Federal NDP leader Avi Lewis said he was encouraged by the number of people who showed up on short notice to his meet-and-greet visit Saturday morning at the Brantford and District Labour Council centre for a byelection that, at that point, had yet to be called.
“I think our momentum is a little under the radar right now, and as a person with the privilege and honour to go back and forth across this huge, beautiful country meeting with our base, our base is on fire and ready to work,” Lewis told The Expositor.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a call for byelections to take place in six ridings in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan on December 7. The Brantford-Brant South riding is among those after former Conservative MP Larry Brock resigned effective September 18, to return to a position with the Crown attorney’s office in Brantford.
Lewis has been on a swing through southwestern Ontario over the past several days with stops also in Hamilton, Guelph, Brampton and Windsor. At some of those locations, town hall meetings were held under the banner For the Many, Not the Money.
“I think there’s a hunger for no-nonsense, straight up progressive politics in Canada today and I think that — even though the Liberal party and the prime minister are still high in the polls — people are starting to realize that the Carney agenda is not addressing the cost-of-living emergency and the crisis in working class life in Canada,” Lewis observed.
He said the New Democratic Party is advancing progressive solutions such as a public option for groceries, cell phones and internet; a national rent freeze; and policies calling for a green industrial strategy to create tens of thousands of unionized jobs; and using Canadian steel in the 21st century electricity grid.
Lewis said the aim is to have an independent domestic economy that slashes people’s cost of living, reduces emissions, and creates jobs at the same time.
“We are offering a clear alternative to what is emerging as the Carney agenda, which is foreign investment, selling our natural resources, privatizing our airports, letting Ontario and Alberta privatize health care, and basically continuing an economic plan that is incredible for corporate Canada and sucks for working people,” the party leader stated.
“Starting to construct pipelines, ports, and mines without abiding by the constitutional requirement to consult First Nations first, it’s clear he’s on the side of the one per-cent and we’re advancing policies for the 99 per cent,” Lewis said.
“Canadians, I think, are really scared right now and unfortunately, I feel the Liberal government is taking advantage of that fear to push through a pretty radical pro-business agenda that’s going to make a lot of money for a very small number of people, but is not focused on the cost of living, which is the biggest emergency we actually face.
“We were in a cost-of-living crisis before Trump showed up and started stomping all over us, so that’s what you hear from people everywhere I go,” he said. “People cannot pay rent, buy groceries, and have any money left over for their insane cellphone bills, the high cost of transportation, and for the increasing costs of healthcare as it gets privatized. We need solutions to that, and the NDP has concrete proposals.”
Lewis noted that the steel industry is important to this area, and the Stelco layoffs remind people that both foreign-owned and Canadian-owned operations “can screw with workers with basically no repercussion when they have a business-friendly government.”
Marc Laferriere of Waterford, an educator and social worker who ran as the Brantford-Brant federal NDP candidate in 2011 and 2015, described this byelection as a “jump ball” election, in that the ball is in the air and anyone can grab it.
“I’m here supporting Brad (Ward). I think he’s very savvy and I really like what I see with Avi Lewis,” he said. “To me, this feels like 2009 when we were having Jack Layton in, and people were underestimating us, and I think we surprised a lot of people in the 2009-2011 period. I think Brad and the local NDP are going to be surprising a lot of people in this byelection.”
Lewis said he believes there will be unanimous support for Ward, a nominee seeking to be named candidate at a riding association meeting on Nov. 7. Noting that Ward was elected as the New Democratic MPP for Brantford in 1990, the party leader described him as a community leader and a local fixture for decades.
“I think we’ve got a shot because we’re at the ground level where people live and we’re talking about the crisis of everyday life.”
Lewis concluded his Brantford visit by strolling through the Brantford Farmer’s Market to speak with vendors and citizens.
