Annamie Paul has stepped down as leader of the Green Party of Canada.
Speaking Monday morning in Toronto, Paul told reporters that with a leadership review looming she won’t spend any more time playing politics.
“I just will not spend any more time focused on political games as opposed to public policy,” says Paul, “Which is what I entered politics for in the first place, particularly at a time when it is so needed.”
She says that with what she calls a struggle for the soul of the party going on, she just doesn’t have the heart to continue.
“I just asked myself whether this is something I wanted to continue. Whether I was willing to continue to put up with the attacks I knew would be coming, whether to continue having to fight and struggle just to fulfil my democratically-elected role as leader of this party.”
Paul tells us that she knew it would be an uphill battle as leader from the moment she took on the role.
“When I was elected and put in this role I was breaking a glass ceiling. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was breaking a glass ceiling that was going to fall on my head and leave a lot of shards of glass that I was going to have to crawl over throughout my time as leader.”
She explains that she knew the pressure was there on Election Day even hours before the polls closed.
“On the day of the election itself, in the morning, the only email that I received from our council…the president of our council…was an email calling for an emergency meeting to launch a leadership review.”
On election night Paul finished third in her riding of Toronto Centre.
Canadians have spoken and it will once again be another minority Liberal government.
Justin Trudeau has been given another mandate and the seat count basically didn’t change a bit from last election.
In his victory speech just after midnight, Trudeau said, “You are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get Canada through this pandemic and to the brighter days ahead and my friends that’s exactly what we are ready to do. There are still votes to be counted but what we’ve seen tonight is that millions of Canadians have chosen a progressive plan.”
He adds, “Some have talked about division but that’s not what I see. That’s not what I’ve seen these past weeks across the country. I see Canadians standing together. Together in your determination to end this pandemic. Together for real climate action. For $10 a day childcare. For homes that are in reach for middle-class families. For our shared journey on the path of reconciliation. As Canadians you’ve elected parliamentarians to deliver on all this and our team, our government, is ready.”
Trudeau says the government will have the back of all Canadians, no matter how they voted, stressing voters have given them a clear mandate.
He says he understands people want more daycare spaces, a stronger health care system, affordable housing, investments for the middle-class and good green jobs.
Erin O’Toole of the Conservatives was second in voting.
O’Toole said, “Canadians have spent too many sleepness nights about worrying about people close to them, the loss of jobs, and the future of their children. The pandemic has increased the small differences between us and is has also aggravated the division amongst Canadians. Unfortunately, this election has only made things worse. I’m here tonight, once again, more determined to fight for our wonderful country. Five weeks ago, mister Trudeau asked for a majority. He said the minority parliament was quote ‘unworkable’. But tonight, Canadians did not give mister Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted. In fact, Canadians sent him back with another minority at the cost of $600 million and deeper divisions in our great country. Just days ago, he said he would hold yet another election with 18 months if he didn’t get his way.”
He says the next 18 months will be another period on constant campaigning.
O’Toole says Canada has become divided and stresses we need to heal that sentiment.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who won in his B.C. riding of Burnaby South, was third.
In his concession speech, Singh said, “I want to say that Canadians know that you can count on the New Democrats to continue fighting for you. As we’ve fought for you in the pandemic when times are difficult, when people were struggling, when people were worried about their future. We were there for you.”
He added, “Friends, I want you to know that our fight will continue. We are never going to give up fighting for you and your families, as we have done in the pandemic as we showed you in this campaign, we will continue to make sure you are first, your families are taken care of, that your needs are met. That’s what New Democrats are all about.”
Singh promised to step up the fight for Indigenous rights, clean drinking water, the environment, climate change, affordable housing, and proper health care.
One of the early stories was the Green party where leader Annamie Paul finished fourth in her Toronto Centre riding.
Paul thanked supporters and volunteers for their work during the campaign, congratulating the two confirmed Green candidates elected to the House of Commons.
She used her time to criticize the Trudeau government for calling an election.
“The people of Canada have decided to send essentially the same MP’s back, in the same proportions to parliament. They are sending back another minority government, in basically the same numbers that we have seen before. So, we are now back to the status quo. I would say that we are back to the status quo expect that we are returning, unfortunately, more divided, and more polarized than before this election was called. That is certainly part of the legacy of this election that I will say we shouldn’t have had. Unfortunately, there’s some divisions that were created by the calling of this election. There will be work to be done in order to repair this divisiveness. We need to ensure that whatever wounds were created during this election are not permanent because the people of Canada clearly are saying we want you to work together, we want you to collaborate, you have got to find a way to do that, and you have got to find a way to deliver us the help we need for the rest of this pandemic.”
The People’s Party of Canada has yet to gain a seat in the federal election and leader Maxime Bernier lost his bid to get elected in the Quebec riding of Beauce.
Bernier previously represented the riding south of Quebec City from 2006 to 2019.
