Maclean Kay
Maclean Kay has been on both sides of the scrum. As a journalist, he was a feature columnist in the Times Colonist and Calgary Herald, and his work appeared across Canada in the National Post, Globe and Mail, and as a producer with CBC Newsworld.
In between, Maclean spent seven years working in the BC legislature, including five-plus years as former premier Christy Clark’s speechwriter. In all that time, he never left the basement.
Maclean lives in Victoria with his wife and son.
#BCPOLI Hotstove: BC Budget 2021-22 Postgame show
Maclean and Jordan break down the 2021-22 BC Budget, including…
Read morePolitical Capital 9 – Throne speech is (deliberately?) boring, logging protests, and the Other Health Crisis
BC tries to walk a tightrope in its throne speech…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Don’t turn the page yet
Maclean and Jordan discuss the NDP’s Throne Speech, which reeeeeeeaaaaallllllly…
Read moreGame of Throne (speeches)
In the Gordon Campbell governments, throne speeches were densely packed…
Read morePolitical Capital 8 – Premier struggles with blaming youth, Greens propose lockdown
Premier John Horgan struggles to get out from under criticism…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Pandemic despair and taxing thin air
Maclean and Jordan discuss the troubling pandemic numbers in BC,…
Read morePolitical Capital 7 – Housing, homelessness & a $645k outdoor toilet
We take a deep dive into BC’s new aggressive stance…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Dr. Weaver vs Bike Twitter
Maclean and Jordan talk about expensive public toilets, Dr. Andrew…
Read morePolitical Capital 6 – BC picks workers for vaccines, hikes assistances rates, and fights Penticton
How does a government decide who has an essential enough…
Read more#BCPOLI HOTSTOVE: Power, property, and perceived frontrunners
Maclean and Jordan talk about a good week in QP…
Read morePolitical Capital 5 – Call-centre troubles, mental health questions
What should the public make about a wild week of…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Long time vaccinator, first time caller
Maclean and Jordan discuss the role of the opposition and…
Read morePolitical Capital 4 – Vaccine rollout, pandemic politics and misogyny in politics
Rob, Jillian, Katy and Maclean tackle BC’s changes to its…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Site C, Small Business, COVID Life
Maclean and Jordan discuss all the week’s big political issues,…
Read morePolitical Capital 3 – Site C approved (again), the legislature returns, housing prices soar
Premier John Horgan doubles down on the Site C dam…
Read moreOn the Ledge of Tomorrow…
Monday will see the first substantial session since last year’s…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Under the B, Blunder
Maclean and Jordan talk about the BC Government’s COVID-19 mental…
Read morePolitical Capital 2 – BC loses to churches in court, Site C, and BC Liberal leadership
B.C. gets dealt a major blow in its pandemic enforcement…
Read morePolitical Capital 1 – Pandemic politics, ICBC, and the overdose crisis
Host Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay, Jillian Oliver,…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Confusion about the Commission
Maclean Kay and Jordan Bateman react to the vast differences…
Read more#BCPOLI HOTSTOVE: This should have been a busy week
Maclean and Jordan battle through a glitchy Internet to talk…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: No Super Bowl for you!
Maclean and Jordan try to overcome crushing morosity to talk…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Week by week messaging
Maclean and Jordan work through their helplessness, frustration, and other…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Flight of the Falcon?
After a too-long ramble about government IT and iPads, Maclean…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Vaccination, Speculation, Broken Nation
Maclean and Jordan discuss a number of topics, including vaccination…
Read more#BCPOLI HOTSTOVE: Political travelers and the Premiers who fire them
Maclean and Jordan reconvene to discover 2021 is the year…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Putting a bow on 2020
Maclean and Jordan close out 2020 with a discussion on…
Read moreBond, BC Liberals shifting gears on a long road back
Of BC’s three major party leaders, interim BC Liberal leader…
Read moreGreens, Furstenau adapting after wild year
If 2020 was the longest year ever, it might have…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Clawbacks and COVID Christmases
Maclean and Jordan sift through the big BC political news,…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: The Speaker’s Big Week
Maclean and Jordan discuss Raj Chouhan’s historic ascension to the…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Critics, COVID, and Canadian Debt
Maclean and Jordan talk some big, heavy issues today: the…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Cabinet making, claim staking, hope breaking
Maclean and Jordan discuss John Horgan’s cabinet choices — and…
Read moreMeet the new bosses. Some of the old bosses.
