2 weeks Ago By Ari Yanover
Less than a week from the federal election, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was in Edmonton calling out not the Conservatives but the Liberals. In a province long associated with Tory blue, Singh dismissed the Conservative campaign as being yesterday’s news. He said local voters could play their part in helping the NDP stop Mark Carney and the Liberals from securing a majority government.
“In this election, you’ve got an important question,” said Singh, addressing the media in front of the Annamoe Mansion near the corner of 100 Avenue and 119 Street. “People have rejected Pierre Poilievre, and I think it’s pretty clear he’s not going to win this election. But, do you want Mark Carney to have all the power? What do you think is going to happen if Mark Carney has all the power?” When Singh visited Edmonton on April 1 , he was surrounded by a full complement of NDP candidates vying for seats in the city.
But, on Wednesday, he was accompanied by just three — Edmonton Centre hopeful Trisha Estabrooks, and two incumbents, Edmonton Strathcona’s Heather McPherson and Griesbach’s Blake Desjarlais. The popular poll aggregator 338Canada has McPherson as a hold for the NDP, but warns that Griesbach is a toss-up between Desjarlais and Conservative Kerry Diotte. In Edmonton Centre, it leans to Liberal Eleanor Olszewski as the winner.
The numbers don’t sit well with McPherson, who confidently predicted an NDP win in Edmonton Centre. “Bank on it,” she said, while boldly adding that she thinks the NDP will double its seat count to four from two in Edmonton. “I think there’s a lot of momentum in Edmonton right now,” said McPherson.
“There’s a lot of excitement here and some real potential to gain some New Democratic seats.” 338 Canada ‘harmful for our democracy’ McPherson has been helping several city NDP candidates with their campaigns, and she said the reactions at the doors defies the polling aggregators. “There is no local polling.
There are only those aggregates, and they are always wrong. We have seen it time and time again, where they have said New Democrats won’t win, and then we win. And that’s what’s going to happen on Monday.
” McPherson took 338Canada to task, and said the impact the site has on electors and the media is “harmful for our democracy.” “It’s not local polling. It’s a terrible tool to use to predict what’s going to happen in an election.
We saw that in 2015, when Janis Irwin lost to Kerry Diotte (in Griesbach) and the Liberal came third. We saw it in 2019 when I won, and we were predicted by 338 to come third. It was the Liberal who came third.
We see it over and over again, where 338 may be a tool you can use to project national results, but in terms of predicting local riding results, it’s terrible.” That being said, 338Canada has close battles in Gateway, Northwest and Riverbend. Believe the aggregator or not, it’s clear the federal Liberals are stronger in Edmonton than they have been for generations.
“My campaign is very exciting,” said Desjarlais, who would benefit from any Liberal vote that bled to him in his battle to keep his seat. “We have a record number of volunteers. We have more resources than we’ve ever had in Edmonton Griesbach.
We’re talking about the largest campaign of New Democrats in north Edmonton than has ever been mounted before in history. That’s encouraging to me, that’s telling me the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, the people who could use their time for literally anything else, they’re showing up.” Singh lauded the work McPherson and Desjarlais did as members of his 25-person caucus which propped up the Liberal minority government in the previous term.
“Two New Democrat MPs here in Alberta delivered more than 30 Conservative MPs. Thirty Conservative MPs did squat for you. They did nothing.
What did they deliver? Nothing. What did two New Democrats do? They got you dental care for millions of seniors and kids. That’s what you get when you have two New Democrats.
Imagine you add a third to that. I can’t even imagine what we’re going to get done.” And he kept hammering away at Carney as the bogeyman, and Poilievre as a non-factor.
“You’ve got the power here in Edmonton Centre to say no, we’re not going to let Mark Carney have all the power, we’re going to send Trisha Estabrooks. We’re going to make sure Heather and Blake get re-elected so that we’ve got a strong voice that’s fighting back for the people and forcing the Liberals to do what people need. “People have rejected Poilievre.
His Trump-style slogans have backfired on him.” Singh also attended a forum with the Assembly of First Nations before jetting off to Winnipeg. Justice advocate left unimpressed After Singh spoke to reporters, he was approached by Leah McLeod, who is currently suing Atco and Darrell Brian Tennant for $18 million.
She alleges she was sexually assaulted at a work camp in northern Alberta. Tennant was acquitted in 2021. She spoke to Singh about how the justice system could better serve women who report sexual assault.
She was less than impressed by Singh’s response that judges will require better training. “Better training for judges?” said McLeod. “Well, Rona Ambrose did training for judges and sexual violence.
” She’s referring to Bill C-3, passed in 2021, which requires sexual assault training for new judges appointed by Ottawa. It was based on a private member’s bill by Ambrose, a former Conservative MP and interim party leader. McLeod said that Singh is basically echoing work that’s already been done.
“And it doesn’t include all the old judges, right? We need trials that are going to protect victims. I don’t think anything is going to be done, quite frankly.” ssandor@postmedia.
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