When Svend Robinson announced he was running for the job of MP in Burnaby North-Seymour, I wondered which Svend Robinson we would be getting in this year’s election campaign.
Would it be the brash, outspoken MP who once heckled U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the House of Commons? The one who has given federal NDP leadership grey hairs by speaking out – sometimes opposing his own party’s stances on the issues?
Or would it be a tamer, perhaps mellower politician?
After all, Robinson has been out of the Canadian political game for a long time (he left office in 2004). He lived in Switzerland and worked for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Time away from politics can change a person. Politics can be a brawl and 14 years away can dull that fighting instinct, right?
It took about five minutes for Robinson to lace up his gloves again and start tossing haymakers.
He savaged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for following Donald Trump’s lead on crisis in Venezuela, calling it “shameful.”
But Robinson was just warming up. Robinson has made it clear he opposes the Trans Mountain pipeline. But in two separate interviews in the past week, Robinson took it even further, stating unequivocally that he’s against the B.C. liquefied natural gas project that is supported by the BC NDP.
"I oppose any new oil and gas infrastructure, including that particular one," Robinson told Evan Solomon when asked about it on the Canadian political show, CTV Question Period, which aired last Sunday.
What’s interesting about his opposition to the B.C. LNG project is that his own party’s leader Jagmeet Singh – who is running for his political life in the Burnaby South byelection – supports this project. (I still don’t understand how the federal and BC NDP can be against Trans Mountain and for LNG at the same time – and the Site C dam for that matter.)
I can’t state strongly enough how rare it is that a political candidate have such public opposition to a policy that is supported by the party leader – especially one in the middle of an election campaign.
Most politicians are terrified of disagreeing with the party leader, in fear that it will land them on the backbench. And that’s just elected officials – Robinson hasn’t even won his seat yet and was only officially nominated last week.
Well, that’s Svend being Svend. The dude is fearless and refuses to knuckle under to anyone.
But where does this leave Singh? One the one hand, it makes the federal NDP look like a party that supports all voices. On the other hand, it also makes Singh look weak and the party itself a bit out of control if they aren’t all on the same page. This is a terrible time for the federal NDP. They are mired near the bottom of the polls and during the past three months of fundraising, the party nearly got beat by the federal Greens. Right now, Singh doesn’t look fully in control of his own party.
Consistent messaging is vital for political parties during an election campaign. Rogue voices can derail campaigns.
I don’t know how Singh views Robinson’s vocal stance on national television. Maybe he’s too busy trying to ensure he wins the Burnaby South byelection to worry about it.
If Singh does win, it will be interesting if he tries to keep Robinson in line. And when I say “tries,” I mean good luck with that.
Or maybe he doesn’t he even attempt it. Robinson managed to be quite successful being who he is. I hope he doesn’t change and not just because it makes for good copy. It’s distressing watching politicians just parrot the party line all the time. I look at Liberal candidate Richard Lee and his unremarkable career as a BC Liberal MLA. He’s the consummate party man, reading talking points off a sheet of paper.
I’d take rogue any day.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44
