The Pollcast: What went down at the Alberta leaders debate

In 2015, a comment about the challenges of arithmetic during that year’s leaders debate helped propel Rachel Notley into the Alberta premier’s office. The trends were already starting to head in the NDP’s direction when the late Jim Prentice made the remark, but it was still a turning point in what turned out to be a historic election.

Trailing the United Conservatives’ Jason Kenney in the polls, Notley needed Thursday’s debate to be another turning point.

This debate lacked the kind of memorable moment we saw in 2015, but sometimes the impact of a debate can only be seen with the benefit of hindsight. There isn’t much time left for the polling trend line to move — Albertans go to the polls on Apr. 16.

To break down the debate and discuss how this campaign has played out so far, Pollcast host Éric Grenier is joined by Kim Trynacity, the CBC’s provincial affairs reporter in Alberta.

Listen to the full discussion above — or subscribe to the CBC Pollcast and listen to past episodes of the show.