Alberta Advantage Podcast

Support this podcast! Rachel Notley led the Alberta NDP to their second major electoral defeat in Alberta's latest general election. What does this election say about Albertans and our political culture? How might we make basic social democratic values popular? How should we organize as we anticipate Premier Danielle Smith? And what's next for the Alberta NDP? 

Support this podcast! What link is there between pushing Indigenous people off land, into reserves, into residential schools, and into forced treatment? How are conversations about "public safety" and policing being mobilized to harm vulnerable people? How has the politicization of the opioid epidemic obscured what's needed to address increasing drug poisoning deaths? Harm reduction advocate Euan Thomson joins Team Advantage to discuss the realities of Alberta's drug poisoning crisis. Follow Euan @elsthomson and subscribe to his Drug Data Decoded newsletter. Listen to our 2020 episode on this topic with Garth Mullins and Jeremy Appel. Mentioned in this episode is Dustin Godfrey's video essay "Is Vancouver Dying? A definitely non-exhaustive review." Also mentioned is a recent B.C. Federation of Labour resolution to lobby the B.C. government for safe supply.

Culture wars, long-term injury, workplace violence, sexual assaults, nationalistic militarism, and the appropriation of working-class aesthetics... is it possible to like hockey from the left? Can sport unite the working class? Is hockey a serious game for serious men, or a silly game for silly people? Cass Kislenko, Tyler Shipley and Doug Nesbitt join Team Advantage to discuss Canada's game. Doug mentions the short film Valery's Ankle by Brett Kashmere. Tyler refers to the 2016 film Hello Destroyer. Follow Cass Kislenko @redkislenko Follow Tyler Shipley @le_shipster Definitely don't follow Doug Nesbitt because he's not @standingthegaff

A group known as Take Back Alberta appears to have seized control over sizable parts of the United Conservative Party and secured the leadership of Danielle Smith. What is this group? What motivates them, and who are their key figures? PressProgress writer Stephen Magusiak joins Team Advantage to discuss his recent piece, Who Is ‘Take Back Alberta' and What Do They Really Want? Follow Stephen at @magusiak, PressProgress at @PressProgress, and sign up for the ShiftWork newsletter. Further reading: Take Back Alberta movement is gaining ground in the UCP, and some in the party are worried - Carrie Tait, Globe & Mai

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter! The Bank of Canada is explicitly trying to increase unemployment by raising the cost of borrowing money. Is excessive employment the cause of inflation, and if not, what are the consequences of this policy likely to be? Economist Jim Stanford joins Team Advantage to talk about profiteering, the housing market, and the potential for a recession within the next year. Follow Jim Stanford on twitter @JimboStanford, and check out Economics for Everyone at economicsforeveryone.ca.

Building a Community Movement for Better Transit feat. James Wilt: Saturday, March 18th | University of Alberta. RSVP: michaeljanz.ca/transitcamp2023 A few short years into Alberta PC Premier Ralph Klein's deficit-slashing austerity regime, Calgary's hospital laundry workers were given devastating news: they were going to be fired. Having been pushed to the brink, they took to the streets the next day on a wildcat strike. Soon, the city would be galvanized by the strike, with sympathy strikes soon forcing Klein's government to cancel health spending cuts and talk of a general strike in the air.    Our episode ends with an excerpt from Yvette Lynch, laundry worker and CUPE 8 member.    Listen to our previous episode on TORIES: Peter Lougheed, and check out our two-part series on why Ralph Klein sucked: Part 1, Part 2.   Further Reading: Chambers, Allan. Fighting Back: The 1995 Calgary Laundry Workers Strike. Edmonton: Alberta Federation of Labour and Alberta Labour History Institute, 2012.. Foster, Jason. “Revolution, Retrenchment, and the New Normal: The 1990s and Beyond.” In Working People in Alberta: A History, edited by Alvin Finkel, 205–241. Edmonton: AU Press, 2012. Reshef, Yonaton, and Sandra Rastin. Unions in the Time of Revolution: Government Restructuring in Alberta and Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003. Taylor, Jeff. “Labour in the Klein Revolution.” In The Trojan Horse: Alberta and the Future of Canada, edited by Gordon Laxer and Trevor Harrison, 301–313. Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1995.

