One of the most interesting things about Naheed Nenshi winning the Alberta NDP leadership race is thathe almost didn’t enter the contest. As the newly minted leader has said, he was initially scared his brand of politics, “of talking to people, of inspiring people to be bigger than themselves, was completely out of style.”
This is, in the most Nenshi-esque manner of speech, the conundrum for centre-left and left-of-centre politicians at this moment: Does someone like him have a chance to lead and win when an angrier, harder-edged, finances-focused style of politics is in ascendancy?
This was on display in the results of the federal by-election in Toronto-St. Paul’s on Monday, where Conservatives bested the Liberals in a riding the governing party has held for more than three decades – in large part because of voter economic unease. It will also be on display when Mr. Nenshi makes his way in the fraught world of Alberta politics.
To be clear, Mr. Nenshi might disagree with the premise of this column. Shortly after winning an impressive 86 per cent of the first-ballot vote from Alberta NDP members on Saturday, he pointed to the example of Manitoba NDP Leader, now Premier, Wab Kinew. He said Manitoba Progressive Conservatives lost the election last year because they were using a mean-spirited “distillation” of Alberta United Conservative Party values, and Manitobans were actually hungry for hope and optimism. The Alberta NDP can tap into this, too, he said – and it might be something like the 2010 mayoral campaign he won as a policy-focused underdog.
Mr. Kinew is a compelling and popular leader. However, given the incompetency of the then-incumbent PCs – including an odious political ad that touted their decision notto search a landfill for the bodies of murdered Indigenous women – it might have been more a throw-the-bums-out vote by Manitobans, rather than a ringing endorsement of NDP policies.
And it’s not 2010 any more, when Barack Obama was U.S. president. Thatwas before Donald Trump, before the pandemic, before Ukraine, before inflation, before Oct. 7 and Gaza, and before social media became a meaner, coarser, and more fake place.
There is an anger in Canadian politics, which Mr. Nenshi himself acknowledges in voicing his fear. Many are laser-focused on grocery bills that hit like a punch, and worry their children will never come close to owning a home. There’s a new focus on financial security, and a pushback to climate policy costs and disjointed immigration policies, the likes of which we’ve never seen.
In Alberta, there are many factors that aid a conservative incumbent like Premier Danielle Smith. The economy is doing well enough, the oil industry is clicking along, Ms. Smith often battles with the deeply unpopular Prime Minister in Ottawa, and the province’s population is beyond booming – a key metric of success this province of newcomers measures itself by (although this time it’s an affordable housing population boom, not a jobs boom).
Also, there’s the sanctimony that sometimes emanates from progressive politicians. Many voters are tired of this, even those who might otherwise be on the same team.
Mr. Nenshi describes the UCP as “unethical, immoral and incompetent.” The bookend words of that critique are fair game. But the use of the term “immoral” suggests an enemy who is wicked, and evil carries a high burden of proof.
Even the issue that brought him into the leadership race will be a thorny one. Mr. Nenshi entered provincial politics earlier this year after Ms. Smith announced a suite of rigid policies on transgender youth and sex education. When the Premier returns to the issue in the fall, with laws and regulations, Mr. Nenshi will oppose them.
But he’s likely to be more nuanced than he was in February, before entering provincial politics, when lambasted her policies in a fiery speech. Mr. Nenshi has since spoken in more circumspect tones, saying that it’s not for governments to legislate such medical decisions. That is a solid argument, and can remain so – even as the public views are mixed, and medical practitioners in European countries have begun a major rethink on a blanket affirmative approach to care for trans youth, which is likely to eventually have a knock-on effect here.
If Mr. Nenshi wants to beat the UCP, he will have to win on Albertans’ concerns about housing costs, and also on protecting and bolstering fragile health care and education systems. He have to keep business concerns in mind, and show the budget-balancing skills he learned from his immigrant parents. He will have to be a voice of reason on social questions, and unrelentingly pragmatic.
To have a chance of winning over Alberta voters, the new NDP leader will have to be a compelling counter to Ms. Smith, not just the morally correct one.
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.
