Thanks for this thoughtful overview... As a long time left never member of the NDP I appreciated your take on the abstracted notion of the working class "The more important question is: what is missed when the working class is conceptualized as being white, secure and middle class, as the debate undertones suggested?" If social dems keep mythologizing a long lost fiction of the securely employed white male working class whose identity is tied up with their job in lieu of the reality of racialized women working multiple precarious jobs who don't have any allegiance to their workplaces there will never be a left victory led by this cocktail liberal romantic socialist party. This is wartime and a critical conjuncture. Social democrats never cease to disappoint me.
"The party that once pitched itself to miners, factory workers, and farmers has been captured by superannuated student activists obsessed with demonizing Israel and courting “the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.” In last year’s federal election, the party won just 6% of the national vote—down from 18% in 2021."
See link below.
And did you all catch these viral clips from the convention?? LMAO!! -->
"In one clip, a woman in a keffiyeh told fellow convention delegates that she’d been unfairly leapfrogged in the speaking order, even though she’d flashed her official NDP “gender equity card,” which is apparently supposed to let her speak before men. In the same vein, another speaker, who said she “identifies as a black woman,” complained that an equity card had been used “inappropriately” by an unidentified third party. A trans-identified man complained that a “cisgender woman” (which is to say, a woman) had been allowed to speak before him, despite the fact that he was a “racialized and transgender delegate” seeking to discuss “multiple intersecting parts of my lived experience.” Another keffiyeh woman denounced the military “bloodbath” in Iran, but then was immediately upbraided by the “non-binary” they/them chairperson for misgendering her as “Madame Chair.” " --> You can't make this stuff up!
It's Comic Gold!! Why is Nora keeping all the good stuff to herself?? LOL
Be sure to check out Jonathan Kay's take:
The Tragicomic Death Throes of Canada’s (Former) Workers’ Party
Super piece. This is exactly the kind of insight I am looking for as a person who has downgraded from member to lurker status. I just love it when a convention doesn't go as planned (by the party brass) - shades of 2015!
You’re the one who told nenshi to shut up till he had some results under his belt my brotha (“Carla Beck and Naheed Nenshi, who mostly should be ignored until they can demonstrate that they’re effective…”).
Yes, while Avi is a two-time loser (so far), some people who are not two-time losers have not (so far) denounced him. But this does not make him a winner. If he would like to be taken seriously, table stakes are winning a seat.
If we’re here talking up the electoral track records of Eby and Kinew you’ll note that they are hardly Lewis clones.
Your point about the need to rid the party of the backroom, long-time fixtures is well taken. If Lewis' team can't get rid of them, the party is doomed. Continuity - indeed! Unbelievable how intellectually vacant one would have to be to believe this. My thought is that the continuity they wanted was whatever it takes to keep the Liberals in government and socialism out of Canada. As for Labour, I think it's pretty clear they are mostly conservative Liberals.
“Humiliation for labour“ is true: the party is no longer NDP and will never govern or even come close to acting as an opposition party again.
I’m not an uncritical supporter of unions but the labour movement needs to be revitalized in an age of hustling in a gig. economy If the NDP doesn’t see this and can’t help young people see it, they’ll be paying a price for what they can’t actually accomplice people
Thanks for your due diligence in covering this convention. That there is a flicker of life for progressive, anti-colonialist, non-corporate, anti-genocidal, pro-human habitat leadership in Canada is a good sign.
You won't find those platforms in a party that denied Yves Engler, the opportunity to contest the leadership. It's been hijacked by a pro-zionist lobby and Avi Lewis's family history in the NDP, is middle of the road, designed not to create waves, within Canadian mainstream society.
I too was impressed by Tanille's campaign. Met her in Halifax and I hope she stays with the party. She and her kind are the future of the party and the country.
Avi Lewis now leads a group of psycho liberal retards and I can't wait to watch the fallout. Together with Naomi Klein behind the curtain as Lady Macbeth they will rein horrors upon the already shredded reputation of the NDP.
And I was overjoyed that Heather McPherson came in third...she's a showgirl after all. But she takes first prize for Joker without the makeup.
in the days to come, i'd really like to see some discussion/reveals on the ranked ballots. What were the choices and proportions in 2d and 3d places if it had come to that? What lessons might that have for us? What patterns or connections might we discern through this?
