More than one year on from the federal general election of April of 2025, Shannon Devine says that constituents of the Beaches-East York riding feel they were given a bait-and-switch from Mark Carney’s Liberals.
The riding is in the midst of a by-election after the seat was vacated by Liberal Nate Erskine-Smith. In an interview with rabble.ca Devine said that the NDP were offering the residents of the riding real solutions to the cost of living crisis and a promise to stand-up to big corporations.
“People are really feeling frustrated that the government is not taking seriously the urgent need for more affordable housing. It’s been 30 years in the making and we’ve been at a crisis point for quite awhile,” Devine said when discussing which issues she felt were the most important in this campaign. “So affordable housing, and then the cost of living crisis. And it’s only getting worse for people. Grocery prices have gone up 30 per cent in the last six years alone.”
NDP leader Avi Lewis made the promise of creating a public option for groceries in Canada one of the signature policies of his campaign for party leadership in 2025 and 2026. Devine points to New York and other places where publicly run options for groceries have been introduced as a sign that this policy is gaining wider acceptance.
A Liberal bait-and-switch
Mark Carney won the 2025 federal election off of a sentiment that he was the best positioned leader to stand-up to growing US hostility to Canada.
“Elbows Up” was one of Carney’s most recognizable campaign slogans, sending the message that he would not cave to American pressure, whether it be US president Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, or his threats against Canada’s sovereignty by suggesting it become the 51st state.
However, since then, he has faced criticism for caving to Trump on issues related to trade and not loudly opposing some of Trump’s actions in foreign policy.
“They’re feeling like there was a bit of a bait and switch that happened. He ran as ‘Captain Canada,’ elbows up. And in the meantime, we’ve seen him fold on a lot of different fronts, like the Digital Services Tax,” she said.
The Digital Services Tax was a tax on American tech companies intended to ensure that those companies paid to provide financial support for Canadian made content.
Carney dropped the Digital Services Tax just a few months into his term as prime minister.
“So now, big companies like Google, Meta and Amazon don’t have to pay their fair share. And what’s worse, any money that they did pay is being reimbursed with interest. So we’re paying them money now, instead of them paying their fair share,” said Devine.
Devine said that Carney was also failing Canadians on the issue of climate change.
Once again this summer, wildfires have raged across Canada, destroying habitats for animals, destroying homes, and sending smoke into some of Canada’s largest cities, including Toronto.
“The air quality in Toronto was the worst of any major city in the entire world that measures air quality,” said Devine.
Carney has invested more federal money into fossil fuels, while at the same time cutting jobs from the public service, including workers involved in the issue of climate change.
“Ten thousand civil servants were terminated this year,” Devine said. “And among those people were climate scientists, federal food safety inspectors, those who coordinate the wildfire efforts. These are disastrous jobs to be eliminating at a time when we’re concerned about our well being and safety.”
“I’m a little bit more concerned about that than someone invading Canada. For sure. That’s more imminent,” Devine went on to say.
A by-election with big energy
By-elections can sometimes be muted affairs. Unless the outcome has the chance to change the balance of power in the House of Commons, by-elections can often gain little national attention and they often see lower engagement from voters. Devine says however that for her campaign, that has not been the case so far in this race.
“When we had our campaign launch, we had more than 300 people attend. That was the biggest NDP event I’ve ever seen in Beaches-East York. And I’ve been involved here for 11 years,” she said.
NDP leader Avi Lewis attended Devine’s campaign launch on August 12 and did some door knocking in the riding as well.
“We’re just seeing a lot of people coming forward, like former Liberal voters. We have a few people that were actually involved in previous Liberal campaigns, from last year, or years before, and involved in the riding association, who are now helping with our campaign. So it’s so great,” she said.
Devine shared the story of one senior who said he was switching his vote from Liberal to NDP because of her campaign and because of Carney’s record on the environment.
“Early on in the campaign, I got a note from this 89 year old man named Robert as an email. And he had been a lifelong Liberal, never voted NDP in his life,” Devine said. “And, and he said, I’m going to vote for you. He was the 1974 communications director of the camp, the Liberal campaign. And his wife is a former Liberal MPP for the area.”
The NDP currently does not have official party status in the House of Commons, holding just five seats.
Without official party status, the NDP is restricted from parliamentary committees and from asking questions to the government during Question Period. Devine however says that this would not prevent her from being an effective voice for her constituents.
“I know that I can be a great MP for Beaches East York, and the people of Beaches East York. This situation that came up from the last election with the NDP losing seats, it’s temporary,” Devine said.
“I think that Avi Lewis is doing an excellent job working to rebuild the party, and people feel great about it. And it’s catching a lot of attention when we’re out and about, people are paying attention,” she added.
Devine had previously ran for the NDP in Beaches-East York in the 2025 election, placing third behind Conservative Jocelyn Poirier and incumbent Nate Erskine-Smith.
Smith had held the seat since 2015, having won the riding from then NDP MP Matthew Kellway who represented Beaches-East York from 2011-2015.
The by-election for Beaches-East York will be held on August 31, 2026.
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Nick Seebruch, editor