Alberta, under the incredible leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, has declared sovereignty — or rather, proclaimed itself "sovereign within a united Canada," whatever that means. What even is sovereignty? How might it to relate to Indigenous sovereignty? Who even wants this?

You see, the woke establishment wants to control what media Albertans see, what vaccines we take, the resources we develop — and even what we are allowed to grow and eat. Independent journalist Jeremy Appel joins Team Advantage to explore Danielle Smith Thought. Follow Jeremy @JeremyAppel1025 and subscribe to his newsletter, The Orchard, at theorchard.substack.com. Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter!

In the 1980s and 1990s, free trade and economic integration were intensely debated topics and the subject of debate in national elections, and generally opposed by the political left. Most recently, right-populist political formations — like Trump and Brexit — have resurfaced the issue of free trade, critiquing it for their own purposes. Why is it that nobody except the political right wants to talk about free trade anymore, especially when our countries have strategic decisions on the horizon— like resourcing pandemic responses and mitigating climate change?

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter! What explains the drastic differences between labour unions in Canada and the United States? Why is U.S. union density roughly one-third that of Canada's, despite the similarities both share? How have different political and legal regimes in the respective countries shaped labour's efforts? Team Advantage explores all this and more in this hour-long discussion. When you're done, watch the NFB's Final Offer.

What's inflation and why does it happen? If labour costs go up 1% but consumer prices go up 4.8%, who's pocketing that difference? Why do the CEOs of big corporate banks seem to care so much about inflation? Team Advantage explores the hottest economic phenomenon of 2022.

What's better than a newsletter? A weekly national roundup of labour news, that's what. Reporter Emily Leedham joins Team Advantage to discuss Shift Work, a curated newsletter summarizing strikes, lockouts, and new organizing initiatives— all while engaging the next generation of workers and organizers. Follow Emily on Twitter @Emily_Leedham_ and click here to sign up for Shift Work.

The first faculty strike in Alberta's history has begun, with members of the Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association braving frigid temperatures and taking to the picket line on January 4th. Why is the Concordia University of Edmonton purchasing mansions when their faculty are amongst the lowest paid in the sector? Glynis Price of the Concordia university of Edmonton Faculty Association joins Team Advantage to discuss the strike and the future of post-secondary education in Alberta. Follow @CUEfacultyassoc @CUEFAVoice and @SSCUEFA for information and updates, visit the faculty association website at cuefa.ca, and tell Concordia's President to put students and faculty before profits.

What happens when sensible social democrats pick up the pieces after a terrible, no-good conservative government ruins the province? Team Advantage examines the reign of Saskatchewan NDP Premier Roy Romanow from 1991-2001, who oversaw the closure of rural hospitals and fostered the skills of a young Janice McKinnon as his Finance Minister. What does the all-party austerity consensus look like when it's orange? Featuring special guest Doug Nesbitt, whose work can be found at rankandfile.ca and on twitter at @StandingTheGaff.

Support this podcast! Watch our livestream! Sign up for our newsletter! What is the history of Canada's second-oldest political party, and how does it inform their politics today? In this in-depth examination of the Communist Party of Canada, Team Advantage serves up a broad historical overview of the Party's history, and considers what role the CPC could play in the struggle for socialism today. Follow our guest Doug Nesbitt at @StandingTheGaff and at rankandfile.ca.

Support this podcast What happened to the CCF in the post-war period? The 1940s saw the CCF soar in popularity, with the party forming official opposition in Ontario in 1943, and public opinion polls showing nationalizing industries to be widely popular among the Canadian population. How did the popularity of the CCF's positions get diffused, managed, or attacked in the years following the Second World War?

What happens when a symbol of prosperity becomes one of decay? There are thousands of idle oil and gas wells stranded throughout the Canadian west, orphaned by companies that went bankrupt and refused to clean them up. These orphan wells are a symptom of an industry in crisis, with the financial and ecological burden being unfairly placed upon the public. Filmmaker Gillian McKercher joins Team Advantage to discuss her new documentary film, Orphaned. Watch Orphaned on CBC GEM, and follow Gillian on Twitter @GMcKercher and further news about the film @KinoSumProd. Learn more about Gillian at gillianmckercher.com, and more about Kino Sum Productions at kinosum.com.

