Elections time in North America: Will Justin Trudeau ride Corona waves to the majority?
North America Elections: Return of Corona pandemic notwithstanding, Canada has witnessed a series of elections, including elections to provincial assemblies of New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan besides two by-elections to House of Commons. Not only that, it has been during the Corona pandemic that both the Conservatives and the Green Party also elected their new leaders.
Elections of Liberal candidates from both Toronto Centre and York Centre in the just concluded by-elections have not put an end to speculations of an early federal election as the minority Liberal Government may have been drawing inspiration from provincial minority governments of both New Brunswick and British Columbia that have now returned with majority mandates.
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Though results of North America by-elections were on expected lines, yet the verdict of the electors of Toronto Centre must have warned cockles of hearts of the Liberal leadership. The seat fell vacant after former Finance Minister Bill Manreau quit following the We scam.
And among the candidates in the fray were Anammia Paul, the newly elected leader of the Green Party. She, however, did not succeed in finding her way to the House of Commons. She is the first leader of African origin to head a national party in Canada and the second immigrant after Jagmeet Singh of NDP, who happened to be the first Indo-Canadian, to be elected President of a national party in Canada. Jagmeet resigned his Ontario Provincial Assembly seat and contested by-election from a British Columbia riding to get into the House of Commons.
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Ms Paul will have to wait now to get into the House of Commons as the national leader of the Green Party.
In a recent message to all party workers and sympathisers, the Liberal party said that it was excited to congratulate and welcome extraordinary community leaders Marci Len and Ya"ara Saks as its newest Liberal Members of Parliament.
Though the Liberals managed to get the verdict of the House in approving throne speech last week, yet uncertainty over federal elections being brought forward remains intact.
The speculations were further strengthened by the recent message of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to party workers. He wrote: "I want to be talking about improving long-term care, taxing the super wealthy to pay for the pandemic recovery, moving forward on pharmacare and childcare — things that actually matter to everyday Canadians.
"Instead, we keep getting thrown into this election speculation.
"If the Prime Minister wants an election, he should just come out and say so — and explain to Canadians why. We are not going to be used as an excuse or a cover. We’re going to continue doing the work we need to do, but we’ve also got to get ready, Prabhjot, because this isn’t going away," wrote Jagmeet Singh.
The Liberal message to its party workers, however, talks of pulling Canada out of the Corona pandemic crisis. It says "Over the past few weeks, Marci Len Ya’ara Saks and hundreds of dedicated volunteers have been hard at work connecting with Canadians in York Centre and Toronto Centre about the Liberal team’s plan to keep Canadians safe and supported, and to build back better with bold action on health, the economy, the environment, and equality.
By-election results send a strong message that Canadians support the work that Justin Trudeau and our Liberal team are doing to keep Canada moving forward. These were also unprecedented campaigns that reached out to the community in so many innovative and virtual new ways, and it’s the hope and hard work of our volunteers that makes all of our progress possible for Canadians.
"Marci and Ya’ara will both bring their strong voices and long records of community leadership to Parliament and join the Liberal team in our work to build a future that is healthier and safer, greener, more competitive, more fair, and more inclusive for all Canadians.
"But with so much at stake for Canadians, we can’t slow down for a moment. Erin O’Toole and the Conservative Party are stepping up their efforts to stop the progress we’re making for Canadians, and even to bring down our Liberal government. Now more than ever, we need to keep working together to build a better, stronger, and more inclusive Canada," the message said.
On the other hand, Jagmeet Singh further said that the Prime Minister wanted to go to an election simply because he doesn’t like a committee. That shows how disconnected the Liberals are from what people are going through.
"It has never been my goal to force an election. It has always been my goal to fight for people. People need our help. That’s what we’re focused on.
"These political games don’t change that — but they do raise the stakes in everything we do. We have to be ready for an election. It could still happen anytime," Jagmeet Singh concluded.
-PTC News