The promotions: The single biggest jump is indisputably Selina Robinson, who…
Read moreThe Andrew Wilkinson Era: 2018 – 2020
Over the weekend, Andrew Wilkinson formally ended his time as…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Bond. Shirley Bond.
Maclean and Jordan discuss the selection of Shirley Bond as…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove – Playing the Blame Game
Maclean and Jordan talk about Gavin Dew’s analysis of the…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: The Snappening
Maclean and Jordan get metaphorical on this episode, discussing the…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Playing the (leadership) Field
Maclean and Jordan look at the contenders and pretenders in…
Read moreBest- and worst-case scenario election predictions
NDP Best Case: The polls are real. Seeking stability and…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: ‘Twas the Night Before Election Day
Maclean and Jordan convene one final time to discuss the…
Read moreOne of these things is exactly like the other
For those looking for virtue in Canadian and BC politics…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Rise of the Broverlord
With just four days left in the campaign, Maclean and…
Read moreAre we sure it’s not personal?
This week of the provincial election campaign was always going…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Game of Throness
Maclean and Jordan dig into the ramifications of Andrew Wilkinson…
Read moreDebate 2020: Who gets a cookie?
After weeks of hand-wringing about subjecting British Columbians to –…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Recapping the debate
Maclean and Jordan convene immediately after the BC leaders’ debate…
Read morePolitics has a problem with – and for – women
My firsthand introduction to politics was in 1997. Unfortunately, 1997…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Premier Us vs. Them
Maclean and Jordan discuss the third week of the BC…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: All politics is local, Surrey edition
Maclean and Jordan discuss the BC Liberals’ attempt to take…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: COVID elections are…kinda boring
Maclean and Jordan venture beyond the bubble* and see surprisingly…
Read moreVote within the lines
As of today, British Columbians have ordered 450,000 mail-in ballots….
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: the campaign’s first big splash
Andrew Wilkinson says he’ll scrap the PST for a year…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Week 1, anyone having fun?
Maclean and Jordan talk about the first week of the…
Read moreFrom star candidate to albatross
One of the NDP’s star candidates this election is Nathan…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: The race is on…for some reason
Maclean and Jordan, noted fall election skeptics, come to terms…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: A Matter of Overconfidence?
Maclean and Jordan try to figure out why on earth…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: BC’s other health crisis
Maclean and Jordan discuss the NDP’s handling of the opioid…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Morneau out of bucks to give
Maclean and Jordan break down the shocking news that Bill…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: School’s out for…longer?
Maclean and Jordan look at the sudden decision to delay…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Schools, slumps, and streaks
Maclean and Jordan discuss the NDP Government’s school reopening announcement…
Read moreThe next big thing
After much speculation and hullabaloo over “opportunities” for an early…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: The Apologia
Maclean and Jordan discuss the Summer of Apologies, plus how…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Red ink and red tape
Maclean and Jordan try and make sense of the province’s…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: EI, TMX, SCC, CBAs, CPC and other acronyms
Maclean and Jordan talk about John Horgan’s curious delay on…
Read moreThe question is the question is the question
If you watched Monday’s BC Question Period, you may have…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: The pols are back in town (Return of the Ledge)
Maclean and Jordan discuss the first two days of the…
Read more#BCPOLI Hotstove: Monopoly, Massey, and Mishaps
Maclean and Jordan ponder ICBC Monopoly, a house fall federal…
Read more#BCPOLI HOTSTOVE: The A(&W)lberta Advantage?
Maclean and Jordan look eastward at what’s reopening in Alberta…
Read moreBC’s jobs and employment numbers paint a sobering picture
In late March, the Business Council of BC (BCBC) modelled…
Read more