Job talk key to NDP win in region
As the provincial NDP soars in the polls, its provincial fortunes spell good times for the federal wing of the party.
That’s the observation of federal NDP leadership candidate Peggy Nash.
The Ontario MP was in Kamloops on Tuesday, Feb. 21, as part of a provincewide tour to gather support for her campaign.
Nash suggested a strong showing by the NDP provincially will help the party federally.
“That will be a huge boost to the party as a whole,” she said, noting the success of Jack Layton and the NDP in the last federal election provided a boost to the provincial wing.
Though the NDP may doing well in B.C., the party federally has failed to win a seat in the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding for more than a decade.
Nash believes the path to an NDP breakthrough in the region is for the party to speak to the issue of jobs and the economy.
She argued the Conservative party’s economic record may not be as stellar as the government likes to portray, pointing out Canadians are losing their jobs and accumulating more personal debt.
She indicated her approach would be to work with business to help it invest in key industries like forestry, rather than watching mills close, which she maintained the Tories have done.
Though Nash, who is a former party president, said Layton can never be replaced, she said the next leader can be inspired by his approach to politics, noting Layton had a firm belief that progressives in Quebec and the rest of Canada can together elect a federal government.
“We need to have a leader who will inspire people to get involved, especially those in the past who’ve not been voting,” Nash said, adding she is a lifelong NDP member as one of her credentials.
She is the fifth candidate to visit the city during the leadership race to succeed Layton.
Brian Topp was in Kamloops in October, MP Nathan Cullen visited in November, while MP Thomas Mulcair and Paul Dewar stumped in the Tournament Capital in January.
The race to replace Layton began in September and will wind up with a leadership convention and vote in Toronto on March 24.
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