Topp Makes a Stop in P.G.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 @ 11:15 AM
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Prince George, B.C. – Brian Topp is the latest NDP leadership candidate to make a stop in Prince George.The 51 year old was born in Longueuil, Quebec and grew up on the south shore of Montreal, but he is keenly aware that B.C. will have an impact on who becomes the new leader of the party. “Nobody’s going to be elected to be the federal Leader of the NDP who doesn’t do very well in British Columbia, it’s the largest section of our party and that’s still going to be true when the leadership race is over” says Topp. “We cannot be elected the government of Canada without doing well in British Columbia. Its just a straight forward question of mathematics, plus it’s a fundamental part of our party, it’s big part of where our resources are from, it’s a big part of where our best ideas come from, it’s our next best shot at electing another provincial government. So B.C. will always be at the heart of our work, it just has to be.”
The convention is just two weeks away, “Jack Layton taught us to be loving hopeful and optimistic, and I am loving that it’s almost over. It’s been a long campaign. I’m hopeful that its going well, I think it’s going well, I’ve got a great team and we’re spending a lot of time right now talking directly to members, and optimistic about what happens when its over. We’re going to unite, and we’re going to take on our only real opponent, that’s Stephen Harper and I’m quite confident we’re going to replace him in the next election.”
Topp says while two of his competitors have B.C. connections, ( Thomas Mulcair has family links here, and Nathan Cullen is the MP for Skeena-Bulkley) he is the one with the real experience “As the guy who was going to be the campaign director for the BC NDP had the election happened last fall, I think I know our party and this province pretty well too. I’m very close to the B.C. NDP I work very closely to the Provincial caucus which is why they endorsed me in this race, they know me very well, they know I know them very well and that we work very well together as a team.”
Topp says what separates him from the other contenders is that he worked very closely with Jack Layton during all of Layton’s campaign “That hopeful optimistic approach I talked about earlier, I strongly feel that is what got us elected, what I add to that is, I worked at the heart of a sitting NDP government in Saskatchewan. So if what we are aiming for is to lead government, maybe it’s a good idea to chose a leader who has some experience in an NDP government and that’s what I bring.”
Topp is one of seven vying for the job as leader of the NDP. Other names on the ballot are ( in alphabetical order):
Niki Ashton
Nathan Cullen
Paul Dewar
Thomas Mulcair
Peggy Nash
Martin Singh
The leadership convention is set for the 23rd and 24th of this month in Toronto.
Comments
There was/is a tradition in old Israel that when you visit there you plant a tree. Seeing as how we westerners are monkey see, monkey do, could the folks at city hall extrapolate on this tradition and kind of make it a tradition here that every visiting politician can fill one large pot hole marking his visit? Couldn’t hurt.
I thought the Vancouver debate was great. I found myself identifying with a lot of the candidates and seeing hope for our country.
I think Nathen Cullen would make a fantastic Prime Minister for PG, Northern BC, rural Canada, and Canada as a whole. I think we would have a national energy policy if he was the leader of the ndp, and I think we would have a real free enterprise friendly PM working for the small business owners before the monopoly multinationals (unlike any of the other party leaders).
I also liked Thomas Mulclair in that he is serious and thoughtful and rational in his approach. Seems like a level headed guy that would be good for the party I’m sure.
I didn’t like at all Martin Singh or Niki Ashton, as they were negative for the sake of partisan politics and character portrayals for the sole benefit of their own promotion above that of good policy, the country, and even their party. I am surprised they can win a riding much less a national election. Canada doesn’t need more of that in Ottawa IMO.
Brian Topp is a politician, likeable guy and would make a great cabinet minister or house leader, not that inspiring though from a personal perspective in what his vision of Canada would mean for the average citizen. His platform seems more about process than clear policy.
Paul Dewar and Peggy Nash would also make good cabinet material as they take their politics seriously.
I think only Nathen Cullen could beat Harper in a general election though, and only Nathen Cullen would be able to stop the Gateway pipeline.
IMHO
Bingo! That’s what we need. More “likeable” guys running this country. Who do I like? I like er, umm, ah, hmmm? Who is the one guy 34 million people can like? My guess is Homer Simpson. He’s been on TV for almost 25 years. What’s not to like? AND he has done almost everything, too!
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