Burnaby South MP Kennedy Stewart has thrown his support behind an Ontario politician who’s looking to become the next leader of the federal NDP.
Stewart has endorsed Jagmeet Singh, one of four candidates running to replace Tom Mulcair.
The announcement comes less than a week after New Democrat Peter Julian, MP for New Westminster-Burnaby, decided to drop out of the leadership race because his team couldn’t bring in enough donations.
“I really think we need to shake things up in Ottawa and especially within our party, and I think Jagmeet is the one to do it,” Stewart told the NOW.
The MP cited a few reasons for supporting Singh, including that he belongs to a visible minority.
“After you sit in Parliament for six years, you realize that it’s still, despite some moves forward, a place for middle-class straight, white males. And only 26 per cent of the House of Commons is women,” Stewart said. “We’ve never had a leader of a national political party from a visible minority community. Burnaby, 60 per cent of the population of my riding, is from visible minority communities and I just think, besides all of his other qualities, the symbolism is very, very important.”
Another reason Stewart is supporting Singh’s leadership bid is because of his opposing stance on Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain expansion project. (Stewart has been a longtime pipeline critic.)
Though the project has received federal approval, Kinder Morgan faces many legal challenges made by First Nations groups, who say they weren’t properly consulted.
In a policy paper titled Fairness for Indigenous Communities, Workers and Families, Singh refers to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and says it must be respected.
“Canada must obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them,” the document reads.
Singh was in town on the weekend and was toured around by the local MP.
“I showed him the tanks farms. I showed him how close it was to SFU and the Forest Grove (neighbourhood),” said Stewart. “I think any national politicians who come and see, they can’t believe it.”
As for Julian, Stewart said he kept in touch with him throughout his leadership run.
“I’m very supportive of Peter. We work very, very well together.”
The timing of the endorsement was somewhat strategic, Stewart added.
“It was in the sense that I want to help Jagmeet sign up members. The membership cut off is around mid-August and that’s a big part of the leadership campaign,” he said, noting “it feels really good out there.”
“I mean every event I go to with (Jagmeet), he’s just swarmed, so that’s pretty cool.”
New Democrats will choose their new leader in October.
