Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, BC Dairy and Port of Vancouver. This week, Mike and Geoff leave no Stone unturned - Todd Stone, that is. The CEO of the Association for Mineral Exploration (AMEBC) and former BC Liberal/United MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson checks into Hotel Pacifico for a one-year “wellness check” since leaving politics. The three dig into modern mineral exploration in BC, what it’s like...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, BCGEU, BC Dairy and Port of Vancouver. This week, a special guest returns to the hotel – the 37th Premier of British Columbia, Hon. David Eby. Geoff and Mike talk with the Premier about the year that was and what’s changed since the 2024 election. They discuss challenges with the deficit and resourcing in healthcare, how BC is following Ontario’s lead with a new ad campaign targ...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, BCGEU, BC Dairy and Port of Vancouver. This week, Geoff and Mike welcome Tamara Vrooman, CEO of YVR, Chancellor of SFU, and former Deputy Minister of BC’s Finance Ministry. Together, they discuss YVR’s role in trade, the increasing role of air cargo, and what BC needs to do to attract investment and get on track. In the Strategy Suite, Mike and Geoff analyze t...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, BCGEU, BC Dairy and Port of Vancouver. This week, things are a little different at Hotel Pacifico. Mike and Geoff kick off with Cheryl Oates and Erika Barootes of Alberta’s “The Discourse” pod to unpack the escalating pipeline battle between Danielle Smith and David Eby, bringing perspectives from either side of the Rockies. Later, Geoff and Mike welcome George Abbott, lo...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, and BCGEU. This week, Geoff and Mike welcome veteran journalist and author Rod Mickleburgh, co-author of “John Horgan: In His Own Words”, which was formally launched this week. Together, they reflect on Premier Horgan’s career and legacy, as well as the candid thoughts he shared while working on the memoir in his final year. In the Strategy Suite, Mike and Geoff are...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, and BCGEU. Geoff and Mike welcome back Fran Yanor of Northern Beat for an extended Strategy Suite. Together, they analyze the key moments from last week’s UBCM: mayors taking the government to task on street disorder, the Green Party’s newly elected leader, and … ostriches? Plus, they discuss Premier Danielle Smith’s controversial plan to build a new pipeline to BC’s West Coast....

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, and BCGEU. This week, polling expert and political strategist Dimitri Pantazopoulos returns to the Hotel Pacifico for a debrief on the Conservative leadership review. Along with Mike and Geoff, they discuss John Rustad’s future as leader of the Conservative Party and recap Elenore Sturko’s sudden departure from caucus. In the Strategy Suite, Mike and Geoff discuss the topi...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from FortisBC. In a special episode, Mike welcomes back frequent guest Global News reporter Richard Zussman to discuss the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities Convention and why it matters. They discuss the hot topics for mayors and councillors such as the Cowichan decision, Heritage Conservation Act, street disorder, and the natural resource economy. Mike and Richard squeeze in a few minutes on the ongoing B.C. Conservative leadersh...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, and BCGEU. This week we welcome Judy Darcy, feminist, union leader and then cabinet minister, who got her start in politics infiltrating a beauty contest on behalf of the women’s movement. She went on to lead CUPE, Canada’s largest public sector union, negotiated with Premiers in most provinces, headed up BC’s biggest health care union before moving into politics where she confr...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, and BCGEU. Mike & Geoff welcome Don Wright back to Hotel Pacifico. The former head of BC’s public service has unleashed his views on his substack, Blindingly Obvious. The hosts discuss Wright’s hot takes on how Canada’s immigration levels have come at a cost to the economy, jobs, and the housing market; how we can have our own values, but can’t have our own arith...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC, and BCGEU. Pollster and veteran campaigner Dimitri Pantazopoulos joins Mike for a rare 1:1 interview. He shares his perspective based on over three decades in national and provincial politics, including playing key roles in major political victories for Christy Clark, Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, Andrew Wilkinson, and Doug Ford. Mike and Dimitri discuss how polling has changed ...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 Mike & Kate are joined by Skeena MLA Claire Rattée, a first-term MLA serving as the Conservative Mental Health & Addictions critic. Rattée discusses her background as someone who battled and overcame addiction, and her journey that led her to northern BC and into municipal, federal, and provincial politics. Discussion includes how the newish BC Conservative cau...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 Award-winning CBC Indigenous Affairs Reporter Wawmeesh Hamilton joins Kate and Mike to talk about his career and his indirect path to journalism, those who inspired him along the way, the evolution of Indigenous journalism, and reflections on the debate around the recent Cowichan decision. In the strategy suite, Kate and Mike are joined by Richard Zussman from Global...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 Geoff, Kate, and, even, Mike, welcome back the 31st Premier of British Columbia Glen Clark. The hosts and Clark talk about the parallels running a big business and government, the challenge of reducing government costs, whether or not an oil pipeline makes sense, the situation in the forest industry and what’s important to understand about dealing with 🇺🇸. Clark joins the ho...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 This week at Hotel Pacifico, we explore the growing political consensus in BC to crack down on gender-based violence. Angela Marie MacDougall, a leader in that battle and head of Battered Women’s Support Services, takes Geoff through the latest developments. In the strategy suite, Geoff and Mike talk LNG, softwood lumber, update on the Charleigh Pollock issue, Gavin D...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 This week, something completely different. As British Columbians head into the annual BC Day weekend, Mike & Geoff invite BC Press Gallery legend and hallway haunter Keith Baldrey (Global News), and data loving, BC nerd, cult favourite Justin McElroy (CBC) to face off in a BC Day BC Politics Trivia Duel. As they field questions from Mike & Geoff and vie t...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 It’s ‘Hotel Pacifico Rim’ this week as Mike and Geoff welcome Canada’s Ambassador to Japan Ian McKay. Ambassador McKay discusses the importance of Canada-Japan trade, especially for BC which sends minerals, lumber, LNG, propane and other goods across the Pacific. McKay highlights the geopolitical tensions impacting Japan, Canada’s interests in the Indo-Pacific re...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. BREAKING NEWS: Join Mike and Geoff for a special "Emergency Cabinet Shuffle Reaction" episode. 🏨🌄 Join Mike McDonald, Kate Hammer, and Geoff Meggs for insights and interviews covering the latest in B.C. politics. Thank you for joining us on #HotelPacifico. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or your favourite podc...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 Mike and Geoff welcome Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries, to Hotel Pacifico. They discuss the troubling state of the industry, impacts of government policy, low harvest levels, and other factors leading to job losses and mill closures. Haakstad prescribes measures that will help get forestry on the comeback trail. In the Strategy Suite...

Hotel Pacifico was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as FortisBC. 🏨🌄 North Island-Powell River Conservative MP Aaron Gunn joins Kate, Geoff, and Mike for a wide-ranging discussion that includes his Langford origins, the pathway he followed to become one of BC’s top political influencers in social media, the events that led to him reviving the BC Conservative Party, and his recent election as Member of Parliament. In the strategy suite...