Toronto, ON – The evening was called Labour, Justice, Our Future. It was the first opportunity for union members and labour activists to put their issues before the five hopefuls vying for the leadership of the federal NDP.
The five candidates were Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Ontario MP Charlie Angus, Quebec MP Guy Caron, British Columbia MP Peter Julian and Ontario NDP MPP Jagmeet Singh.
‘This was our night, our issues, things that matter to us and we wanted to hear their viewpoints before we make any decision on who to endorse,” explained Lou Pagrach – IAM Political Action Grand Lodge Representative.
The debate was not one of the party’s official events but the Thursday night political contest between the candidates focusing on the economy and labour was the only NDP leadership debate to be held in Toronto.
All five candidates attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump. They also discussed the issues of taxation and trade.
When asked how they would deal with Donald Trump, Ashton, Singh and Angus all said they would stand up to Trump and not simply jump when the U.S. President suggests Canada needs to spend more money on the military. However military spending doesn’t appear to be a key issue for working Canadians. Peter Julian got closer to the mark when he called Trudeau’s American approach “appalling weak” and suggested the prime minister was not standing up for Canadian jobs and not standing up for Canadian communities.
Caron meanwhile prefers former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s approach in dealing with the U.S., which he said was to stand by Cuba and not stand in line behind the U.S. Once again not an issue that affects working Canadians.
On the issue of trade which does impact working Canadians, Julian and Singh talked about the impact of the Trump rhetoric of “Buy American”. Angus addressed the issue on contract work suggesting it could fixed by reworking the tax code without offering specifics. Aston suggested free university tuition would help end precarious work by creating a better-trained workforce. Caron countered that creating more green jobs would fix the culture of contract work.
After a few hours of listening to the five leadership hopefuls, the capacity crowd at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre left with no clear cut consensus of who the new leader would be. The next leadership debate is in Saskatoon July 11th, followed by Victoria on August 2nd, Montreal August 27th and Vancouver on September 10th.
Photo one: from left to right – Peter Julian, Niki Ashton, Charlie Angus, Guy Caron and Jagmeet Singh
Photo two: Peter Julian is critical of Prime Minister Trudeau’s approach to the Americans stating it is appallingly weak because it doesn’t stand up for Canadians
Photo three: Niki Ashton suggests free university tuition would help end precarious work by creating a better trained workforce
Photo four : Charlie Angus says contract work could be fixed by reworking the federal tax codes
Photo five: Guy Caron says creating more green jobs would fix the culture of contract work
Photo six: Jagmeet Singh said he would stand up to US President Donald Trump and not simply jump when Trump suggests Canada needs to increase its military spending