Ranked ballots didn't really come into play with a 56%...but i believe/hope that there are things we could learn from them.
The fact that you’d thank others at the end of this piece for helping inform your understanding says a lot about your integrity, and adds to the value of your analysis.
I know this wasn't central to the point you were making but the semantic confusion around who exactly the term "farmer" refers to is, I think, salient in this context. Farmworkers, the people doing (poorly) paid labour on farms, are undoubtedly working class. Farmers, on the other hand, are at a minimum small business owners, and more often than not, also landowners. So not really working class at all.
I'm not sure you understand the intransigence of the Alberta NDP; not sure I understand it either and I'm Albertan, though not a party member.
I think the oil industry is going to shrink soon from market forces as we all electrify our cars, but perhaps the ANDP fears getting tagged forever with the blame, along with the federal Liberals (ask them about the National Energy Program which gets blamed for what was really a world wide recession).
They are all models and all need testing. The APS model shows a decline in demand basically starting now. I don't know much about it, I rely on Markham's information, and he interviews experts.
Best reporting the convention. You’re my girl!
That's you talking shit, right? lol
How could anyone attend such a notorious party convention with no mention of the various drunken lampshades?
I couldn’t see any through the pot smoke.
What about the Chair ... notice any resemblance to an SS-Aufseherin at Ravensbrück?
Thanks for this thoughtful overview... As a long time left never member of the NDP I appreciated your take on the abstracted notion of the working class "The more important question is: what is missed when the working class is conceptualized as being white, secure and middle class, as the debate undertones suggested?" If social dems keep mythologizing a long lost fiction of the securely employed white male working class whose identity is tied up with their job in lieu of the reality of racialized women working multiple precarious jobs who don't have any allegiance to their workplaces there will never be a left victory led by this cocktail liberal romantic socialist party. This is wartime and a critical conjuncture. Social democrats never cease to disappoint me.
I think your friend Jonathan Kay got it right:
"The party that once pitched itself to miners, factory workers, and farmers has been captured by superannuated student activists obsessed with demonizing Israel and courting “the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.” In last year’s federal election, the party won just 6% of the national vote—down from 18% in 2021."
See link below.
And did you all catch these viral clips from the convention?? LMAO!! -->
"In one clip, a woman in a keffiyeh told fellow convention delegates that she’d been unfairly leapfrogged in the speaking order, even though she’d flashed her official NDP “gender equity card,” which is apparently supposed to let her speak before men. In the same vein, another speaker, who said she “identifies as a black woman,” complained that an equity card had been used “inappropriately” by an unidentified third party. A trans-identified man complained that a “cisgender woman” (which is to say, a woman) had been allowed to speak before him, despite the fact that he was a “racialized and transgender delegate” seeking to discuss “multiple intersecting parts of my lived experience.” Another keffiyeh woman denounced the military “bloodbath” in Iran, but then was immediately upbraided by the “non-binary” they/them chairperson for misgendering her as “Madame Chair.” " --> You can't make this stuff up!
It's Comic Gold!! Why is Nora keeping all the good stuff to herself?? LOL
Be sure to check out Jonathan Kay's take:
The Tragicomic Death Throes of Canada’s (Former) Workers’ Party
https://quillette.com/email/3ff29073-bc6e-4b20-9543-2701d36ef22b/?ref=deeply-problematic-by-jon-kay-newsletter
Super piece. This is exactly the kind of insight I am looking for as a person who has downgraded from member to lurker status. I just love it when a convention doesn't go as planned (by the party brass) - shades of 2015!
Perhaps we should also be ignoring Lewis until his “effectiveness is demonstrated”, nenshi has won elections before which Lewis cannot claim
Your point would be relevant if Nenshi's main criticism that Lewis hasn't won an election yet.
You’re the one who told nenshi to shut up till he had some results under his belt my brotha (“Carla Beck and Naheed Nenshi, who mostly should be ignored until they can demonstrate that they’re effective…”).
But compared to Kinew they haven't shown to be effective at all...
Right, but compared to Lewis they are electoral juggernauts, as he has scrubbed out twice in BC.
If you think track record says a lot about wisdom you should be extremely skeptical of Mr avi
Eby didn't denounce him though, did he?
Yes, while Avi is a two-time loser (so far), some people who are not two-time losers have not (so far) denounced him. But this does not make him a winner. If he would like to be taken seriously, table stakes are winning a seat.