Support this podcast What is ideology? How does it function? Is it something that affects only our opponents— because they're blinded by ideology, forced into believing a cult-like worldview? Could it be that ideology is also present among experts and people who consider themselves "objective," free-thinking individuals? Join Team Advantage as we explore ideology in theory, history, and practice. For more examples of ideology critique, you might enjoy our previous episodes: Oil Propaganda Breakdown: Enough Is Enough, and The $30M Ad They Don't Want You to See: War Room Holiday Special.

Support this podcast What have you done to help The Economy today? We live in a world where growing The Economy seems to be everyone's primary concern— nurturing it, jump-starting it, stimulating it. What is this notion of The Economy anyways, and where does it come from? Team Advantage delves into the history of economic thought and explores what's hidden or obscured when we refer uncritically to this concept.

Elizabeth Rowley, leader of the Communist Party of Canada, joins Team Advantage in a busy community hall in Calgary. What does the Communist Party propose in its program this election, particularly in terms of a response to the pandemic and growing inequality? Learn more about the CPC by contacting them at info[at]cpc-pcc.ca, 416-469-2446, and communist-party.ca

Support this podcast Team Advantage convenes to discuss a few pressing matters— like the pandemic, forest fire smoke, climate change, mass graves of Indigenous children, refugees, and billionaires in space. Given how these crises are being handled, what can we expect from the future? Cover art of the "This Is Fine Dog" stolen with gratitude from KC Green.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has decided that Alberta should hold a Senate election— and Progress Alberta's Executive Director, Duncan Kinney, has answered the call. Duncan joins Team Advantage to discuss the rich history of Senatorial activism, declares his support for Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism, and weighs in on the important issues facing Canada's chamber of sober second thought. Follow Duncan @duncankinney and support his campaign at kinney4senate.ca

Support this podcast Peter Lougheed is often fondly remembered as Alberta's "good" Premier across the political spectrum. But what was so great about Alberta's first Progressive Conservative Premier, who kicked off 44 years of uninterrupted rule? Team Advantage digs into Peter Lougheed's fabled economic development and planning, his treatment of Alberta's workers, and the role of the 1970s oil-price spikes in mythologizing his reign. Want to learn more? Listen to Part One and Part Two of our episodes on Social Credit, our episode on the National Energy Program, and our episode comparing Grant Notley and Rachel Notley, Notley vs Notley.

Support this podcast Filmmaker, climate activist, educator, and federal NDP candidate Avi Lewis joins Team Advantage to discuss his leap into electoral politics. Was the reaction to his work at the 2016 federal convention what made him decide to toss his hat in the ring? How does he expect to maintain his integrity and his outspoken voice within this new setting? Why does Canada seem to be missing the left-populist moment? And what does he think of his family's legacy within the NDP? Follow Avi on twitter @avilewis and learn more about his campaign at avilewis.ca.

Support this podcast For ten days every summer, Calgary's corporate office workers dress up like cowboys and enjoy a western-themed festival of settler colonialism. What work is the Stampede doing when it draws on the myth of the frontier— especially today, when it is largely funded by fossil fuel companies? Kimberley Williams, author of Stampede: Misogyny, White Supremacy and Settler Colonialism, joins Team Advantage to discuss the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Find the book in Calgary at Shelf Life Books, and online through the publisher at fernwoodpublishing.ca.

Support this podcast Did you know that the Canadian state once funded the National Action Committee on the Status of Women Canada, funding salaries and projects that allowed for shelters, child-care and daycare centres, women's drop-in centres, bookstores, and crisis lines? Writer and activist Nora Loreto joins Team Advantage to discuss her book, Take Back the Fight: Organizing Feminism for the Digital Age. What happened to the feminist movement over the course of the neoliberal turn, and what opportunities and pitfalls does the modern digital landscape offer feminist and social-movement struggles? Follow Nora on twitter @NoLore, visit her website at noraloreto.ca, and purchase her book at fernwoodpublishing.ca. Check out the Sandy and Nora podcast at sandyandnora.com.

