ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The orange wave washed into St. John's earlier this month, bringing 101 NDP MPs on a fall retreat and federal caucus meeting. In its
wake were the national news media bringing the news from the far east of a party that is preparing to take on Stephen Harper and the Conservatives when the House of Commons opens tomorrow.
With only two MPs from Newfoundland and Labrador and dozens from other provinces it might seem an unlikely and out of the way place but, besides St.
John's being a great place to visit, there is an undercurrent that tells the story.
With the NDP having conquered Quebec, for now at least, the seven Newfoundland and Labrador seats are seen as attainable. At first wash it might
seem ridiculous and they have never held many seats here, but the NDP has always been there, just under the surface, in both federal and provincial politics.
In the traditionally conservative urban ridings of St. John's and the strong labour riding of western Labrador they have held seats historically and
consistently enjoy strong support.
Currently, Jack Harris holds St. John's East and Ryan Cleary holds St. John's South-Mount Pearl federally. In the last provincial election the NDP came
within one seat of forming the official Opposition to the once all-powerful Progressive Conservative Party, whose polling numbers are sinking fast since
uber-popular former leader Danny Williams jumped ship nearly two years ago.
With the provincial Liberals in disarray and the NDP buoyed by a jump in popularity, they sound like an opposition party as they get out in front of the
Liberals and ruling PCs on many issues publicly. The NDP has a long institutional memory here with longtime members still around as younger members
join and take over the helm.
MP and defence critic Jack Harris has been a member of the provincial legislature, a party leader and twice an MP in his 30-year career as a
politician representing various rejigged St. John's ridings.
The NDP organization in this province is not divided between federal and provincial parties like the Liberals and Conservatives. They are one team that
works together on every election its members are contesting, be it federal, provincial or now it seems, municipal. NDP leader Thomas Mulcair and other
high-profile members have been a regular sight in Newfoundland since the federal election. Mulcair even delved into St. John's municipal politics by endorsing
city councillor Sheilagh O'Leary in the next mayoral election.
Mulcair says the NDP is resurgent in Atlantic Canada because NDP values line up with Atlantic Canada's values on social issues and there is a clearly
defined line between NDP and Conservatives. He says Conservative MP Peter Penashue's Labrador seat is on the NDP hunting list, as Penashue won with a slim
majority and his performance has been very weak as a cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government.
Caucus chairman Peter Julian said members will fan out across the province to attend events in every riding to reach out to people in rural areas and
entice them to move away from their historic Liberal-Tory voting habits. With Newfoundland's strong labour movement, you'd think it would be an easy catch for
the party.
Do the meagre seven seats of Newfoundland and Labrador mean anything in the big ocean of federal politics?
Not normally, but in the turbulent political environment of recent years with minority governments and tenuous majorities, every seat counts and the NDP
is going fishing in every pond.
Greg Locke is The Chronicle Herald's correspondent in Newfoundland and Labrador. ILLUS: NDP Leader Tom Mulcair delivers the opening remarks at the
party's annual summer caucus retreat in St. John's, N.L., earlier this month.
(Paul Daly / The Canadian Press)
NDP Critic for Canadian Heritage Peter Julian issued the following statement:
"It has come to our attention that a consultant for a federally funded anti-racism project has a disturbing track record of spewing hate speech online against Jewish and francophone communities. This is completely unacceptable. We call on the Minister of Heritage to take drastic action and terminate his contract.
NDP Heritage Critic Peter Julian issued the following statement:
“Today’s announcement by Hockey Canada is another attempt to delay the important and urgent work to deal with the toxic culture in this organization. While a former Supreme Court Justice is a credible appointment to conduct the review into Hockey Canada, this won’t be the first time the organization undergoes this process.
NDP critic for Canadian Heritage, Peter Julian, made the following statement:
“Canadians are horrified by the incidents of sexual assault and by what they’re hearing from Hockey Canada. They are left with many questions about how this toxic culture is allowed to persist in our sports organizations and what the government is actually doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again.