Is the way we choose our party leaders broken? With Danielle Smith becoming Alberta’s premier without the backing of caucus (or voters) and the B.C. NDP disqualifying Anjali Appadurai from its leadership race, thereby giving the contest to caucus favourite David Eby by default, there’s reason to think that it might be.

Ballots were cast in municipal elections in Ontario and Manitoba this week, but could these campaigns have been better served with political parties? Big cities like Vancouver and Montreal have them while voters in most of the rest of the country do not. Do these voters need a little help making their choices?

Meanwhile in Ottawa, the inquiry into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invoking of the Emergencies Act continues and the Bloc Québécois raises the thorny issue of Canada’s attachment to the monarchy.

Joining me to discuss all of this on this week’s episode of The Writ Podcast is Aaron Wherry, senior writer with the CBC.

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