The federal election in Canada is scheduled for October 19 after the dropping of the writ on August 2. Named the “Rally for Change,” this was part of Mulcair’s cross-Canada tour to campaign. Over 1700 people were in attendance. Note was taken of Alberta’s recent “orange wave” in the May provincial election, where every MLA elected in Edmonton was NDP, and many other NDP MLAs were elected elsewhere in the province.
Mulcair has promised to repeal the controversial Bill C-51, also known as the Anti-Terrorism Bill. He also promised to launch and inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women within 100 days of being elected. “Indigenous lives matter,” he said, to rousing applause and a standing ovation.
In his 20-minute bilingual speech, Mulcair discussed what he saw as failings of both the Liberal and Conservative parties, particularly Justin Trudeau’s decision to vote for Bill C-51 despite claiming not to agree with it. He also heavily criticized Conservative policies, such as the party’s failure to have a solid national childcare policy.
Numerous NDP federal candidates were in attendance. The people who introduced Mulcair included Linda Duncan, currently Edmonton’s only NDP Member of Parliament (Edmonton-Strathcona), candidates Gil McGowan (Edmonton-Centre) and Janis Irwin (Edmonton-Griesbach), and Alberta Minister of Health and Seniors Sarah Hoffman. The speech was live-streamed on the Internet and can also be found on YouTube.
