NDP members pick Transcona BIZ head as candidate for Elmwood-Transcona byelection
CBC
The federal NDP will fight a byelection in Elmwood-Transcona with a business leader as its candidate, rather than a member of the Blaikie family.
Party members voted Wednesday night to select Leila Dance as the next NDP candidate for Elmwood-Transcona, succeeding Daniel Blaikie, who held the seat for nearly a decade, and his late father Bill, an MP for almost 30 years before that.
Dance, the executive director of the Transcona BIZ, fought back tears as she addressed the crowd at Holy Eucharist Parish Centre after winning the contested nomination. Around 100 people cast their ballot.
"I really hope that I can represent you how you need me to represent you. And I promise to be a strong voice for you in Ottawa so the NDP can keep this seat — we're not giving it up; we're going to keep it; it's ours."
"The blue can take their ball and go home," she added with a smile, alluding to the upcoming byelection challenge from the Conservatives.
The seat was left vacant after Daniel Blaikie resigned earlier this year for a role advising the government of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
A date for the byelection hasn't been called.
The riding of Elmwood-Transcona has predominantly belonged to the NDP, and specifically the Blaikie family, from the beginning.
Bill Blaikie was first elected in 1979, as the member of Parliament for Winnipeg-Birds Hill. After that electoral district was dissolved in 1987, Blaikie won four elections in the new seat of Winnipeg-Transcona, and two more after it was renamed Elmwood-Transcona in 2004.
He resigned in 2008 and a year later began a brief foray into provincial politics.
Bill died in 2022.
His son, Daniel Blaikie, took over as MP in 2015.
The Conservatives only held the seat from 2011 to 2015, but the party is currently riding high in polls across the country and hoping to carry that momentum into a byelection victory in Elmwood-Transcona.
Neither the Conservatives or governing Liberals have named their candidate.
The province and district social services administration boards say plans are in place to ensure people on social assistance do not miss out on benefits as a result of the strike by Canada Post employees.
Near the exit to Truro, N.S., a cluster of colorful tents and a lone RV can be seen alongside Highway 102, some tucked under the overpass for shelter from the elements.
Police and Public Trust, a project of the CBC News Atlantic investigative unit, scrutinizes the largely off-limits police complaint and discipline systems across the region. Journalists are using access to information laws and, in some cases, court challenges to obtain discipline records and data.
Toronto police have arrested a GTA woman who they allege scammed dozens of Taylor Swift fans out of more than $70,000 by promising them tickets that never materialized.
Montreal was, in years past, considered a haven for renters. But those days are long gone.
WARNING: This story details violent events surrounding a fatal police shooting.
It took Gordon Frentz over 14 hours to drive through the snow from Grande Prairie, Alta., this past weekend to compete at this year's Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.
The coroner's inquest into the drug-related deaths of six men in custody at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre will revisit 2018 recommendations relating to eight other inmate deaths to determine what's been done to implement them, the inquest's lawyer said Monday on the first day of hearings.
Emily Walstrom was expecting to lay her father to rest this month, but instead, she says his cremated remains are stuck in a Canada Post facility in B.C., delayed by the ongoing national postal strike.
A Friday night fire hasn't caused any impact to operations at the Dryden mill, the company said.
With around 55,000 Canada Post workers on strike since Nov.15 and no deal in sight, Toronto businesses say they're gearing up for a tough holiday season.