2 days Ago By Ari Yanover
Edmonton Strathcona’s Heather McPherson and Edmonton Griesbach’s Blake Desjarlais are looking to keep their seats, but there was significance to Singh’s appearance in Edmonton Centre. That riding, since the 1990s, has seen horse race after horse race between the Tories and the Liberals. But, with the resignation of Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault from cabinet and his decision not to seek re-election, the NDP feel that Trisha Estabrooks could be ready for an upset.
“We’re in a time in our country’s history where we’re talking a lot about what it means to be Canadian,” said Estabrooks. “You ask any Canadian about what are the things we’re most proud of, and health care usually comes up as one of the top one or two things.” Estabrooks, a former Edmonton Public Schools trustee, is in her second year of door-knocking.
“I feel that there’s a lot of momentum. I feel that people are wanting to send someone to Ottawa who is going to represent them, who’s going to serve with integrity, and who’s going to bring their concerns directly to the House of Commons.” Despite the bluster, polling aggregator 338Canada currently rates Edmonton Strathcona the only seat in the province as a likely NDP triumph.
McPherson said that means she’s going to not only work on her own campaign, but help boost the fortunes of her fellow candidates in the area. “There’s definitely going to be more than just Blake and I next time,” said McPherson. “I have high aspirations for doubling our seat count, every single election.
The fact that Edmonton Strathcona is a relatively safe seat — don’t get me wrong, I’m door knocking every day, I am doing the work to talk to my constituents — means that I can help out other campaigns. I help out where I can. People need to realize that Edmonton is a New Democrat town.
” And despite the polls showing the Liberals could actually not only defend Edmonton Centre, but pick up seats in Alberta, McPherson warned that Alberta will revert to the mean — a Tory vs. NDP race. “I don’t say this as a politician, but as a Canadian.
Liberals cannot beat Conservatives in Alberta,” said McPherson. “New Democrats are the only party that can beat Conservatives. We have seen that on the provincial level, we have seen that at the federal level.
” She’s confident that Estabrooks can win in Edmonton Centre. She also sees Riverbend and Manning as places that could help her realize her doubling-the-seat-count prediction. “If you are worried about Conservatives in Edmonton.
New Democrats can beat Conservatives,” said Singh, noting Desjarlais’s upset win over Tory incumbent Kerry Diotte in 2021, and the fact that the Ontario NDP defied pollster predictions and got enough seats to be the Official Opposition in that province’s recent election. Singh spent the afternoon door knocking with McPherson in Hazeldean, at Southwoods Court. They met with residents in affordable-housing units who talked about monthly rent increases of $400-$500 a month since a new owner took over the facility.
In Hazeldean, McPherson said it’s “always the goal to form government” in an election campaign. But, with the rose-coloured glasses removed, she said she’d like to see the party hold the 25 ridings it had when Parliament was dissolved, increase the seat count in Edmonton, and win back ridings like Saskatoon West, which the NDP lost to the Tories in 2019, and St. John’s East, which the Liberals snatched from the New Democrats in 2021.
For her, it would be a big sign of success if the NDP were able to claw back seats that were traditionally theirs And, for the NDP, there’s no better way to beat the party drum than by talking about health care. Unveiling a policy that would block American ownership of Canada’s health assets is just gravy in a campaign already filled with anti-Trump messaging. Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.
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