Palestine — and Palestini — on ballot in Montreal byelection
The NDP campaign is looking to use Gaza as a hook to recruit young volunteers
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OTTAWA — Craig Sauvé, the NDP candidate for the upcoming federal byelection in Lasalle—Émard—Verdun, created a stir over the weekend when a Gaza-themed campaign pamphlet bearing his likeness made the rounds on social media.
The pamphlet shows Sauvé’s smiling face foregrounding a Palestinian flag, above a French-language caption reading: “I’m voting for Craig Sauvé to stop the genocide in Gaza.” The bottom of the pamphlet includes a QR code leading to a volunteer sign up page.
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Within hours of surfacing on Sunday, the pamphlet was slammed by both Montreal-based conservative strategist Carl Vallée and Jenni Byrne, a close advisor to Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre.
“Craig Sauvé hopes to become a member of the federal Parliament in Ottawa. However, there is no trace of the Quebec or Canadian flags on his pamphlet,” tweeted Vallée on Sunday afternoon.
(A small maple leaf and fleur-de-lis both appear in the top corner of the pamphlet as part of the NDP logo.)
Byrne was quick to retweet Vallée, adding the question, “Did @theJagmeetSingh @NDP approve this literature piece?”
Undeterred, or perhaps energized, by the blowback, Sauvé campaigned on Monday morning with NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson, the sponsor of the party’s spring motion for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
McPherson said in a tweet on Monday that the Montreal byelection is a “key opportunity” to send a message to the Liberal government that Quebecers demand the “protection of ALL human rights.”
McPherson and the rest of the NDP caucus are in Montreal this week for an annual retreat.
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The weekend’s events reflect the fracturing of the Liberal Party’s traditional voting base over the war in Gaza, a tension that’s playing out in real time in the south Montreal riding. The Trudeau government’s refusal to take a firm stand against Israel’s war efforts has become a liability with both the 5.5 per cent of residents who identify as Muslim and thousands of students and young professionals in the riding.
Polls show a persistent demographic split on the issue, with both men and women under the age of 35 more likely to say that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This schism has spread to Liberal backrooms as more than fifty ministerial staffers have given notice that they won’t be campaigning in Lasalle–Émard–Verdun in protest of federal policies relating to Israel-Hamas conflict.
The NDP campaign now looks to capitalize on the growing disaffection by using Gaza as a hook to recruit young volunteers.
Opposite Sauvé is Liberal candidate Laura Palestini, who looks to hang onto the seat last held by ex-justice minister David Lametti.
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Despite her surname, Palestini is not Palestinian herself: she shares her predecessor’s Italian ancestry.
Polls are showing a three-way dogfight between the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois in the riding.
The byelection vote will take place a week from Monday, on September 16.
National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com
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