Guest host and seasoned newsletter-writer Clinton Hallahan sits down with writer, director, filmmaker, prankster, organizer and comedian Sean Devlin. In addition to joining The Yes Men in their exploits and storming the stage to frighten Stephen Harper, Sean Devlin is a seasoned stand-up comic, and his debut comedy album, Airports, Animals, is out July 9, 2021. Check out this interview to explore the burning question on everyone's mind: who is Sean Devlin's favourite racist? Check out Airports, Animals at arts-crafts.ca. Sean's work is also available through seandevlin.website and seandevlin.bandcamp.com.

Support this podcast The coal-mining town of Blairmore, Alberta elected a slate of Mine Workers' Union nominees to town council in 1933— resulting in Canada's first communist town council. With Mayor Bill Knight at the council's helm, they would proceed to implement a range of substantive measures. They gathered fame for abolishing Remembrance Day and replacing it with October Revolution Day, naming the park after Karl Marx, and renaming main street "Tim Buck Boulevard" (after the Communist Party's leader). On the centenary year of the Communist Party of Canada, Team Advantage explores this rare instance of "red municipalism" in Canada.

Support this podcast What can be gleaned from a lifetime on the Canadian left? Economist, policy advisor an author Andrew Jackson joins guest-host Aaron Giovannone to discuss Andrew's new book, The Fire and the Ashes: Rekindling Democratic Socialism. What fires might be taken from the altars of the past? How has the NDP changed since the 1960s? What was it like to face the neoliberal turn in British Columbia? What role did policy research historically play within the NDP? What should the role of the labour movement be today? Check out Andrew Jackson's book directly from the publisher, Between the Lines. Check out Aaron Giovannone's podcast, Sweater Weather, at sweaterweatherpod.com.

Support this podcast The COVID-19 pandemic has resurfaced a long-forgotten feature of economic planning: industrial policy. What should our economy look like? What infrastructures should we build? What technologies should we develop? And who should benefit from it all? Journalist and author Leigh Phillips joins Team Advantage to discuss why industrial policy is the sexiest topic on the left today, examining important aspects of technological advancement, Canadian regionalism and economic development.

Support this podcast The Alberta Federation of Labour held its 52nd Constitutional Convention over May 13-15 2021. In a somewhat rare development, two candidates vied for the Presidency of the AFL: challenger Susan Cake, and incumbent Gil McGowan. Cole Rockarts, union organizer and writer for rankandfile.ca, joins Team Advantage to discuss what happened at convention, and how Alberta's labour movement is organizing in response to Jason Kenney's UCP government. Follow Cole on Twitter @colerockarts.

Support this podcast This last year of the pandemic has been awful— and our governments made things worse. Team Advantage convenes to list the ways in which workers have been taken for a ride. Featuring hits you know and love, like "essential workers," "hero pay," "government communications," COVID-ZERO, public trust, corporate subsidies, "sick days," and thinking about strategies we can take to change our world for the better.

Support this podcast Have you ever considered using nuclear explosions for fun and profit? Team Advantage explores a strange collision of two worlds: the children's movie Bigfoot Family, which recently roused the ire of Jason Kenney's War Room, and a 1950's plot to use nuclear explosions to mine Alberta's oil sands. Project Cauldron, later renamed Project Oilsand was a real, genuine plan to nuke Alberta's oilsands that almost happened.

What went into starting the CCF— the precursor to today's NDP? What was the working-class and socialist response to the deep depression and government inaction of the 1930s? How did prior struggles and experiences contribute to the formation of this new party, and how did they envision changing the world? Nashwa Khan of Habibti Please joins Team Advantage to discuss this fascinating historical moment. Follow Nashwa and HP @habibtiblease.

Support this podcast We live in a sexist, patriarchal, and capitalist society— but is the solution to these problems simply to diversify the administration of sexist, patriarchal capitalism? Will more women in corporate leadership help abolish gendered oppression? Team Advantage convenes to discuss the growth of corporate feminism, explore its weaknesses, and consider how socialist feminism might present a more tenable solution. Visit albertaadvantagepod.com for suggested readings!

