dives into how the UCP can manage this shifting public opinion, just weeks out from the Alberta referendum.

• Host: Kathleen Petty
• Guests: Jason Markusoff, Trevor Harrison
• Producers: Emily Senger, Emily Williams, Diane Yanko, Josh Pagé

It’s crunch time to sway conservative voters ahead of Alberta’s referendum. But are federalist leaders doing enough? So far, separatists have reported raising nearly three times as much money as federalists and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pushed the unity file to another Alberta MP. Host Kathleen Petty and former Conservative MP Damien Kurek look at what needs to happen in the final weeks and what’s at stake if federalist get-out-the vote efforts fall flat.

Plus, journalists Alex Boyd and Matthew Scace on why separatists seem to be more organized when it comes to fundraising, online dialogue and big public events — and, how getting out the vote could matter more than any of that. And will a new ad campaign championed by Premier Danielle Smith do anything to sway voters ahead of the referendum?

• Host: Kathleen Petty
• Guests: Damien Kurek, Alex Boyd and Matthew Scace
• Producers: Emily Senger, Emily Williams, Diane Yanko, Josh Pagé