Singh’s reception out West
Hello, I’m a senior reporter following the NDP campaign.
In Western Canada, the NDP governs in two provinces (B.C. and Manitoba) and is the Official Opposition in the other two (Alberta and Saskatchewan). During federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s first Western swing this week, did we see any laying on of hands from successful provincial New Democrats?
His meeting with Premier David Eby in Victoria on Monday was a late addition to his itinerary. The timestamps on camera footage suggest the meeting lasted about 15 minutes. (In Eby’s defence, it was a hectic day for him, as the legislature debated B.C.’s 11th-hour retreat from carbon pricing ahead of its scheduled April 1 increase.)
At Singh’s next stop in Edmonton Tuesday, Singh spoke with Alberta’s NDP Leader (and former Calgary mayor) Naheed Nenshi, but only on a Zoom call because Nenshi was in Calgary.
The NDP tour skipped over Saskatchewan (which hasn’t elected a New Democrat MP since 2015) and flew onwards to Winnipeg that afternoon. Reporters and cameras were allowed into the foyer of the legislature to watch Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew greet Singh.
Kinew and Singh spoke briefly and, within a minute, the pair disappeared up the side stairs to meet privately.
Provincial leaders have been stingy with their endorsements so far in this unpredictable and volatile campaign — finding it politically safer, perhaps, to stay in their own lanes and pledge to work with whomever voters pick. But if there was ever a race where the federal NDP could use a public endorsement from a popular premier, surely it’s this one, as Singh continues to trail badly in national polls.
