Podcasts · West of Centre

After Dark: The election night postmortem

29 Apr 2025 · 36 min · S6 E224

Canadians have re-elected a Liberal government — proof that a few months, a new leader, and a dose of Trump panic can shift the political winds. On this special late-night edition of West of Centre: After Dark, host Rob Brown convenes Liberal strategist Sabrina Grover, conservative strategist Sarah Biggs and NDP strategist Cheryl Oates for hot takes, hard truths and a touch of political therapy.

Running on election night pizza and too much caffeine, the panel unpacks how the Liberals pulled off a surprise comeback, why the Conservatives might be in turmoil despite a historic share of the vote, and what’s left for the NDP after a crushing collapse. From Pierre Poilievre potentially losing his seat, to who might be plotting to replace party leaders, to Danielle Smith preparing for another round with Ottawa — this episode has it all, except the final results. (Note: This conversation was recorded at 11 p.m. MT on election night, with several key ridings still undecided.)

Correction: In this episode, we mistakenly said that Jamil Jivani was a former Ontario PC MPP who served under Doug Ford. In fact, he was an advisor to Premier Ford, not an elected member of the Ontario legislature.