NDP MP for Timmins-James Bay Charlie Angus rises during Question Period in Ottawa, on Dec. 1, 2023.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Veteran NDP MP Charlie Angus, a feisty opposition critic who transitioned from activism to public office, is leaving politics, announcing his exit as his Northern Ontario riding gains a new name and expands considerably.
His announcement Thursday marks the ending of a political career in which Mr. Angus served as caucus chair and ran for the party leader in 2017, placing second to current leader Jagmeet Singh.
Mr. Angus will remain an MP until the next election.
“After seven elections, 20 years of service, and the privilege of being the longest-serving MP in Timmins history, it is time to pass the baton,” Mr. Angus said in a statement Thursday.
The federal NDP caucus natural resources critic referred to serving the newly created Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk riding replacing the Timmins-James Bay riding he has represented since 2004.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission has mandated an expansion of the riding that includes an additional 20,000 square kilometres of territory, Mr. Angus noted.
Facing the task of starting over representing new communities over a vast region, Mr. Angus said he recognized the need for new energy.
“One political era is ending, and another begins,” the New Democrat wrote. “As part of this renewal, I have decided not to run for re-election.”
Also, Mr. Angus said he owes his family more attention. “After 20 years of being a part-time family man, I owe a lot of back time to the people I truly love.”
Mr. Angus said he will continue to represent the riding until the next federal election.
Beyond that, he said he will continue to advocate for Indigenous and Northern issues, and that the climate crisis remains a priority.
“I started in grassroots activism and am excited to return to those roots,” he said, adding he is committed to priorities including his work as a musician. He is a singer-songwriter for the Grievous Angels alternative country band.
The author of eight books also said he plans to continue his writing pursuits. His latest was the 2022 title Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower, a history of mining in the Northern Ontario town of Cobalt.
He said he is bullish about NDP prospects of holding the riding he won with 35 per cent of the vote in the 2021 election, compared to 27 per cent for his Conservative rival.
In his statement, he said the riding has an incredible team of NDP volunteers.
“The process of choosing another candidate will be a time for renewal and new ideas and I am encouraged by the possibilities of what comes next.”
Also Thursday, the NDP said two other members of the federal caucus will not be seeking re-election.
Rachel Blaney, who has represented the B.C. riding of North Island—Powell River since 2015, and Ontario MP Carol Hughes, who has represented Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing since 2008, are, like Mr. Angus, stepping away.
A party statement said all three MPs “are hoping to spend more time with their families after years of dedicated public service.”
Mr. Singh praised the three. “They’ve added so much to our party and, while we’ll miss their contributions around the caucus table, I want to wish my friends the very best when each of them begins their next chapter,” he said in the statement.
Mr. Angus was born in Timmins and grew up in Toronto’s Scarborough neighbourhood. In 1990, Mr. Angus, his wife Brit Griffin, and their family moved to Cobalt.
Mr. Angus has said he wanted to live in a place where he could fight for social issues, which came to include advocacy for Indigenous people.
Former NDP leader Jack Layton convinced Mr. Angus to run for a seat, and, in 2004, he was elected in Timmins-James Bay.
During his run in federal politics, Mr. Angus served as caucus chair, and earned 19.4 per cent of the vote in the 2017 leadership race. Mr. Singh won with 53.8 per cent.
Mr. Angus is not the only NDP MP to recently announce their departure from the caucus, which has 24 of the House’s 339 seats.
Last month, Daniel Blaikie, first elected in 2015 to represent the Winnipeg-area riding of Elmwood-Transcona, announced he was leaving federal politics to serve as a senior adviser on intergovernmental affairs to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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.