Support this podcast The global rat population features a strange Alberta-shaped rat-free zone. What's behind Alberta's rat-free jurisdiction? What economic and political forces shaped this policy, and how does Alberta's rat-free status contribute to its self-image as uniquely different from other regions of Canada? What are the consequences of this kind of ecosystem management, and who stands to benefit from it?  

Support this podcast As oil and gas producers practically beg, plead, and bribe the Canadian government into building and planning pipelines and developing a national energy strategy, Team Advantage asks: whatever happened to the National Energy Program? Yes, that NEP: conceived of by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the bane of Alberta's oil industry, that endless source of western alienation, the biggest power grab in history— what was it really about? Journalist Taylor C. Noakes joins Team Advantage to discuss the genesis and legacy of the NEP, while pondering the state of the fossil fuel industry today. Could it be that some sort of economic planning could have resolved the problems we encounter today? Follow Taylor @TaylorNoakes and read his CBC piece, It's time to reconsider the NEP.

Support this podcast Team Advantage convenes to discuss Universal Basic Income. Why is it, and why has it gained such popularity over the last few years? What's so appealing about the proposal, and how does this appeal relate to left-wing politics and strategy more generally? What might be the benefits and drawbacks of such a program? What kind of social and political forces would be needed to mobilize for a program of this kind? Further reading: Dan Darrah in Canadian Dimension Paris Marx in Tribune Daniel Zamora in Jacobin The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries by Kathi Weeks Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams

Kate was recently on Victor's Children, a podcast hosted by David Camfield, to discuss class struggle in the past, present and future. Kate was joined on the panel by John Clarke, a writer and retired organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). Subscribe to Victor's Children here: https://pod.link/1556511995

Support this podcast Can workers fight a university administration dead-set on busting the union? The Athabasca University Faculty Association did exactly that— and won. AUFA President Dave Powell and AUFA Chair of Membership Engagement Committee Rhiannon Rutherford join Team Advantage to explain how organizing and engaging union membership helped stave off an effort by university administration to cripple the union. Read more at http://aufa.ca/archive and follow them on twitter @AUFacultyAssoc.

Support this podcast What can be learned from the Corbyn project in the U.K. and the opposition it encountered, from both Conservatives outside the Labour party as well as Labour's own right wing? What do recent attacks on the left of the NDP mean for the state of bold policy in Canada? Niki Ashton, MP for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, joins Team Advantage to discuss the Progressive International and her upcoming event, a conversation with Jeremy Corbyn. Purchase event tickets here through Eventbrite, and learn more at progressive.international.

Support this podcast Are the NDP merely liberals in a bit of a rush? Team Advantage examines Gary Teeple's 1972 essay, 'Liberals in a hurry': socialism and the CCF-NDP. What role does the Fabian Society have in shaping the thought of the CCF, and later, the NDP? Can real socialist change be made through technocratic changes or parliamentary methods? Is moralizing about capitalism's ill effects a useful way of bringing about political change? Sweater Weather is a video & audio podcast about Canadian culture, politics & economics from a socialist perspective, hosted & produced by Aaron Giovannone. Follow Aaron on Twitter @SincerityCity, and follow the Sweater Weather series @canadiansweater and sweaterweatherpod.com. Further reading: Teeple, Gary. "'Liberals in a hurry': socialism and the CCF-NDP." Capitalism and the National Question in Canada. University of Toronto Press, 1972. 229-250.

Support this podcast What is to be done with the state? How does one's assessment of the state relate to socialist strategy? Is the state merely a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie? Is it entirely captured by industry, or factions of capital, or does it operate independently? Team Advantage convenes to discuss theories of the state, and explains how state theory ultimately informs the approach one takes to social transformation. Further reading: Ralph Miliband, The State in Capitalist Society. 1969. Ralph Miliband, The Coup in Chile. October 1973. Miliband, Ralph. "Poulantzas and the capitalist state." New Left Review 82.1 (1973): 83-93. Rooksby, Ed. "‘Structural Reform’ and the Problem of Socialist Strategy Today." Critique 46.1 (2018): 27-48.