Despite the result he says, “Tonight we’ve made history. We will never be the same again. When we started this campaign five weeks ago everyone thought we would only be a foot note. At the beginning the media did not even cover us and then they had to start paying attention. Yes, they have to start paying attention because thousands of Canadians were coming to our rallies all across the country. Everywhere we looked you could see purple, a purple wave, a sea of purple. My friends this is not just a political party, it is a movement, it is a revolution that we are starting now.”
Bernier went on to say enough is enough with COVID restrictions and increased spending and stressed Canadians just want to have their normal lives back, stressing it’s time for an end to the tyranny and a return to freedom.
He stressed the People’s Party has become the only real opposition party in the country.
Bernier adds if we were under a proportional voting system, his party would have had a better day at the polls.
Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says tonight we are still in a pandemic, and we have the exact same government.
He used his speech to talk about the vote and its impact on Quebec.
Blanchet says provinces have been held hostage with health care pay transfers and downloading and he won’t give up that fight.
He says, “In the next few days I will be reaching out to all the leaders of the other parties in the House of Commons, and I think it’s now our duty to act in good faith and to have a discussion to make sure that parliament works this time. We are still in a pandemic. Now this parliament will have to last an acceptable length of time and to do that we will have to put some of our resentment behind us because it is clearly what Canadians have told us they want.”
The main federal party leaders are making a final push for votes ahead of Monday’s election.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau spoke in Aurora, Ontario this morning announcing the Liberals are no longer connected with a Toronto candidate. The Liberal Party announced on Friday that it had learned about a previous sexual assault charge against Kevin Vuong, which has since been dropped.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized Trudeau for not cutting ties with Vuong earlier when he spoke in Saskatoon this morning. He also praised healthcare workers for their work during the pandemic. Next on his schedule is a meeting meeting with Indigenous leaders and youth in Pense, Saskatchewan, finishing the day with healthcare workers in Edmonton.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole spoke in Dundas, Ontario, criticizing Trudeau for calling the election during a pandemic, and promising to implement a national recovery plan if his party is elected.
The federal election is heading into its final weekend, and leaders took the chance to speak to supporters on Friday.
In Ontario, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau spoke about COVID-19 vaccine and mandates at the University of Windsor.
“Mr. O’Toole has been very, very clear, he doesn’t think we should be doing everything we need to end the pandemic for good.”
Meantime, at a winery in London, Ont, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole called out Trudeau for calling a $600 million election in the middle of a pandemic.
“There’s a lot at stake in this election, Justin Trudeau wants you to stay at home on election day, he wants you to vote for smaller parties, he wants you to let him get away with his corruption.”
O’Toole will head to an event with supporters in St. Catharines on Friday night.
In Sherbrooke, Que, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh brought up the sexual assault allegations against a Liberal candidate in Toronto.
“(Liberals) don’t have the courage to take on men in positions of power, and that they allow candidates to come forward, but don’t act.”
Singh also talked about the environment and mentioned the party’s commitment to the climate.
“We have to fight this climate crisis with everything we have and to do that we have to take real action.”
In Saint John, New Brunswick, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole faced questions about the COVID-19 situation in Alberta as that province declares another public health emergency.
He has previously praised Premier Jason Kenney for his province’s handling of the pandemic.
But O’Toole avoided saying if he still feels the same.
“As prime minister, I will work with all premiers regardless of stripe to fight against the pandemic.
A pandemic that we need to fight and Mr. Trudeau didn’t fight. He called an election. A $600-million dollar election,” O’Toole said.
In Oshawa, Ontario, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said the Liberal leader doesn’t think helping Alberta is his job.
“I think it is the job of a Prime Minister in a pandemic in a crisis to step up and help in any way I can,” Singh said.
Singh placed the blame on Alberta Premier Jason Kenney calling his leadership “horrible”.
In Montreal, Quebec, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau contradicted Singh saying he’s offered Alberta whatever they need and he noted ventilators are being sent to the province.
“Half measures measures won’t do to fight this pandemic, to keep people safe, to prevent future lockdowns, to further slow the growth of our economy,” Trudeau said.
With only three days left to campaign, the leaders continue to push the undecided voters under their tent.
On Day 32, Justin Trudeau of the Liberals took the time to highlight the party’s health care promises, including hiring more doctors and get rid of waitlists.
“We are spending more in the first year on eliminating the backlog than (the Conservatives) are spending entirely over the first five years on everything from transfers to mental health,” explains Trudeau.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole made it known Wednesday that the party is different than before.
“Inclusive, diverse, forward looking, progressive, worker friendly… we’re not you’re Dad’s Conservative party anymore,” promised O’Toole.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh vowed to end for-profit long term care, adding both the Liberals and Conservatives have voted in favour of private care.
