Friday September 1, 2023 | ESQUIMALT, BC [Updated 9:15 am]
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends – local, regional, BC and national news insights
Maja Tait eagerly bounced up to the podium last night to accept the NDP nomination as their candidate for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.
Current longtime MP for the west shore riding, Randall Garrison, was there to usher in his successor as the NDP lead in the riding, as was NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
Garrison made a point of elaborating how long it took him over the years to convince Tait (Sooke mayor since 2014) to seek the federal nomination, but mentioning at least twice how the two first met serving on a climate change committee back in 2008 shows long long the affiliation has been building.
And while Tait has never worn her NDP allegiance on her sleeve during her nine years as Sooke’s mayor, it’s evident from her support through John Horgan provincially, her SD62 board connections, and Garrison’s team that her voter base was from the NDP sphere and less so from the business community or Sooke’s rural old guard. She said last night: “I want to join the NDP because I believe there is alignment with what I believe is important.”
A political pragmatist, Tait held councils together that had diverse political interests, though this latest council (elected 2022, with mostly the same profile as 2018) does lean more left, particularly when it comes to environmental issues.
Between Tait’s work locally (and her positions on the Union of BC Municipalities and work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities) and that of former premier Horgan, there is no doubt that Sooke has been put on the political map both regionally and beyond. “I’m grateful to have served as mayor,” said Tait last night, noting it’s been 15 years for her in local politics and that it’s time for her “to move out of the way” to make room for younger leadership.
Vancouver Island NDP:
It was Garrison who forged the way for the federal riding name to include Sooke (it was formerly called Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca). Before Garrison (who tried to win the riding in 2004 and 2006), the riding was held by Conservative MPs (including Keith Martin who switched allegiance to Liberal).
Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke includes Colwood in its voter base, even though Colwood is not in the name of the riding. Garrison lives in Colwood.
Currently the NDP hold six of seven ridings on Vancouver Island: Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke), Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford), Laurel Collins (Victoria), Rachel Blaney (North Island-Powell River), Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni), and Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo-Ladysmith). The federal Greens hold the other island seat (Elizabeth May, MP, Saanich-Gulf Island).
There is a movement to maintaining left-leaning politics on the island and with that comes strong interest in issues that can be broadly defined as environmental, social and ‘for the people’. That their party leader has just spent a full week on Vancouver Island is evidence of how important it is to maintain the NDP stronghold here; six Vancouver Island MPs constitute 24% of the 25 total NDP seats in the House of Commons. | NDP Team Profile (25 MPs)
The next federal election may not happen until 2025 (scheduled date is October 20, 2025) but it could happen sooner if the Supply and Confidence Agreement between the Liberals and the NDP falls apart before then. Every chance he gets, Singh reminds about the power and influence of just 25 NDP MPs in the current Liberal minority government (e.g. CERB, doubling of the GST rebate, dental program for children and soon also seniors), and proposes how much better it would be for Canadians to have more NDP MPs in the House of Commons. | POLITICS NEWS ARCHIVE
Tait’s remarks:
Tait called Jagmeet “an inspiring leader” and that she has “a great amount of gratitude for Randall” for not only nominating her but for his service as an MP.
Tait said she never saw herself heading into federal politics “but I always wanted to help people” and “make a difference”, she said at the podium Thursday evening, with a Canadian flag flapping in the wind behind her outside the building, as seen through the large windows at the Victoria Scottish Community Centre. She played on the girl guide “lend a hand” mindset, giving a nod to traditional Canadian ways.
“We need hope and solutions that work for people, not just tomorrow but for today,” said Tait. She reminded the politically-attuned crowd that mayors work “close to the people”. That will change dramatically if she wins federally but she obviously intends to rely on local contacts.
Tait said that the pandemic “revealed all of the gems, and all of the cracks and gaps in communities”, adding “and right now today, people are falling into those cracks and they can’t get out”. She touched on the challenges of the overdose crisis, climate change and food security.
Big turnout:
Everyone seemed impressed with the turnout of about 120 people for the evening event held at the Victoria Scottish Community Centre on Admirals Road, including Singh.
Tait’s three nominators delivered effusive speeches about a range of political and personal traits that they feel will propel Tait to the top of the polls in the next election, including listening to everyone, taking every opportunity to make gains for her community, and juggling a busy modern life including becoming a first-time mother during her term in office as mayor.
National introduction on TV:
Earlier in the day, Singh had been out in Sooke to meet with folks there and discuss the continuing rise in the cost of living. Singh held a national live televised press session in Sooke, where through Zoom he introduced Maja Tait as the party’s new team member.
Garrison made clear his excitement about not having to run for any political office for the first time in 20 years (he was an Esquimalt municipal councillor for three years before being elected federally in 2011).
Tait said she was nervous doing her first national presser, but she pulled it off. She even had already picked up the national lingo as in “coast to coast to coast” to be including the territories as well as the provinces.
Who was there:
Attending the evening meeting from the District of Sooke council — who will lose Tait as their mayor if she wins in the next federal election (expected in 2025 but possibly sooner) — were Councillors Kevin Pearson, Jeff Bateman and Dana LaJeunesse.
Attending from the Sooke School District (SD62) was Vice-Chair Ebony Logins, and retired SD62 trustees Bob Phillips and Neil Poirier.
Ravi Parmar, MLA for the Langford-Juan de Fuca riding (which includes Sooke) was also in attendance.
Attending with her young family was Laurel Collins, MP (Victoria).
Also attending from the long-time NDP flank was former MLA Moe Sihota.
The meeting was chaired by Grant McLachlan, president of the Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke (ESS) NDP riding association.
===== RELATED:
Jagmeet visits Sooke to talk about cost of living (August 31, 2023)
NDP leader discusses housing crisis with grad students at UVic (August 30, 2023)
Sooke Mayor Maja Tait turning from local to federal (August 15, 2023)
Garrison calls it quits, riding out his last term (April 27, 2023)
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Cert PR is the founder, editor and publisher of Island Social Trends. She has provided socioeconomic news insights about the west shore and Sooke region since 2008, expanding into provincial news in 2018 and national news along the way. Political news has been a mainstay of her news coverage, including municipal and school district.
A parent of four (now grown) children, Ms Brooke has experienced the K-12 public school system as a parent and has now seen the long-term impacts of a challenged educational system on her family as the years have gone by. She ran for school trustee in SD62 (west shore of Greater Victoria) in 2022. | SD62 news archive
Mary P Brooke now reports with the BC Legislative Press Gallery, starting back with daily coverage of COVID news during 2019-2021, but also before that as local MLA John Horgan became premier in 2017.
Island Social Trends has been online at IslandSocialTrends.ca since mid-2020. Before that, the publication was called West Shore Voice News (printed weekly, 2014-2020), and before that Sooke Voice News (printed weekly, 2011-2013) which had emerged from MapleLine Magazine (printed quarterly 2008-2010). | About Island Social Trends