VICTORIA — Anjali Appadurai says she knows she’s upset the New Democratic Party establishment, but that shouldn’t keep her out of the race for the party leadership.
The former federal NDP candidate entered the contest to succeed retiring Premier John Horgan in August with promises of transformative change on environmental and social issues, but has yet to receive official approval of her candidacy.
A party decision on Appadurai’s candidacy is expected Wednesday following reviews of membership sign-up concerns connected to her campaign launched by the NDP and Elections BC, the legislature’s independent, non-partisan office responsible for administering electoral processes in the province.
So far, only David Eby, the NDP government’s former attorney general and minister responsible for housing, has officially been approved as a candidate to succeed Horgan on Dec. 3, when the leadership vote is scheduled.
To become British Columbia’s premier, the party’s next leader must also have the support of elected members in the legislature.
“My candidacy has come as a surprise to many,” Appadurai said in an interview. “I’m not your typical candidate. I know that I came out of the blue and I have not been in government before.”
But the 32-year-old human rights and climate advocate said entering the leadership race puts issues of concern on a larger stage.
“I really hope we get to have that conversation publicly,” said Appadurai. “What I’m trying to do here is open a conversation, a very frank conversation.”
She said she’s hoping she’s not denied the opportunity to get out her message to supporters, the party and the province.
Elections BC and the NDP have said they received complaints about B.C. environmental group Dogwood suggesting its members could sign up as members of the NDP by Sept. 4 to vote in the leadership contest, and about whether its involvement represents a proscribed political contribution.
An investigation is also underway into allegations an Appadurai supporter offered to pay for $10 NDP memberships.
Appadurai said she doesn’t have details on the exact number of new NDP memberships her campaign has secured, but has heard it could be as high as 14,000.
“When I announced my candidacy, a really beautiful, decentralized, organic movement started to grow,” she said. “We are hearing dozens and dozens of stories of people who signed up their book clubs, who signed up their circle of friends or got their friends and family together and talked about politics.”
The NDP said in a statement it would not reveal party membership numbers and did not confirm reports from the party’s most recent convention where a membership number of 11,000 was reported.
NDP spokeswoman Heather Libby said the leadership race currently has one confirmed candidate, Eby, and a meeting is set for Wednesday about Appadurai’s campaign.
“A complaint was registered about the one candidate’s campaign and an investigation is ongoing by our leadership chief electoral officer,” she said in an interview. “We’re taking it very seriously.”
The NDP’s provincial director, Heather Stoutenburg, said in a statement the leadership race and candidates are governed by party rules.
“Our democratically elected provincial executive is the body responsible for developing the rules under which candidates are nominated, and determining whether or not those candidates are approved,” she said.
Elections BC said it is conducting a review of complaints it has received, but the process has yet to complete.
“We are reviewing activities conducted by Dogwood BC to ensure political contribution rules under the Election Act are being followed,” said the statement. “Our review is ongoing and we have not come to any conclusions in this matter.”
Dogwood was not immediately available for comment.
But an editorial opinion piece on its website in August included advice on how to “help elect a premier for the climate emergency.”
It suggested its members could sign up for the NDP or renew their party membership by Sept. 4 to vote in the leadership race.
Appadurai said the NDP should be welcoming the new party members instead of conducting an investigation.
She said she did not support “the suspicious way” in which the new members were being treated.
Appadurai said that for many, “their first communication with the first party that they’ve become a member of is a questioning of their loyalty and a questioning of their motives.”
The NDP confirmed it approached the B.C. Green Party to allow a neutral third party to review each party’s membership lists to ensure “the integrity of our membership lists and our internal constitutional processes,” amid suggestions that Greens were quitting the party in order to vote in the NDP leadership ballot.
Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said the party rejected the NDP offer.
“We said, ‘No,’” she said. “We had no expectations or intentions of being involved in their leadership race at all.”
The NDP should be celebrating new members, but “they have turned that into a problem and tried to point to us,” said Furstenau, adding Green membership has dropped by fewer than 90 people since the start of the NDP leadership race.
Appadurai said she supports all efforts to ensure the legitimacy of the members she signed up.
She said she’s confident her leadership bid will receive NDP approval.
“What we have learned is there’s a tremendous appetite for the values and the type of leadership I’m signalling in my candidacy,” Appadurai said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2022.
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.
