Balance of Power: Sit up Straight

In a province where politics increasingly feels like performance, what happens when the people who understand the stage best start talking openly about persuasion, authenticity, and fear? This week on Balance of Power , Annalise Klingbeil, Leah Ward, and Shannon Phillips unpack the politics of communication, the growing international fascination with Alberta separatism, and why the fight over Canada’s future may already be underway. First: the Wab Kinew factor. Leah reports from the Canadian Labour Congress convention in Winnipeg, where both Naheed Nenshi and Wab Kinew delivered very different kinds of speeches, sparking a conversation about charisma, media training, authenticity, and whether great political communication can actually be taught. Then: Alberta as spectacle. The panel digs into recent coverage from The Guardian, Toronto Star, and other international outlets examining Alberta separatism, voter data controversies, and the rise of grievance politics. Is this necessary scrutiny, dangerous mainstreaming, or another example of Alberta being flattened into caricature for outside audiences? Plus: Jason Kenney’s return to the federalist fight. After a Calgary event on Canadian unity featuring Kenney and MP Cory Hogan, the hosts debate whether conservatives who helped fuel western alienation can now successfully contain it, what responsibility they carry for this moment, and whether fear itself might be necessary to motivate Albertans to act. Media training, separatism, grievance politics, posture discourse, and the uncomfortable question of who still has the power to persuade. Welcome to Balance of Power . Have a comment or idea? Email us at suggestionbox@balanceofpowerpod.ca Join the Strategists Podcast Network Patreon for ad-free episodes and access to our exclusive Discord: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to Balance of Power: Sit up Straight online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Balance of Power: Sit up Straight is an episode from The Strategists by The Strategists Media Corporation.

This episode is 1:09:19 long.

This episode was published on May 14, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Strategists when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.