Sunday April 20, 2025 | Island Social Trends
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Music, cheering and ice cream made for an upbeat campaign rally on Saturday evening in Victoria.
It was unseasonably cool and breezy but NDP faithful and media toughed it out.
Jagmeet Singh arrived in his campaign bus around 6:30 pm on Niagara Street at Douglas Street at the Beacon Drive-In Restaurant, across from Beacon Hill Park near Mile Zero.
Victoria NDP incumbent Laurel Collins hopped off the bus after Singh. Two other NDP candidates at the event were Maja Tait (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke) and Colin Plant (Saanich-Gulf Islands) and their teams.
Singh’s speech was just a few minutes long, to jazz up the crowd and help maintain their enthusiasm in these last days of the campaign.
The NDP leader reiterated the importance of having NDP MPs in the House of Commons and the platform which supports a range of advancements in social program and the employment insurance safety net. He also pushed that view during the two federal leaders debates last week.
This is almost near election-day-zero… just nine more days to go in Election 2025.
This has been Singh’s third visit to Victoria. He was there for the South Vancouver Island candidates campaign office on March 11, and also held campaign events on March 31 as well as a meeting with BC Premier David Eby at the legislature.
Eby said during his April 3 media availability that he is “on team orange” but that he also wants to see “stability in Ottawa” after the April 28 election.
Singh told the rally crowd yesterday evening that coming to Victoria puts a bounce in the campaign team’s step; there is long-standing NDP support in the region and the spring-like weather is a boost.
This federal election is considered by many to have significant consequences for how the next four years will unfold in Canada. This is arguably a turning point in the economic and political dynamics of Canada, including even our sovereignty as a country in the face of economic warfare launched by the United States.
A range of NDP supporters were at last night’s rally including some of BC Premier David Eby’s staff, Esquimalt-Colwood MLA Darlene Rotchford, and Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock.
People brought their kids and their dogs.
After speeches and crowd enthusiasm, Singh and Collins handed out ice cream from the service window at the popular Beacon Drive-In Restaurant.
Campaign notes:
There are three NDP campaign buses for this election. The ones in Ontario and Quebec have a kitchen on board. All the buses are set up for wi-fi and desktop workspace for media. The theme-wrapped buses appear as though they have no windows, but from the inside looking out there is a view through netted screens.
This rally was much smaller than the Liberal rally for Mark Carney in the same neighbourhood on April 6, but the age demographic was overall much younger than for the Carney crowd.
Holding this NDP rally on a Saturday evening on the Easter long weekend may have put a dent in the turnout, not to mention the weather that while sunny was cooler and more breezy than expected.
Media on site for the rally included Global TV, Times-Colonist, Island Social Trends and Victoria Buzz.
Sunday itinerary:
The NDP campaign continues in Victoria today with an announcement by Singh at 10 am.
He will then head to Duncan to mingle at the Cowichan Spring Fair (starting 1:15 pm) where Alistair MacGregor is the NDP incumbent, and then a campaign event in Nanaimo at 3 pm where Lisa Marie Barron is the incumbent in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.
Singh’s home riding is Burnaby Central (a newly reboundaried riding) in the Greater Vancouver region; his previous riding was called Burnaby South.
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