Josh Bizjak, Douglas Caldwell Layton Foundation executive director, talks with Left East to West about his organization’s movement-building work, the varying themes and challenges in different regions of the country -- and trying to build a national story from them.

A major effort of the DCLF is their series of annual speaker and social events in eight cities across the country. Their region-focused events bring together the broad social democratic movements to reflect on the way forward. Josh discusses the art of pulling together Canada's varied regional social democratic movements into a united Canadian vision.

PLUS: Nikki gives some insight on how BC’s new gig economy laws and some solid union organizing work could set new labour standards across Canada. Tom explores how the tipping point strategy, which degrades government support on core issues over time, has made the Doug Ford PC government vulnerable.

Support the show

Dave McGrane, University of Saskatchewan political studies professor and “Social Democrats of the North” podcast host, tells the history of Canada’s social democratic impulses, and the movements and people that have advanced them.

Through Canada’s labour and farm movements, Dave tracks the women and men who fought to take power from old extractive elites and democratized and modernized the Canadian economy.

Support the show

Siobhan Vipond, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, joins Left East to West ahead of the labour federation's policy convention, which opens on May 11 in Winnipeg.

Siobhan talks about the shifting demands in representing workers as Canadians took hits from the pandemic recession and inflation -- and now Trump 2.0. With an economic attack from outside and 1.5 million jobless workers inside Canada, Siobhan talks about the renewed focus on job creation within unions, and how it can help defeat the far-right. She gives some insights on the emerging discussion about how sectoral bargaining can be developed to bring the protection of union membership to more workers.

PLUS: Nikki updates us on the BC Conservative leadership race. And Tom wonders if social democracy -- in Canada, anyway -- has a new populist focus on our experience as consumers.

Support the show

Jen Pedersen, foreign policy expert and advisor, took her passion for international politics through a PhD, publishing analyses on regional conflicts included Yemen and Liberia, becoming a Broadbent Institute Fellow, and into advising the Federal NDP on foreign affairs.

Jen talks with Nikki and Tom about the implications for Canadians in Trump shifting the global power system farther from multilaterialism and rules and more toward great power dominance and instability. A key implication has been the wave of global inflation triggered by Trump's Iran War at a time when Canadians are already feeling prices have increased too much, too fast.

Jen discusses possibly reasons why Carney and Poilievre backed the Iran War despite the pocketbook costs to Canadians and how that endorsement squares with Carney's words in Davos. She also helps with some thinking about how Canada could work with other progressive movements and governments in The Americans to counter-act Trump's shift to unilaterialism and his use of it to spread instability.

Nikki updates us on two new modern treaties in BC even as controversy over the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples continues, and Tom focuses on a nine-month lockout in Windsor that has worrying consequences for other workers.

Support the show

Claudia Chender, Nova Scotia NDP leader, joins to talk about the PCs government's budget-backdown, rising electricity and housing costs and Premier Tim Houston's mistake of attacking support to the culture of small town and rural Nova Scotia.

Nikki delves into what Canadian municipalities are doing around maternity and parental leave for city councillors and Tom digs into first quarter fundraising results in Ontario, which suggest the Ontario Liberals' polling levels may be a halo from the Carney Liberals rather than a reflection of their own momentum.

Nikki gives a big heave to the bigoted far-right attacks on the professional and precise chairperson for the recent Federal NDP convention, and Tom gives some love to those trying to find ways to make food affordable again.

Support the show

From the Winnipeg convention centre, Nikki and Tom dig into details about the Federal NDP convention and Avi Lewis' win to become party leader.

Then, Nikki and Tom are joined by our NDP comm pro panel to talk about the challenges that lay ahead for Avi as he works to rebuild the federal NDP. Our comms pro panel is:

- Melanie RIcher, former communications director for Jagmeet Singh
- Farouk Karim, former communications director for Tom Mulcair and the Guy Caron leadership campaign, and
- Leah Ward, former communications director of Rachel Notley

Support the show

Heather McPherson, candidate for leader of Canada's NDP and Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona, takes a break from her campaign to join Left East to West from Edmonton, Alberta:

- how the NDP can escape polarization and the strategic voting trap
- being a partner for provincial NDP leaders trying to defeat conservatives
- deepening the relationship with labour
- organizing stronger riding associations
- a communications focus the movement can get behind and push on

Support the show

Rob Ashton, candidate for the leader of Canada's NDP and President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union of Canada takes a break from his campaign to join Left East to West from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan:

- how the NDP can escape polarization and the strategic voting trap
- being a partner for provincial NDP leaders trying to defeat conservatives
- deepening the relationship with labour
- organizing stronger riding associations
- a communications focus the movement can get behind and push on

Support the show