As I have mentioned in previous blog posts I am a member
of the Ontario New Democratic Party. As a member of the ONDP I am by default a
member of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada. On this blog I have
talked about my shifting voting patterns, and my sympathies for ideas on both
the left and right. I voted NDP in May 2011, and I was very pleased with the
breakthrough of the NDP, but I more often disagree with them than their
provincial cousins.
However, ever since I turned 18 I have participated in
every election I could. There is also something attractive in selecting the
next Leader of the Opposition and shaping the NDP more into the party I want it
to be. First, let’s give a rundown of the candidates (alphabetically):
Niki Ashton – MP for Churchill, MB. The youngest potential
leader. She is campaigning on a platform called “New Politics,” which she hopes
to change the way government and democracy works in Canada. http://www.nikiashton.ca/
Robert Chisholm – MP for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, NS. He
is the former Leader of the Opposition in Nova Scotia. He is largely basing his
campaign on his experience as a tested leader.
Nathan Cullen – MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC. Most
experienced MP in the race, elected in 2004. He has help multiple shadow
cabinet posts in the NDP. He is noteworthy for his call on cooperation between
the Liberal, NDP and Green Parties in the next election to help unite the
progressive vote.
Paul Dewar – MP for Ottawa Centre, ON. He has been highly
active on foreign affairs issues since arriving in Ottawa. He has strong ties
to the grassroots of the party in Ontario and Manitoba.
Thomas Mulcair – MP for Outremont, QC. The candidate with the most experience in
government as a former cabinet minister in Quebec. He was Jack Layton’s Quebec
Lieutenant and Deputy Leader.
Peggy Nash – MP for Parkdale-High Park, ON. Prominent
union leader and long-term finance critique in the NDP shadow cabinet. Nash is
strong on economic issues and emphasizes growth and social justice.
Romeo Saganash – MP for Abiti-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou.
Prominent Cree leader from Quebec, as Deputy Grand Chief of the Council of the
Crees. His campaign has been focused on economic justice (particularly amongst
Aboriginal Canadians) and environmental issues to date.
Martin Singh – Pharmacist from Nova Scotia. NDP activist
and small businessman.
Brian Topp – Former President of the NDP. Former union
leader and Chief of Staff to Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow. Topp is credited
in part with the winning strategies implemented by Jack Layton.
I will not bother sharing any polling because there is
not any fresh data out there. Generally, Brian Topp is thought to be in the
lead. Paul Dewar, Thomas Mulcair and Peggy Nash are somewhere behind him.
Nathan Cullen, Robert Chisholm, and Niki Ashton make up the third tier, leaving
the remaining candidates with low single-digit support.
The NDP have a number of debates planned. You can read
about the strategy here. It’s interesting to contrast the Republican race in the United States to the
NDP race. There is not a lot of data to go on yet, but I found it interesting
to be agreeing with the folks I was watching debate for once, generally.
Truth be told I have a favourite. I am slightly biased
towards Romeo Saganash. I find his biography compelling. I am not totally sold.
I want to see him do well in a debate, after he recovers from his bronchitis. You
can find the debate here.Sadly, I’m not bilingual, so I rely upon the media to inform me of the relative
performance of candidates.
I will be following the debates, the next one is in
January, and I may be attending the convention in March. If there are some
specific aspects you would like me to focus on I would be happy to give my
coverage a specific bend.
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