After 10 years exiled from office in British Columbia -- and a decade of severe cutbacks under the BC Liberals -- the NDP says it is ready to take back power in 2013.
Adrian Dix
Adrian Dix on the way ahead for B.C.'s NDP
After 10 years exiled from office in British Columbia. -- and a decade of severe cutbacks under the BC Liberals -- the NDP says it is ready to take back power in 2013.
Earlier this month, 700 New Democrats from across B.C. gathered for the party's 50th anniversary and annual party convention. The convention saw no leadership race -- everyone attending wore a lanyard bearing, on orange string, the name of Adrian Dix. Rewind a year, and you'll recall some of the most bitter infighting in the party's history, with former leader Carole James -- whom Dix cites as a personal mentor and inspiration -- resigning after a mutiny.
In an interview with rabble.ca, Dix describes how the party intends to push forward in 2012 and beyond.
The BC NDP at 50: Looking back, looking forward
Speaking at the BC NDP 50th Anniversary Convention, BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair described his election campaign war chest as over 500,000 strong, the members of the BC Fed affiliated unions.
Sinclair gave the figures for the margin of victory by the provincial Liberals in the last two elections: an increase in NDP votes cast of 2,500 in 2005 and of 3,800 votes in 2009 would have produced a different outcome. The obvious conclusion is that the role of labour in getting out the vote is likely to prove decisive in the next B.C. election, expected in May 2013.
2.jpg "David Climenhaga, author of the Alberta Diary blog, is a journalist, author, journalism teacher, poet and trade union communicator who has worked in senior writing and editing positions with the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald. His 1995 book, A Poke in the Public Eye, explores the relationships among Canadian journalists, public relations people and politicians. He left journalism after the strike at the Calgary Herald in 1999 and 2000 to work as Communications Director of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, which with more than 73,000 members is Alberta’s largest union and Canada’s 10th largest. Alberta Diary focuses on Alberta politics and social issues. Contact: albertadiary @ gmail.com")
Labour Day warning: If you want your union and your rights in the workplace, you'd better be prepared to fight to keep them
| September 5, 2011