Politics·PODCAST

The Pollcast: Behind the scenes of the Conservative leadership race

Covering a leadership campaign is daunting enough. It's even more challenging when there are 14 candidates in the running. Catherine Cullen, who has been reporting on the race from the beginning, joins host Éric Grenier to discuss covering the race.

Host Éric Grenier is joined by the CBC's Catherine Cullen

People wait for the Conservative leadership debate in Quebec City to begin. (Catherine Cullen)

The CBC Pollcast, hosted by CBC poll analyst Éric Grenier, explores the world of electoral politics, political polls and the trends they reveal.


With 14 candidates in the running, more than a year of campaigning and over a dozen debates to be held before the votes are finally counted on May 27, the Conservative leadership campaign poses unique challenges to journalists.

How do we balance coverage when there are so many candidates vying for attention? Which events are the pivotal ones in the race? And how do we gauge how the actual decision makers — expected to be no more than 150,000 Conservative party members that are eligible to vote — plan to cast their ballots?

The CBC's Catherine Cullen, who has been covering the leadership race since its beginning, joins Pollcast host Éric Grenier to discuss these challenges and what she is hearing and seeing behind the scenes on the campaign trail.

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

Follow Éric Grenier and Catherine Cullen on Twitter.