Skeena Tyee Test Fishery - Pêches et Océans Canada

Every veteran salmon angler, guide and outfitter in the Miramichi watershed remembers their first encounter with a striped bass. For Rip Cunningham, a member of the storied Black Brook Salmon Club, it happened at the junction of the Main Southwest Miramichi River and the Cains River. “I caught what I thought was a salmon, and I was going, ‘This fish isn’t jumping. This is odd,’” he said. He reeled it in. “The guides who live on the river, who’d been fishing on the river for years, said ‘What’s that?’ They had no idea whatsoever.”It was a striped bass, a fish Cunningham believes now represents an existential threat to the Miramichi’s most iconic species: his beloved wild Atlantic salmon. Byron Coughlan, who runs the County Haven fishing lodge near Blackville, was guiding two salmon anglers from New England about 15 years ago when they caught two bass. “They said, ‘Your river's done,’” he recalled. “‘The bass is going to eat everything.’ They said, ‘Eventually you won’t have any salmon.’”LISTEN | The saga of salmon, striped bass and the Miramichi:Atlantic Voice26:10A tale of two fish on the MiramichiHow much do you meddle with Mother Nature?

To many, B. C. Premier David Eby’s snap election call seemed like an odd choice. The government still had two years in its mandate. Big questions — like the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the budget deficit — were left unanswered. Plus, all the best lawn sign spots had already been claimed by candidates for municipal government. If The Tyee’s Victoria bureau chief is put off, he’s not showing it. Andrew MacLeod said the election call has morphed into something of an early Christmas. “When they called it, I was definitely in the camp of, like, ‘Do we really need to do this now?’” he said. “But there are announcements every day, and there are people arguing about ideas, and you get into the spirit of it. So it is kind of fun.”MacLeod has covered seven previous provincial elections and nearly two decades’ worth of provincial politicking for The Tyee. This election cycle is no different. This week, he gives us the long view on campaign-trail drama and breaks down what this election is really about. Note: Episode transcripts may contain errors. Always check the corresponding audio before quoting any part of the transcript.

This summer, the Tyee began covering what was sure to be a fractured and fascinating civic election in Vancouver. Starting in July, we interviewed every major mayoral candidate, held a mayoral debate event and provided deep dives into key election topics such as crime and public safety, housing and parks and recreation. But you told us that would not be enough. And it made sense.