Close X
Saturday, November 23, 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

    Five People Injured In Hit-And-Runs In Langley, B.C., Man Arrested

    Five People Injured In Hit-And-Runs In Langley, B.C., Man Arrested
    A 24-year-old man from Abbotsford has been arrested by police, who allege he was in breach of a recognizance over a condition that he was not be in a vehicle

    Five People Injured In Hit-And-Runs In Langley, B.C., Man Arrested

    Woman Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries After Being Struck By Vehicle In Delta

    Delta Police were called to the 10200 block of Hornby Drive just after 6:30 am Dec. 19. The road is located in rural Delta, just parallel to Hwy. 99.

    Woman Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries After Being Struck By Vehicle In Delta

    Vancouver Woman Charged After 'Boost And Bust' Operation In Tsawwassen

    On December 13, the Delta Police Street Crime Unit was conducting a “Boost and Bust” project at Tsawwassen Mills/Tsawwassen Commons.

    Vancouver Woman Charged After 'Boost And Bust' Operation In Tsawwassen

    Alleged Serial Bank Robber Charged After Vancouver Arrest

    Alleged Serial Bank Robber Charged After Vancouver Arrest
    A bank robber, believed to be linked to eleven recent bank robberies, was caught in the act by two Vancouver Police officers this past weekend.

    Alleged Serial Bank Robber Charged After Vancouver Arrest

    Electoral Referendum Results Being Released In British Columbia Today

    The results of British Columbia's referendum on whether the province should switch to a system of proportional representation are being released today.

    Electoral Referendum Results Being Released In British Columbia Today

    19-Year-Old Knife-Wielding Surrey Man Arrested In Downtown Vancouver

    19-Year-Old Knife-Wielding Surrey Man Arrested In Downtown Vancouver
    19-year-old Surrey man was arrested after he allegedly injured a woman with a knife in downtown Vancouver on Thursday morning.  

    19-Year-Old Knife-Wielding Surrey Man Arrested In Downtown Vancouver