NDP Leader bets on Calgary Centre in by-election
Posted Nov 14, 2012 1:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is hoping to paint downtown Calgary orange this November in a by-election to replace outgoing MP Lee Richardson.
Mulcair believes a New Democrat win in Calgary Centre is a real possibility and he’s spent a lot of time canvassing the Red Mile area in hopes of securing support.
The long-time politician isn’t bothered by a recent poll that paints his party a distant fourth.
Given the results they saw in Québec during the last election, with 58 seats more than pollsters forecast, he believes anything is possible.
His message to voters in the riding is that they’ll have a clear choice when they go to the polls at the end of the month.
Mulcair says voters can either support the status quo, support a party bent on reviving itself, or support a party that has the best interests of Canadians.
And he tells reporters he’s getting that message to voters by telling people on the doorsteps about his vision of sustainable development.
“I’ve noticed Mrs. Crockatt has been largely silent, she hasn’t attended many of the debates, she hasn’t had a lot to say,” he says. “I’m quite concerned that if people make the same mistake of sending another Conservative like Mrs. Crockatt to Ottawa, we’d end up with another silent backbencher listening to the dictates of Stephen Harper in office.”
He points to the seat of Linda Duncan in Edmonton-Strathcona as a start and explains an opposition win in Alberta isn’t impossible.
Voters in Calgary Centre head to the polls on November 26th, 2012.
Candidates Calgary Centre / Calgary-Centre
CROCKATT, Joan
Conservative Party of Canada / Parti conservateur du Canada
GROCHOWSKI, Antoni
Independent / Indépendant
LOCKE, Harvey
Liberal Party of Canada / Parti libéral du Canada
MEADES, Dan
New Democratic Party / Nouveau Parti démocratique
PRASHAD, Tony
Libertarian Party of Canada / Parti Libertarien du Canada
TURNER, Chris
Green Party of Canada / Le Parti Vert du Canada
