Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

New Year, New Chief Of Staff And A Byelection Bid: Jagmeet Singh Eyes 2019

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Dec, 2018 05:31 AM

    OTTAWA — It will be a big January for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as he looks to get a much-needed seat in the House of Commons.

     

    Singh plans to hunker down next month in the B.C. riding of Burnaby-South as he tries to check "elected" off his to-do list for a critical campaign year ahead.


    The byelection, expected for February, marks Singh's biggest political test to date while he also tries to calm party fears about fundraising, slumping polls and a growing list of veteran MPs who say they won't run in 2019.


    Singh has been to the riding a number of times, said Jennifer Howard, his new chief of staff.


    Howard is a longtime party strategist who was elected as a Manitoba provincial politician in 2007.

     


    The party has secured a volunteer team and an office as it sets its sights on a victory for their leader, she said, adding that the New Democrats are not taking anything for granted as they work on a win.


    "He is going to become Jagmeet the candidate," Howard said.


    "We are doing all the things that you do to get ready for a campaign so I am very confident."


    For his part, Singh has declined to say whether he will step down as leader should he lose in the riding, which was vacated by former New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart, now Vancouver's mayor.


    Howard said she's not letting any other thought enter her mind either.

     


    "He is going to win," she said. "We aren't focused on any other outcome because in order to get that outcome, we have to focus on running that race and doing what we need to do to win it."


    In addition to taking on the byelection battle, Singh also faces the task of looking at the party's roster for the 2019 election campaign.


    Earlier this month, MP Fin Donnelly joined a growing list of NDP incumbents who will not seek re-election. It includes Romeo Saganash, Helene Laverdiere, Tom Mulcair, David Christopherson, Irene Mathyssen and Linda Duncan.


    B.C. MPs Nathan Cullen and Murray Rankin are also mulling their futures during the holiday break.


    Canadians should not draw unnecessary conclusions from the departure of veteran NDP MPs, Howard said.


    "I don't see any basis for that," she said. "I don't think that this is anything different than (what) typically happens at this stage (as) you get closer to an election ... This is about the time in the cycle when people make those decisions."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Online Sales, Interactive Displays As Lottery Agencies Vie For Customers

    Online Sales, Interactive Displays As Lottery Agencies Vie For Customers
    The 32-year-old is part of an office pool and chips in $2 a week at her Winnipeg workplace, primarily for the social aspect of playing with others.

    Online Sales, Interactive Displays As Lottery Agencies Vie For Customers

    Residents Near Canada-U.S. Border To Be Paid For Asylum Seeker Disruption: Ottawa

    Residents Near Canada-U.S. Border To Be Paid For Asylum Seeker Disruption: Ottawa
    Roughly 96 per cent of all migrants who have crossed illegally into Canada since 2017 have done so at Roxham Road.

    Residents Near Canada-U.S. Border To Be Paid For Asylum Seeker Disruption: Ottawa

    Supreme Court Affirms Privacy Rights For Canadians Who Share A Computer

    Supreme Court Affirms Privacy Rights For Canadians Who Share A Computer
    Sharing a computer with someone does not mean giving up privacy rights over the material stored on the machine, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

    Supreme Court Affirms Privacy Rights For Canadians Who Share A Computer

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal From Quebec Judge Over Hijab Disciplinary Probe

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal From Quebec Judge Over Hijab Disciplinary Probe
    The high court announced today it would not hear her appeal. As is customary, it did not give reasons why.

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal From Quebec Judge Over Hijab Disciplinary Probe

    Omar Khadr Back In Edmonton Court To Ask For Changes To Bail Conditions

    Omar Khadr Back In Edmonton Court To Ask For Changes To Bail Conditions
    Khadr, who is now 32, is seeking a Canadian passport to travel to Saudi Arabia and wants permission to speak to his sister.    

    Omar Khadr Back In Edmonton Court To Ask For Changes To Bail Conditions

    Package Found At Toronto Airport Terminal Not A Threat, Police Say

    Package Found At Toronto Airport Terminal Not A Threat, Police Say
    Police investigating a suspicious package found at Toronto's Pearson International Airport say the bag contained items for routine tests of security checkpoints.

    Package Found At Toronto Airport Terminal Not A Threat, Police Say