Support this podcast Are small businesses really the backbone of our economy? Team Advantage examines the realities of small businesses in our society. How do big corporations benefit from small businesses being the front-facing, friendly face of modern capitalism? What do Marx and Engels have to say about "small capitalists?" How do working conditions fare in a small business environment? Will socially progressive small businesses usher in an era of social change? Want to replace every mention of "small business" in your browser with "small capitalist?" Install the Tampermonkey extension, and add the small capitalists script.

Support this podcast How can we reduce agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by half by mid-century? And how can steps to do so help strengthen and safeguard family farms? Darrin Qualman, director of Climate Crisis Policy and Action for the National Farmers Union and author of Tackling the Farm Crisis and the Climate Crisis: A Transformative Strategy for Canadian Farms and Food Systems joins Team Advantage to discuss farms, food, and the climate crisis.

Support this podcast In 2001, a campaign to reconstitute the NDP into a new party emerged, calling itself the New Politics Initiative. It proposed a party with stronger links with social movements and the anti-globalization campaigns that had been growing over the previous years, and had some high-profile spokespeople. What happened with this initiative? What was the response from within the NDP? Can anything be learned from this effort to reshape the NDP towards a more explicitly left-wing vision?

Support this podcast While Canada's medicare system was launched in the 1960s, some notable exclusions remain. Vision, pharmaceuticals, mental health, and dental care are all aspects of health that remain largely uncovered by our public health system. Brandon Doucet, dentist and member of the Coalition for Dentalcare, and Thomas Lange, health economist and research coordinator at the University of Calgary, join Team Advantage to discuss the potential ways health coverage could be expanded to include dentalcare. Follow the Coalition for Dentalcare on Twitter @for_dentalcare, and follow Tom Lange @TomLangeYYC. Read Brandon's piece in Passage on the topic here: https://readpassage.com/as-a-dentist-i-know-canada-needs-universal-public-dental-care/ Read Tom's research papers here: https://www.policyschool.ca/authors/thomas-christopher-lange/

Did you know that the Ku Klux Klan operated in Alberta— with thousands of members, a newspaper published out of downtown Edmonton, and regular picnics, parades and marches? Anti-racist activist Jason Devine joins Team Advantage to explore the strange history of the KKK in Alberta, and discuss how these historical forms of white supremacy have contributed to implicit and explicit forms of white supremacy today.

Support this podcast New Brunswick, home to one of Canada's wealthiest families, is far from a nexus of left-wing political culture— yet in 1971, a small group of Waffle-aligned activists managed to briefly take over the New Brunswick NDP, before the federal party intervened. Who was involved in this radical takeover of the provincial party, and how did it happen? New Brunswick correspondent Abram Lutes joins Team Advantage to discuss this strange tale involving Trotskyites, entryism, and dueling conventions. Follow Abram on Twitter @abramxlutes.

Support this podcast What is the employer-friendly CEWS, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, and how is it funneling public funds to big businesses? Doug Nesbitt joins Team Advantage to discuss the generosity of the Canadian state with regards to employers, and how this differs substantially from the approach taken towards workers. Why did the NDP and major labour leaders support a program that is essentially trickle-down economics on steroids? Who benefits from this program? And how will the costs it creates be used against working people in the future? Follow Doug Nesbitt on Twitter @StandingTheGaff, and read his work at rankandfile.ca.

The opioid crisis is killing more Albertans than the COVID-19 crisis— but Jason Kenney's UCP government is intent on pursuing an abstinence-only model that rejects harm-reduction approaches. Joining Team Advantage are Garth Mullins, host of the CRACKDOWN podcast, and Jeremy Appel, author of a recent Progress Report piece titled The Alberta Model: Who benefits from the Alberta government’s shift away from harm reduction to abstinence-only recovery. Follow Jeremy Appel on Twitter @JeremyAppel1025, and follow Garth Mullins on Twitter @garthmullins. Listeners may also be interested in the work of @momsstoptheharm and @HIVCommLink.