This weekend, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is campaigning in Atlantic Canada, targeting two specific cities where his party has held seats before in hopes of winning them back.
On Saturday, Singh started his day in Newfoundland, promising every Canadian access to a family doctor within five years, alongside his candidate for St. John’s East. The riding has swung between the Liberals and New Democrats since 2008.
While there, Singh made his case for why local voters should elect an NDP MP, leaning into his personal connection to the city.
“I did grow up in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Singh said. “I lived in St. John’s from two years old to seven.”
Asked earlier in the week what his intention was in going to the east coast, where his party holds no seats, versus targeting New Democrat ridings he is at risk of losing, Singh said he wanted to remind people what it was like when they had NDP representation in Ottawa, before.
“People in those communities remember the difference that it made to have a New Democrat fighting for them … And the difference when they lost that,” Singh said. “And so, we want to give the people of Atlantic Canada a chance to re-elect a New Democrat.”
Voters ‘very informed’ and ‘very interested’
Speaking with reporters after Saturday’s event, current NDP candidate Mary Shortall and past St. John’s East MP Jack Harris echoed this.
“I think in this riding, it’s red team — orange team … That’s what I’m hearing at the door,” Shortall said. “People are saying, you know, that they’re thinking strategically, they’re wanting to make sure that their vote counts.”
Shortall said her response to this at the doors is that it’s the Conservatives and the Liberals who are telling people they don’t have another option.
“I think part of the deliberation that people are doing – because they’re very informed, which is a bit different than the last election – and they’re very concerned, and they’re very interested in the issues at hand,” Shortall said.
“And they want to make sure that their federal MP is acting on their behalf, and so that gives them an additional option, right?”
Harris said he still thinks there is room in Canada for progressive ideas “in the midst of whatever is going on.”
“In times of uncertainty, more than ever, you do need to make sure that whatever happens, you’re going to have the people’s backs,” Harris said.
‘A legitimate chance’ says McDonough’s son
Singh’s campaign then flew to Nova Scotia, where he rallied candidates, volunteers and supporters outside of a downtown Halifax campaign office.
“Let’s make some noise! Are we ready to win this election? Are we ready to keep knocking doors? Are we ready to make sure that people know they’ve got a voice in Halifax? Let’s get it done!” Singh said, to cheers.
The riding was an NDP stronghold for close to a decade, until the Liberals took it over in 2015.
Singh’s push to take back Halifax – once represented by former NDP leader Alexa McDonough – is getting some help from her family.
McDonough’s son Justin and granddaughter Abbie are making calls for the NDP candidate hoping to follow in her footsteps.
McDonough’s granddaughter said while she remembers knocking on doors with her as a child, this is the first campaign she’s fully involved in.
“It’s so nice to be grown up and educated and be able to campaign for such a strong woman,” she said, speaking about the NDP’s Halifax candidate, Lisa Roberts.
Asked if during her calls, her grandmother comes up, she said while she doesn’t raise it, voters do reference the history of the NDP in Nova Scotia with McDonough and the NDP MP who succeeded her, Megan Leslie.
“It’s kind of fun for me to be able to say: ‘Oh, that’s actually my grandma,‘” Abbie McDonough said.
“It’s nice to feel that her legacy does live on, because it’s such an important one.”
“I think there’s a legitimate chance for the NDP to win here again, and I think Canadians would be better served if that happens across the country,” Justin McDonough said.
Housing, healthcare top affordability issues
New Democrats involved in both campaigns said Atlantic Canadians are really engaged in this election, specifically on affordability issues such as health care and housing.
After touching on the health-care concern in Newfoundland and showcasing seniors who shared their experience with a 17-hour wait for care in an emergency room, on Sunday, Singh made a housing announcement in Nova Scotia, pledging national rent control, after hearing from Haligonians about their struggle to afford rent in the city.
“The affordability thing takes a whole lot of different measures. Housing is a huge problem. Access to health care is really big in this province,” Shortall said.
When asked about how the NDP’s chances stack up against aggregate polling showing they could once again be shut out of the region, New Democrats including Singh say they aren’t yet putting too much stock into those predictions.
“We’re not running against the polls. You know, these polls are a snapshot in time, whatever the news of the day brings … The polls six weeks ago, there would be no contest … we wouldn’t be bothering all, right?” Harris said.
While they acknowledge the chance is there to be squeezed out in what’s shaping up to be a two-party race, supporters say they still think Canadians don’t want there to be a two-party system in this country, the way there is in the United States.
“Jagmeet is doing the best he can,” said Justin McDonough. “Part of life is working through challenges, and you know, I think that’s one thing Mom parlayed through to us. And I think that as a politician, you have to be thick-skinned, and be prepared for those ups and downs, and so we’ll see what happens on election day.”
Before leaving the region, Singh was asked again how confident he is that New Democrats could win seats in this part of the country. The NDP leader said he was “very confident.”
“The people in Atlantic, I think you deserve a lot better than folks that haven’t had your back and haven’t been a voice for you. You deserve a New Democrat,” Singh said.