If we’re here talking up the electoral track records of Eby and Kinew you’ll note that they are hardly Lewis clones.
Your point about the need to rid the party of the backroom, long-time fixtures is well taken. If Lewis' team can't get rid of them, the party is doomed. Continuity - indeed! Unbelievable how intellectually vacant one would have to be to believe this. My thought is that the continuity they wanted was whatever it takes to keep the Liberals in government and socialism out of Canada. As for Labour, I think it's pretty clear they are mostly conservative Liberals.
If
“Humiliation for labour“ is true: the party is no longer NDP and will never govern or even come close to acting as an opposition party again.
I’m not an uncritical supporter of unions but the labour movement needs to be revitalized in an age of hustling in a gig. economy If the NDP doesn’t see this and can’t help young people see it, they’ll be paying a price for what they can’t actually accomplice people
Thanks for your due diligence in covering this convention. That there is a flicker of life for progressive, anti-colonialist, non-corporate, anti-genocidal, pro-human habitat leadership in Canada is a good sign.
Love your insights!
You won't find those platforms in a party that denied Yves Engler, the opportunity to contest the leadership. It's been hijacked by a pro-zionist lobby and Avi Lewis's family history in the NDP, is middle of the road, designed not to create waves, within Canadian mainstream society.
It's far from progressive!
Grateful for all your work
I too was impressed by Tanille's campaign. Met her in Halifax and I hope she stays with the party. She and her kind are the future of the party and the country.
Avi Lewis now leads a group of psycho liberal retards and I can't wait to watch the fallout. Together with Naomi Klein behind the curtain as Lady Macbeth they will rein horrors upon the already shredded reputation of the NDP.
And I was overjoyed that Heather McPherson came in third...she's a showgirl after all. But she takes first prize for Joker without the makeup.
in the days to come, i'd really like to see some discussion/reveals on the ranked ballots. What were the choices and proportions in 2d and 3d places if it had come to that? What lessons might that have for us? What patterns or connections might we discern through this?
Ranked ballots didn't really come into play with a 56%...but i believe/hope that there are things we could learn from them.
The fact that you’d thank others at the end of this piece for helping inform your understanding says a lot about your integrity, and adds to the value of your analysis.
I know this wasn't central to the point you were making but the semantic confusion around who exactly the term "farmer" refers to is, I think, salient in this context. Farmworkers, the people doing (poorly) paid labour on farms, are undoubtedly working class. Farmers, on the other hand, are at a minimum small business owners, and more often than not, also landowners. So not really working class at all.
Not in 1933 though when the CCF was founded ...
Being danger of losing your land to the bank changes your class identity? I gotta keep that one in mind
Thanks, I had my concerns when I read about Yves Engler's treatment, but point 3 shows the NDP really has been sold to corporate interest.
I'm not sure you understand the intransigence of the Alberta NDP; not sure I understand it either and I'm Albertan, though not a party member.
I think the oil industry is going to shrink soon from market forces as we all electrify our cars, but perhaps the ANDP fears getting tagged forever with the blame, along with the federal Liberals (ask them about the National Energy Program which gets blamed for what was really a world wide recession).
Three projections for world-wide consumption are quoted below. What's your definition of soon?
IEA (Current Policies): Projects demand rising to 113 mb/d by 2050, up from roughly 100 mb/d in 2025, driven by emerging markets and aviation.
OPEC (World Oil Outlook): Predicts even higher demand growth, estimating consumption could hit 123 mb/d by 2050.
STEPS Scenario (IEA): A more moderate, policy-driven scenario projects demand slightly increasing from 96,5mb/d (2022) to 97.4 mb/d by 2050.
There is an APS scenario: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-and-climate-model/announced-pledges-scenario-aps
Several scenarios: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-and-climate-model/understanding-gec-model-scenarios
Markham Hislop argues that the APS scenario fits the data better, most recently here:
https://markhamhislop.substack.com/p/exploding-albertas-oil-demand-will
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNIzJI7ST24
I think we agree, there is no concensus senario for decreased oil consumption "soon"
They are all models and all need testing. The APS model shows a decline in demand basically starting now. I don't know much about it, I rely on Markham's information, and he interviews experts.
All the models rely on "experts". The thing is experts disagree.
You are free to check out the links I already provided, and even to do further research on your own.