Federal NDP leader helps kick off party’s byelection campaign in Elmwood-Transcona

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The date has yet to be set for the federal Elmwood-Transcona byelection but the NDP are hitting the ground running as federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was in town Saturday to help candidate Leila Dance launch her campaign.

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“(Elmwood-Transcona is) incredibly important and it’s also important because of the choice that people have in front of them,” said Singh, who helped open Dance’s campaign office before heading out to knock on doors. “What I’ve heard from a lot of folks here in Winnipeg, across Manitoba and across the country frankly is they feel very frustrated with the Liberals. They feel frustrated and they feel fed up with Justin Trudeau. They’re done with the Liberals and now they’re looking for a choice.”

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Party members voted Wednesday night to select the Transcona BIZ executive director to carry the party’s banner, succeeding Daniel Blaikie, who held the seat for nearly a decade. Blaikie’s late father Bill was the area MP for almost 30 years before that.

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Daniel Blaikie resigned his seat at the end of March in order to work for Premier Wab Kinew. A byelection date has yet to be called but must be held by Sept. 29. Blaikie was on hand to support Dance along with provincial Justice Minister and Concordia MLA Matt Wiebe and Winnipeg Centre MP MP Leah Gazan.

“I’m from the community,” said Dance. “I know what the community wants and needs and I want to continue to able to serve that community. I think the part that is the most important to me is continuing to fill those gaps and the struggles that people are having I understand. I’m looking forward to being able to move that forward and help them.”

Dance recognizes that she has big shoes to fill following Blaikie, who was first elected in 2015, narrowly defeating Conservative incumbent Lawrence Toet. He was re-elected in 2019 and 2021, with larger percentages of the popular vote each time.

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“Following in his footsteps is going to be difficult but I know that he’s going to be there to support me,” said Dance. “I’ve got a great support system with Jagmeet and the provincial MLAs who have come out and shown support. The team here has really rallied around me to help me move forward so I know that I’ll have that moving forward.”

The NDP recognize they could have a fight on their hands to retain the seat but Singh said they need only remind voters of what happened under the former Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba and what that will mean if Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives form government.

“We can be confident that when we go to the doorstep that Leila will be the person who will fight for you,” said Singh. “New Democrats have shown that we will make you our priority and the Conservatives have cut before in Manitoba and that’s what they’ll do again. We can’t let that happen.”

gdawkins@postmedia.com

X: @SunGlenDawkins

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