Bill Blaikie, a longtime Manitoba New Democrat whose political career spanned more than three decades and included terms in both the House of Commons and Manitoba’s legislature, has died. He was 71.
Blaikie died on Saturday in Winnipeg, following a battle with metastatic kidney cancer, according to a Facebook post by his son, Daniel Blaikie.
Blaikie was first elected in 1979, as the member of Parliament for the riding of Winnipeg-Birds Hill. After that riding was dissolved in 1987, Blaikie won four elections in the new riding of Winnipeg-Transcona, and two more after it was renamed Elmwood-Transcona in 2004. He did not seek re-election in 2008.
The following year, he entered provincial politics, winning the Elmwood seat for the then-governing NDP in a 2009 byelection. He was appointed to premier Greg Selinger’s cabinet, serving as conservation minister and government House leader until 2011, when he retired from politics.
Daniel Blaikie, left, with his father, Bill Blaikie. Daniel Blaikie was elected in 2015 as the NDP MP for the Elmwood-Transcona riding his father previously represented. (Jim Still)
He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2020 for his lifelong contributions to parliamentary service and for his steadfast commitment to progressive change and social activism.
“His legacy stands for itself — it’s a living legacy,” said Lloyd Axworthy, who was a longtime Liberal cabinet minister and later University of Winnipeg president.
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Bill Blaikie, longtime Manitoba politician who served federally and provincially, dead at 71
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Bill Blaikie, a longtime Manitoba New Democrat whose political career spanned more than three decades and included terms in the federal and provincial levels, has died.
Axworthy was first elected as an MP on the same day as Blaikie in 1979, and the two got to know each other well during their time in Parliament, even though they sat on different sides politically, he said.
“He was a strong believer in social democracy, he was an advocate of social gospel, but he also was a very good guy to get along with and a good person … just to get behind the curtains and just chat [with],” said Axworthy, who spoke to CBC on Friday, after Blaikie had shared a statement that he was entering palliative care.
Their paths crossed again when Blaikie started as an adjunct professor of theology and politics at the University of Winnipeg, where Axworthy served as president from 2004 to 2014.
“For students … with [a] big appetite to know, ‘How do things work?'” Blaikie could bring his practical experience into the classroom, said Axworthy.
“He understood politics and he could take that world of kind of pragmatism and practical accommodation, but always say, ‘But it has to be motivated and driven by some set of beliefs.”
Blaikie was “somebody who clearly all his life, every step he’s made, made a difference,” said Axworthy.
Blaikie, right, stands with New Democratic Party Leader Alexa McDonough as they voted against a pay raise for MPs in the House of Commons on June 7, 2001. (Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press)
James Christie, a former dean of theology and professor at the University of Winnipeg, said Blaikie “had tremendous political and religious insight.”
In an interview with CBC Friday, Christie said Blaikie’s ability to stand out during his time at the university came from his engaging personality.
“Bill could tell a story that would lead to another story and another story, and we could sit up and just talk, and in my case, just mostly listen,” said Christie. “And he captivated his students the same way.”
Christie, who worked with Blaikie at the University of Winnipeg for years, also noted his work as a politician, a United Church minister and religious leader, a musician and an author. Blaikie wrote a 2011 memoir titled The Blaikie Report: An Insider’s Look at Faith And Politics.
“I looked up at Bill partly because he was much taller than I am … but he was also a man of big intellect and big heart, big dreams, big generosity,” said Christie.
“Just simply one of those people who was larger than life in both literal and figurative senses.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
