The NDP candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound wants to get more people engaged in politics and give them another choice on the ballot.
High school teacher Chris Neudorf, 33, says he’s happy to run again for the New Democratic Party. He was also the federal candidate in the 2021 election, finishing third with about 13 per cent of the vote.
“I’m running because I believe in it. I really think that the NDP offers a platform which really speaks to working Canadians in a way that the other parties don’t,” Neudorf says.
He says he feels it’s important working class Canadians have that voice.
“I’m doing it because I want people to remember that there is another option. We don’t have to make this just about Liberal and Conservative, and I want that voice that represents working people to be in politics, and at the local level it’s my chance to do it,” the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound NDP candidate explains.
Neudorf says his priorities for this election include housing and the rising cost of living — particularly what it means for future generations.
“Civics is one of the courses I teach for that reason. My biggest goal is to get kids to be engaged with politics. I think right now it can be very challenging to engage young people with politics because the situation is kind of grim for young people right now, and I think a lot of young people… [it’s] sometimes hard for them to see what the government is doing for them because government isn’t helping as much as it used to,” he explained in an interview with Bayshore News. “So for me, it’s extremely important to get young people interested and I think part of that is having a government that’s really actively engaged in their lives.”
While acknowleding support for Jagmeet Singh’s NDP has plummeted recently, he says it’s still important for voters to have options. He also says that even if the NDP aren’t the winning party or even the official opposition, the party can still influence beneficial change.
“If we look historically, the best governments we had have been governments where we’ve had a minority government where the NDP can push the existing government towards legislation that favours working Canadians. My favourite example of that is Lester B. Pearson. The Pearson administration is defined by the role of Tommy Douglas and the NDP. Because [Pearson] was in a minority government, Tommy Douglas and the NDP were able to push the Liberals into passing incredibly important Acts such as minimum wage, and the Health Care Act,” said Neudorf. “If we compare that to our own recent minority Liberal government, with the Supply and [Confidence] Agreement, among other successes, we have the first real steps towards universal pharmacare, beginning to make certain drugs like insulin available to everyone, regardless of money, and we’re now in the second phase of expanding access to dental care. We are the only country with universal health care that doesn’t already cover these programs — this is long overdue.”
Neudorf is one of six candidates confirmed in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound. Alex Ruff is running for the Conservatives, and is the incumbent MP. Anne Marie Watson is the Liberal candidate, and Natasha Akiwenzie for the Greens. There are also a couple of candidates representing smaller parties.
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