Ep. 142: When to dump your candidate — and dump on your opponents

Parties proudly present their slate of candidates in every election shortly before dumping some of them. It’s an inevitable part of every campaign — rejecting candidates who don’t meet a party’s vetting standards and ejecting candidates when rival parties have dug up the dirt on them. So, what’s the process behind candidate vetting? And how do parties go about compiling, and then using, opposition research? Plus, Pierre Poilievre has been putting on some massive rallies. How are these organized — and are they worth the effort? Throughout this election, three veteran party organizers are joining me on The Writ Podcast to explain the ins and outs of campaigning. Laura D'Angelo has worked Tour Central for the Liberals in elections both federally and provincially, and was director of campaign operations for the Liberals in 2019. She is the vice-president, national strategy and public affairs at Enterprise Canada . Melanie Paradis was director of communications for past Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole and is president of Texture Communications . Cheryl Oates was the executive director of communications and planning for former Alberta premier Rachel Notley. She’s principal at GT Executive Advisors and is the co-host of The Discourse podcast. In addition to listening to this episode of The Writ Podcast in your inbox, at TheWrit.ca or on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts , you can also watch this episode on YouTube . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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Ep. 142: When to dump your candidate — and dump on your opponents is an episode from The Writ Podcast by Éric Grenier.

This episode is 44:53 long.

This episode was published on Apr 8, 2025.

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