Friday, July 6, 2018

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh charts course for Northwest tour next week

Nathan Cullen and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh have a three day tour
of the Northwest ahead next week
(photo from Jagmeet Singh campaign material of 2017)

Skeena Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen will be the tour guide next week, as the Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh makes a  whistle stop of the Northwest starting on Monday.

The NDP leader who is currently travelling cross country to visit NDP supporters and would be voters in next years federal election has three days pencilled in for his tour of the region, with stops planned as follows:

Smithers July 9th
Hazelton July 9th
Nass Valley July 10th
Terrace July 10th
Kitimat July 11th 
Prince Rupert July 11th (Mariners' Park 12:30)

Load Up the Winnebago, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh & MP Nathan Cullen
are set to  tour the Northwest from July 9-11

During the course of their travels through the region, the MP and his leader will be meeting with constituents, elected officials and representatives of First Nations across the Northwest.

Updates on the tour will be posted to Mr. Cullen's Facebook page.

The chance to show off the riding for Mr. Cullen will also give him an opportunity to introduce the NDP leader to constituents.

During the run up to the NDP leadership convention of 2017, many political observers noted that it was Mr. Cullen's early support for Mr. Singh's leadership ambitions that helped propel him to the top post with the party.

MP Nathan Cullen hails first ballot victory for Jagmeet Singh
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP throws support to Jagmeet Singh in NDP leadership contest

The Prince Rupert stop of the tour is set for Wednesday, when Mr. Singh and Mr. Cullen will be hosting an Ice Cream Social of sorts at Prince Rupert's Mariners Park with that event to take place starting at 12:30 PM.



The main focus for the tour however will be the Tuesday night Fundraising event in Terrace, with the suggested entrance fee set for 20 dollars for those that plan to take in the evening's event in the Banquet room at the Terrace Arena.



Fundraising has become a significant theme for the NDP, with Singh himself currently not taking a salary from the party owing to the state of their finances, which means that for the most part he is going unpaid for his duties, as by not having yet secured a seat in Parliament, the NDP leader has yet to receive federal compensation as a sitting member.

Federal NDP has trouble raising cash as it prepares for the 2019 election
Conservatives had a better fundraising year in 2017 than Liberals, filing show

National reports have noted that the NDP recently approached Elections Canada seeking a one month extension of the reporting period for Financial returns for 2017, making them the only major political party not listed to this point to provide Financial documentation for the reporting period

Mr. Singh comes to the Northwest with a number of issues of note for the NDP heading into an election year, ranging from those declining fund raising levels to a slide in support in polling.

The latter situation highlighted by a recent by-election result which reduced the NDP footprint in Quebec and raised concerns for NDP supporters that some of their past success has been slipping away in the vote rich provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Tom Mulcair's parting words to the NDP: party should be 'worried' about the future
Singh vows more effort to recreate 'orange wave' after NDP collapse in Quebec byelection
'It's a priority': Singh to review NDP policies in the wake of 'disappointing' byelection in Quebec
Singh disappointed by NDP collapse in Quebec byelection
Jagmeet Singh has a lot of work to do

Mr. Singh has also faced some early stumbles as he took to his duties as the leader of the party,  starting with his decision to seemingly now wait until the General election of 2019 before he looks to claim a seat in the House of Commons.

That daily absence in the House has tended to reduce the NDP' leader's visibility when it comes to major political issues out of the nations capital, leaving the party to rely on sitting members to make their points in debate in the House of Commons.

Jagmeet Singh says he's fine without seat in House, but could run for one before next election

A few concerns have also been raised  over how the new leader has handled questions on the issue of the Air India bombing of 1985 and Sikh extremism, as well as from his decision to expel NDP member Doug Christopherson from caucus.

There has also a bit of an exodus from the NDP benches in the months since Mr. Singh claimed the leadership, as sitting MP's leave the caucus for other options or retirement from politics.

A stumbling Jagmeet Singh could be Justin Trudeau's saviour
The NDP could suffer from Jagmeet Singh's links to Indian conflicts, say observers
Jagmeet Singh defends appearance at Sikh Independence rally
Jagmeet Singh's NDP looks to rebound after months of bad news, party divisions
Federal NDP struggling to find traction after tough parliamentary session
Longtime NDP MP David Christopherson says he won't seek reelection

National issues however will all be in the rear view mirror for the week ahead, most likely Mr. Singh's focus from Monday to Wednesday probably will tend to mirror more of Mr. Cullen's issues as he travels the region.

With the new leader looking to learn more about what issues are important to NDP supporters across the Northwest and where they might be able to build on their traditional support across Bulkley Valley-Skeena.

You can find more items of note from Mr. Cullen's representation of the riding in Ottawa from our House of Commons archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

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