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Which Quebec seat could Brian Topp run in?

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Sun, 2012-02-19 12:12

#1

robbie_dee

Which Quebec seat could Brian Topp run in?

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/17/pol-ndp-leadership-wrap... Brian Topp to ask Quebec MP to step aside if he wins[/url]

Quote:
If Brian Topp wins the NDP leadership, one of the NDP's 58 Quebec MPs would be asked to resign so Topp could run in a byelection and get into the House of Commons "very quickly," the leadership candidate said. In an interview Thursday with Evan Solomon, host of Power & Politics, Topp said asking someone to step down to create a vacancy is a "delicate matter" but that he would do it. "I'm not going to name names and point at ridings, but I'm hoping to create an opportunity to get into the House as quickly as possible, yes," the Quebec native said. "Obviously in these circumstances you need to ask a colleague to give you a chance to run in a seat and that's what I'll do if I'm elected leader," Topp said.

I am posting this separate from the [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/canadian-politics/npdalmations]ongoing NDP leadership threads[/url] because rather than discussing the merits of this particular strategy, or the merits of the various leadership contenders in general, I was hoping to tap the knowledge of babblers to just figure out practically how Topp could do this. Where could he run? Topp doesn't want to name names now, and probably couldn't even if he wanted to. But we can speculate. My best guess is Hull-Aylmer, because of Nycole Turmel's age (she would be over 70 by the time of the next federal election) and the fact that she may prefer to exit on top as NDP leader rather than returning to a lesser shadow cabinet role after the end of the leadership race. Also there is no real Bloc threat in that riding (nor do the Conservatives have much strength there) so Topp would just have to get past the Liberals. Thoughts?

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Sun, 2012-02-19 12:19

#2

Catchfire

Catchfire's picture

Montréal - Papineau.

Sun, 2012-02-19 12:46

#3

robbie_dee

Well if we're taking out opposition members I think [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Maurice%E2%80%94Champlain]Saint-Mauri... could also be worth a go. But I don't think Topp wants to wait until 2015 and it will be rather hard to precipitate a byelection before then, although it would be nice.

Sun, 2012-02-19 13:05

#4

Stockholm

Catchfire wrote:

Montréal - Papineau.

Pis Jusutin planning to resign to cause a by election?

Sun, 2012-02-19 13:09

#5

Boom Boom

Boom Boom's picture

Hull-Aylmer would be perfect.

Mon, 2012-02-20 13:43

#6

Brachina

Not a Turmel fan Boom Boom?

Honestly I don't think Brian will win, in fact I it highly unlikely, but if he does, it should be one of the Quebec MPs who endorsed him, asking someone else would be unfair, his endorsers made thier bed after all.

Mon, 2021-11-22 16:40

#7

jfb

.

Mon, 2012-02-20 15:50

#8

Boom Boom

Boom Boom's picture

Brachina wrote:
Not a Turmel fan Boom Boom?

Is anyone?

Mon, 2012-02-20 16:10

#9

Catchfire

Catchfire's picture

Stockholm wrote:
is Justin planning to resign to cause a by election?

I've been trying to convince him but he never answers my calls anymore.

Mon, 2012-02-20 16:30

robbie_dee

Brachina wrote:
Not a Turmel fan Boom Boom?

Honestly I don't think Brian will win, in fact I it highly unlikely, but if he does, it should be one of the Quebec MPs who endorsed him, asking someone else would be unfair, his endorsers made thier bed after all.

According to [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democratic_Party_leadership_election,_2..., currently five Quebec MPs are endorsing Topp: Françoise Boivin (Gatineau), Alain Giguère (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin), Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie), Charmaine Borg (Terrebonne—Blainville), and Isabelle Morin (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine).

Mon, 2012-02-20 18:58

David Young

Since I do not believe that Topp will win the NDP leadership, but I hope he will agree to stand as a candidate in 2015, I think the best place for him to run is one of the seats that the NDP does not currently hold, like Lac-St. Louis.

The NDP came second there by 2200 votes behind Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia.

I can't imagine Larry Smith leaving the Senate a second time to run in that seat in 2015, so the large Conservative vote has got to go somewhere, and the prospect of having a real cabinet member as their M.P. may be enough to give the NDP that seat.

Since he's never been elected to any office before, he has the chance to show that he belongs in Parliament by winning a seat the NDP has never won before. Plus, there would be the added bonus of one less Liberal in the House.

Wed, 2012-03-07 13:21

flight from kamakura

this question will get more interesting once we know who won't be running for re-election in 2015 in quebec. in the highly unlikely event that no mp bows out in the montreal area, i'd like to see topp take a run at either mourani in ahuntsic (a near miss last time around) or garneau in westmount-ville marie. hard to know which would be a better fit, but both of those ridings are winnable with a star, which brian topp will sort of be.

ideally, we'd get benskin back into acting, and topp would run in jeanne-le ber. i actually saw a play of his at sadie bronfman a while back (i was crypto-dating a cast member) and he's great. anyway, jeanne-le ber has the right demographics for topp, it's important, the mp is underproductive and unilingual, and it's sort of close to the south shore town that he's claiming as his hometown in the french debates.

for the rural ridings outside of montreal, i think we should go with local notables, rather than parachuting in someone like topp. if mulcair's steered the ship well, we should be poised to finish off the bq, and doing that means that we need candidates who'll actually be important members of their communities, so that we have a good caucus that's not just a bunch of ndp zombies (i say that affectionately) run out of montreal or ottawa.