Welcome to the Weekly Writ, a round-up of the latest federal and provincial polls, election news and political history that lands in your inbox every Wednesday morning.

It’s been a surprisingly busy end of the year in politics, but I suspect (hope?) things will quiet down after this week. In the meantime, there’s lots to cover in today’s Weekly Writ.

We start with news out of the Ontario Liberal leadership race, where an interesting candidate is getting ready for a run. We also have results from a Manitoba provincial byelection as well as the sad news of the passing of Manitoba Liberal MP Jim Carr.

Lots of polls this week, including new federal numbers, a close race in Alberta and good numbers for provincial New Democrats in British Columbia and Manitoba. We also have the latest premier ratings from the Angus Reid Institute.

Finally, the Riding of the Week brings us to a key swing riding in Calgary and the #EveryElectionProject tells the story of the rise of John Diefenbaker — and how that rise has some parallels to a certain Conservative leader.

Let’s get to it!