Two and a half years of working hard from outside of office finally paid off for the NDP’s Peggy Nash election night.[briefbreak]
Victorious in 2006, Nash lost Parkdale-High Park to Liberal Gerard Kennedy in 2008, but that didn’t stop her from being an active member in the community. She’s spent her time out of government advocating for local causes like converting the trains that run through the neighbourhood to cleaner electric engines. Her work didn’t go unnoticed.
Hers was one of six GTA ridings the NDP picked up during Canada’s 41st election Monday, part of the so-called Orange Tide that saw the country’s long-time third party break the 100-seat barrier in the House of Commons for the first time in history. This time around, Nash beat Kennedy by nearly 7,000 votes, or 15 per cent of the electorate.
Despite her success, at times Nash’s election party at Parkdale drinking institution the Cadillac Lounge featured an equal amount of cheers and jeers. The hardcore NDPers in attendance applauded and shouted at every record-breaking win CBC television posted for Jack Layton’s party, but an hour after the polls closed it was clear that the NDP gains had come at the expense of the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois, not the Conservatives, and that Stephen Harper had finally won his coveted majority.
“I’m a very cautious person and I was prepared not to be successful, so I’m very happy this is the way things have gone,” Nash said after she had made her way to the front of the bar through a dense crowd chanting her name.
“Nationally, I would have obviously preferred not to have a Conservative majority government, but I am excited about the possibility of an expanded NDP caucus. I think we’re going to able to do some good things for Canadians. Things like taking Canadian seniors out of poverty. It’s absolutely doable, so we ought to do it right away.”
She attributed the NDP’s surging support to Jack Layton’s charismatic leadership, and while some say her party’s groundbreaking gains will lead to an alliance with the hobbled Liberal Party, Nash wouldn’t speculate on what relationship the two left-of-Tory parties will have under a Harper majority.
“This will be a challenge for us but with our expanded caucus we will work as hard as we possibly can with whomever we can for Toronto, and to get things done for all Canadians,” she said. “That’s all we can do. The voters have spoken and we need to work with the Parliament Canadians have decided to elect.”
It was an emotional night for Parkdale’s NDP supporters, but luckily the bar was about ten feet from where Nash made her victory speech. After Nash had thanked her supporters, campaign team, and fellow candidates, the crowd dispersed throughout the building to take stock of a night of mixed results for left wing voters.
“I’m disappointed, at the same time it’s historic for the NDP to get so many seats,” said Shannon McLean, a student and NDP supporter. “I’m excited because I hope this gives the NDP a chance to prove themselves as great MPs that really listen to their ridings. That’s the thing about Peggy Nash. She’s done so much work whether she’s been MP or not.”
