Hawa Yahia Mire, a candidate for parliament in Canada’s September 20 election, is blazing a trail that she hopes other Somali Canadian women will follow.
“We are both thriving and struggling in a new place,” Mire said in an interview about Canada’s growing Somali immigrant community.
“It is important that as many Somali young women as possible see themselves in Canadian politics. I would encourage all readers in Somalia to push those they know living here in Canada to run for public office and imagine a new world for themselves.”
Mire, who is running on behalf of the leftist New Democratic Party in a Toronto-area constituency, is one of two Somali-born immigrants seeking seats for the first time in the next parliament. The other is Hibo Mohamed, who is representing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s centrist Liberal Party in a constituency in the western province of Alberta.
Neither would be the first Somali Canadian to make it into parliament. That honor has gone to Ahmed Hussen, currently a Cabinet minister in the Trudeau government dealing with families, children and social development, and the incumbent in the Toronto seat being contested by Mire. He is seeking reelection.
Another Somali Canadian, former refugee Ali Duale was elected on behalf of the Liberal Party just weeks ago to the provincial legislature in the Atlantic coastal province of Nova Scotia.
And Somali-born Faisal Hassan sits in the provincial legislature of Ontario, which includes the national capital city of Ottawa, where the Somali diaspora has become one of the most robust immigrant groups.
“For many of us who were born in Somalia but came here to Canada as children, we’ve known a rich cultural heritage inside of a new home,” Mire told VOA when asked about what she hopes to accomplish if she is elected.
“There are many young people in Canada working hard to build themselves a future, a future that is made challenging by unaffordable housing, low employment opportunities and challenges around how Somalis are perceived in this country and others across the world.”
Despite Canada’s reputation as a country that welcomes immigrants, Somali-born residents are often victims of xenophobic anti-immigrant sentiment, and, Mire said, politics is not always a welcoming place for women of color.
“As someone new to politics, I’m actively aware that this system was not designed for people like me — for women, for immigrants, for Black people in general,” Mire said. “As a result, I feel, politics hasn’t always been able to adequately serve our communities. I’m excited to do this work because that needs to change — and I’m hoping to be part of that change.”
Somali immigrants have also found success in politics in the United States.
“While serving as the U.S. ambassador to Somalia, I visited many towns and cities in the United States,” said former U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Stephen Schwartz in an interview. “I was always struck by the leadership roles many Somali Americans have obtained and the respect they had from local officials.”
Mire said Ilhan Omar, a member of the U.S. Congress from Minnesota and perhaps the most widely known Somali American politician, has been an inspiration for her.
“I am learning from leaders who have come before me and broken that mold, people like Ilhan Omar. I know from my brief time already there is still so much work to do,” she said.
But politics is not the only avenue to success in a new country, said Osman Ali, executive director of the Somali Canadian Association of Etobicoke, who described Canada as “a beautiful county” and “a nice place to raise children.”
“If you are young, strong and willing to work, every country loves you. Not only Canada,” Ali told VOA.
“What I suggest to you is, you have to think of what you bring to Canada. If you don’t have any trade, learn something. Learn how to drive; get your driver’s license. Learn something.”
Ali added: “So if you do not have enough education, you can contribute to the labor side of Canada. If you have education, improve yourself. Improve your English language. Improve your computer skills.”
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the Liberals have “all sorts of reflections” to make after losing a second stronghold in a byelection in Montreal Monday night.
His comments come as the Liberal cabinet gathers for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the fall sitting of Parliament, which began Monday.
Trudeau’s Liberals were hopeful they could retain the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but those hopes were dashed after the Bloc Québécois won it in an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
Louis-Philippe Sauvé, an administrator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics, beat Liberal candidate Laura Palestini by less than 250 votes. The NDP finished about 600 votes back of the winner.
It is the second time in three months that Trudeau’s party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June, the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul’s.
The Liberals won every seat in Toronto and almost every seat on the Island of Montreal in the last election, and losing a seat in both places has laid bare just how low the party has fallen in the polls.
“Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold (the Montreal riding), but there’s more work to do and we’re going to stay focused on doing it,” Trudeau told reporters ahead of this morning’s cabinet meeting.
When asked what went wrong for his party, Trudeau responded “I think there’s all sorts of reflections to take on that.”
In French, he would not say if this result puts his leadership in question, instead saying his team has lots of work to do.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a press conference this morning, but has already said the results are significant for his party.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” Blanchet wrote on X, shortly after the winner was declared.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his party had hoped to ride to a win in Montreal on the popularity of their candidate, city councillor Craig Sauvé, and use it to further their goal of replacing the Liberals as the chief alternative to the Conservatives.
The NDP did hold on to a seat in Winnipeg in a tight race with the Conservatives, but the results in Elmwood-Transcona Monday were far tighter than in the last several elections. NDP candidate Leila Dance defeated Conservative Colin Reynolds by about 1,200 votes.
Singh called it a “big victory.”
“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start,” he said on social media.
“Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
New Democrats recently pulled out of their political pact with the government in a bid to distance themselves from the Liberals, making the prospects of a snap election far more likely.
Trudeau attempted to calm his caucus at their fall retreat in Nanaimo, B.C, last week, and brought former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney on as an economic adviser in a bid to shore up some credibility with voters.
The latest byelection loss will put more pressure on him as leader, with many polls suggesting voter anger is more directed at Trudeau himself than at Liberal policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The New Democrats have declared a federal byelection victory in their Winnipeg stronghold riding of Elmwood—Transcona.
The NDP candidate Leila Dance told supporters in a tearful speech that even though the final results weren’t in, she expected she would see them in Ottawa.
With several polls still to be counted, Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds conceded defeat and told his volunteers that they should be proud of what the Conservatives accomplished in the campaign.
Political watchers had a keen eye on the results to see if the Tories could sway traditionally NDP voters on issues related to labour and affordability.
Meanwhile in the byelection race in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Québécois remained locked in an extremely tight three-way race as the results trickled in slowly.
The Liberal stronghold riding had a record 91 names on the ballot, and the results aren’t expected until the early hours of the morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
