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

​Kevin O'Leary shook up the Conservative leadership race in Toronto on Wednesday, throwing in the towel and endorsing former rival Maxime Bernier, just hours before the final official debate of the campaign was held.

More than 3,000 kilometres away in Vancouver, the three leaders of the major parties in British Columbia faced-off in their final debate. The vote in that provincial election is less than two weeks away.

What impact will the two events have on their respective races?

Joining Pollcast host Éric Grenier first on the podcast this week are Conservative insiders Tim Powers of Summa Strategies and Chad Rogers of Crestview Strategy.

How did O'Leary's withdrawal shake-up the leadership campaign? Can Bernier capitalize on his endorsement to scoop up his supporters? And what does the number of members announced by the party this week — 259,010 — say about the state of the party?

Then Richard Zussman, the CBC's legislative reporter in B.C., and the Globe and Mail's Justine Hunter join the podcast to talk about the B.C. leaders' debate and the quickly approaching vote in British Columbia.

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

Past episodes with Chad Rogers and Tim Powers on the Conservative leadership race:

Follow Éric Grenier, Tim Powers, Richard Zussman and Justine Hunter on Twitter.