“We’ve said clearly that we need to get profit out of long term care,” stressed Singh. “When you have a for-profit home, that means profit is put ahead of people, so our loved ones suffer.”
Elections Canada has released estimates on the number of Canadians who cast ballots during four advance polling days for the upcoming federal election.
Chief Electoral Officer Stephane Perrault says preliminary figures show 5,780,000 electors voted at the advance polls between September 10th and 13th.
This is a 18.46% increase from the 4,879,312electors who voted in advance of the 2019 election.
Perrault notes these are estimates, as some polls may not have reported yet.
A breakdown of the number of electors who voted in all 338 districts will be available in the coming days on the Elections Canada website.
Making the pitch to voters ahead of election day on Monday.
On Day 31 of the federal election campaign, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole made his pitch to families east of Ottawa, promising that if he’s elected Prime Minister, the Child Care Expense deduction will be converted into a refundable tax credit.
Screen capture of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole (CPAC)
“To help lower income families today, not five years from now, with up to 75 per cent of child care expenses covered,” remarked O’Toole. “Six years of inaction by Mr. Trudeau, now he’s telling families to wait another five or six years, we’re going to help them now.”
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in British Columbia pressed that the Tories don’t believe in climate change.
“Do we continue and move forward even faster and harder in the fight against climate change or do we let Erin O’Toole take us back?” asked Trudeau.
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau image (CPAC)
“Mr. O’Toole says now he’s in favour of public health care but he told groups of Conservatives that he thinks there should be more, private, for-profit health care. These are the types of things we’re seeing from Mr. O’Toole, he’s not leading he’s misleading Canadians.
The NDP are promising to lower cellphone and internet bills if they’re the governing party.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in Toronto (CPAC)
Leader Jagmeet Singh said in Toronto that he wants to put a cap on telecom bills, implement mandatory unlimited data plans as well as break up monopolies that allow companies to charge higher prices.
“One of the proposals that we’ve put forward is looking at putting in place a publicly owned crown corporation to invest in the infrastructure necessary, to connect communities that don’t have access to the internet. That is a vital infrastructure piece.”
When it comes to voting before election day, you have until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to vote at any Elections Canada office using a special ballot.
Just days to go until Canada picks it’s next government.
The leaders continued to pound the pavement Monday, and also attacked their opponents.
Justin Trudeau of the Liberals in Vancouver vowed to introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to obstruct access to any building providing health services.
The leader also re-iterated his promise to protect businesses and organizations from a legal challenge should they decide to require a proof of vaccination from employees or customers.
Trudeau also went after Tory leader Erin O’Toole, “He is defending his candidate who went to visit seniors in an old-age home without being fully vaccinated. That’s not the leadership we need.”
The candidate in question was Michelle Ferreri, who’s running in the riding of Peterborough-Kawartha.
Earlier in the day, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole promised that if elected, he’ll expand the Canada Child Benefit to start at the seventh month of pregnancy instead of at childbirth, as well as allow new parents the opportunity to earn up to $1,000 per month without it affecting their maternity or parental leave payments.
O’Toole also reminded Trudeau that he’s no longer campaigning in 2015, “I’m a different leader (than Stephen Harper) and although I disagreed with Mr. Trudeau, I could respect him. I agreed when he talked about what unites us rather than divides us. I could understand when he talked about a better future that Canada could have, and I appreciated when he talked about healing the country’s rifts rather than exploiting them.”
Federal maternity and parental benefits allow parents to receive a maximum of $595 per week, which is equal to 55 per cent of their earnings.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh took his tour to both Sioux Lookout and Neskantaga First Nation, the site of a 26 year boil water advisory.
“There are grown adults that have not been able to drink clean water ever,” Singh stressed. “This is wrong, this should not be what’s going on and our commitment is to make sure we clean this water and that every community has access to clean drinking water.”
Singh went onto acknowledge that despite the fact it’s hard to make progress on the issue, especially in remote communities, there is no excuse for this being a ongoing problem under six years of a Liberal government.
Monday is the last day to vote at an advance polling station until 9:00 p.m.
You also have until 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to vote at any Elections Canada office using a special ballot.
The federal party leaders entered the final week of the election campaign on Sunday.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole announced plans to support parents experiencing a miscarriage, stillbirth, or loss of a child.
O’Toole says his party would extend EI parental leave for at least eight weeks after a child’s death, and provide parents with three days of paid bereavement in the event of a miscarriage.
“Canada’s Conservatives will end the stigma and ensure parents have access to the financial support and time they need to mourn,” O’Toole said in a news release.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh repeated his commitment to close loopholes and crack down on big corporations avoiding their fair share of taxes.
The party pointed to figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office which shows Canada misses out on up to $25 billion a year in taxes.
Singh said he would invest in the Canada Revenue Agency to help with audits on large companies and the wealthy.
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau was in Quebec to highlight what his party would do for that province if re-elected.
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