NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh spends Labour Day in Winnipeg amid looming byelection

Jagmeet Singh marked Labour Day with a march through downtown Winnipeg, courting union voters in the run-up to a byelection in a formerly NDP-held riding.

Singh attended Winnipeg Labour Council's rally and march Monday alongside Leila Dance, who's on the NDP ticket in the Elmwood-Transcona byelection slated for Sept. 16.

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"I feel really optimistic and I feel really hopeful because Leila Dance is a strong candidate – the only candidate that actually lives in the riding and has deep roots there, but is also fighting for the people, so we're letting people know they've got an important choice," he said.

The NDP's Jagmeet Singh and Leila Dance are pictured at a Sept. 2 Labour Day march and rally in Winnipeg, Man. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg)

The seat was left vacant after three-term NDP MP Daniel Blaikie resigned to work for the Kinew government.

Dance faces teacher and union leader Ian MacIntyre, who's running for the Liberals, and Colin Reynolds, an electrician and union member on the ballot for the Conservatives.

Singh told reporters voters frustrated by Justin Trudeau's inability to bring down the cost of groceries and address the housing crisis should not turn to Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, who he fears will cut health care and pensions while cozying up to CEOs and corporations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unsuccessfully attempts to win over a steelworker during a contentious exchange at a meet and greet with Algoma Steel workers in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kenneth Armstrong

‘They’re being strategic’

His remarks come amid a nationwide push from federal parties to win the votes of union workers.

A new Conservative campaign heralds Poilievre as a champion of labour after an NDP ad claimed the opposite.

"They're being strategic about it and using their position as opposition to be that other person, that other option when you might not like what the government has to do in terms of actually ruling the country," explained Vanguard Strategy Inc. CEO Michele Cadario, former deputy chief of staff to Paul Martin.

Labour disputes have been top of mind over the last months and years, with recent strikes at the B.C. Port, Metro, and Nestle, plus a potential Air Canada pilot strike on the horizon.

Similarly, polling from Nanos Research shows the economy and jobs are now the biggest issues for Canadians.

"They feel crushed in terms of paying for the groceries and worried about paying for the cost of housing," said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of Nanos Research.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. New Democrats and Conservatives have both launched ads that attempt to define Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to union voters, a group politicians see as having increased power in the next federal election. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

Poilievre has taken notice, appearing at over 200 blue-collar job sites since becoming Tory leader, potentially swaying traditionally New Democrat voters.

"There's 20 seats out there that Stephen Harper didn't have access to for the decade he was Prime Minister that Pierre Poilievre is going to, and that gives him many more routes to a majority government," explained Mitch Heimpel, a conservative strategist and Enterprise Canada's policy director.

Singh hopes those frustrated with Trudeau’s Liberals won’t be so quick to turn blue.

“(Poilievre) is not going to bring down the cost of living. In Manitoba, people know that. They know the Conservatives cut and that New Democrats are the only choice to bring down the cost of living.”

- With files from CTV's Alexandra Holyk and Colton Praill