Mulcair talks politics in Merritt
Federal New Democratic Party leadership hopeful Thomas Mulcair described the NDP as a party that is able to connect with Canadians during his visit to Merritt, Jan. 10.
The Montreal member of parliament made a stop in Merritt as part a province-wide tour to gather support for his leadership campaign, and while meeting with supporters at the Merritt Desert Inn, Mulcair spoke of his plans to build on the success that he and the late NDP leader, Jack Layton, accomplished together.
“Jack and I worked shoulder to shoulder ovevr the past five years to bring a more positive outlook to politics [in Quebec],” said Mulcair. “We have to do the same thing across Canada and reach out beyond our traditional base.”
Mulcair, who was elected at the member of Parliament for Outremont (in Montreal) in 2007, served as deputy leader of the NDP since that time working together with Layton to gain support for the party in Quebec.
Mulcair told media that while most Canadians share the NDP’s goals and values, historically people have been unsure if the party could manage the economy of a country as large as Canada.
“We’ve shown on a provincially and territorial level that we can do a good job,” he said. “The next step is to change our status as the official opposition and form the first NDP government.”
Mulcair told supporters that the NDP leadership election on March 24 will be different than any other because he believes whoever is chosen to lead the party will become the next prime minister of Canada.
Mulcair then described how he would make that happen by reaching out beyond the NDP’s traditional base of voters.
First, Mulcair said it is important to reach out to people from First Nations backgrounds.
With two NDP First Nations MP’s in Quebec — one of whom is Romeo Saganash, another leadership candidate — Mulcair said there was a large increase in the number of First Nations people who voted.
Mulcair also said it was important to reach out to younger voters as well as voters from ethnic groups.
“We need to communicate to people that we are a party that can respect our roots and values and form a top quality management team, then we can form the government,” he said. “I hope you’ll honour me by voting for me to be the next NDP leader.”
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.