Close X
Sunday, November 10, 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

    BC Conservatives To Run Candidate In Upcoming Byelection In Nanaimo

    BC Conservative party says it will participate in the upcoming provincial byelection in Nanaimo and expects to name its candidate in the coming weeks.    

    BC Conservatives To Run Candidate In Upcoming Byelection In Nanaimo

    Windstorm That Swept B.C. South Coast Among 'Most Severe' In Years: Hydro

    Windstorm That Swept B.C. South Coast Among 'Most Severe' In Years: Hydro
    It's one of several communities dealing with the aftermath of Thursday's storm, which BC Hydro is describing as among the most severe in many years.

    Windstorm That Swept B.C. South Coast Among 'Most Severe' In Years: Hydro

    Toppling Tree Leaves 1 Dead As Powerful Windstorm Wreaks Havoc On Southwest B.C.

    One person was killed by a falling tree Thursday during a powerful windstorm that battered parts of British Columbia, causing more than 265,000 power outages and forcing dozens of ferry cancellations. 9

    Toppling Tree Leaves 1 Dead As Powerful Windstorm Wreaks Havoc On Southwest B.C.

    BC Parks Threatens $1-Million Fine As It Closes Off Newly Discovered Cave

    BC Parks Threatens $1-Million Fine As It Closes Off Newly Discovered Cave
    The order issued this week says anyone who enters the surrounding area or the cave can be fined and face imprisonment for up to a year.    

    BC Parks Threatens $1-Million Fine As It Closes Off Newly Discovered Cave

    Hells Angels Re-Establish East Coast Presence: 'They Have A Good Footprint'

    Hells Angels Re-Establish East Coast Presence: 'They Have A Good Footprint'
    The Hells Angels have re-established an evolving presence in Atlantic Canada, although experts say they have not expanded their roster of full-patch 

    Hells Angels Re-Establish East Coast Presence: 'They Have A Good Footprint'

    B.C. Hunting Guide Seeks Class-Action Lawsuit In Battle Over Grizzly Hunting Ban

    B.C. Hunting Guide Seeks Class-Action Lawsuit In Battle Over Grizzly Hunting Ban
    VANCOUVER — The operator of a guide outfitting company has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the British Columbia government over the ban on grizzly bear hunting.

    B.C. Hunting Guide Seeks Class-Action Lawsuit In Battle Over Grizzly Hunting Ban