Black Press sent the same five questions to the five candidates seeking to become the Member of Parliament for the new riding of Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola. Miguel Godau is the NDP candidate in the riding.
In addition to general voting day on April 28, voters can cast their ballots in advance, with some polling stations open from Friday, April 18 to Monday, April 21 inclusive. Advance voting hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day; on April 28, polling stations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Check your voter registration card for the location of your polling station, for both advance voting and for election day. Please note that if you go to vote at a different location to the one shown on your voter registration card, you will not be able to cast your vote there, and will instead be directed to the correct location. If you have not received a voter registration card, or for more information, go to www.elections.ca.
1. What qualities or experience make you the best candidate for voters in Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola to cast their ballot for? I was born and raised in Ashcroft, which makes Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola the place I call home. I have lived and worked in different areas around the province and currently that has brought me to Castlegar.
We know some candidates can reside in their riding and support regressive ideas and be divisive. Others can swap their values or their party simply because it will improve their chances of getting elected. If elected, I would have the opportunity to return to the place I call home. I believe that values, integrity, and principles are most important in a candidate. My work and my life experience have shown that the New Democrats are always on the side of hard-working Canadians.
2. What concrete plans does your party have to make housing more affordable and available for Canadians who are currently unable to find housing or afford it? Three million homes in five years! New Democrats believe homes should be for people, not profit. Our plan doubles the Liberals with a reasonable plan to tackle the scope of the problem, replacing the Liberals’ temporary program with a permanent $16 billion national housing strategy, building homes and protecting good-paying jobs.
We’ll also offer long-term, low-interest mortgages through CMHC, reducing monthly costs and cutting tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage; money people could use for groceries, childcare, or saving for their future. We’ll build rent-controlled homes on public land, to help people find homes they can afford. We’ll bring in national rent control: ban fixed-term leases, renovictions, and price-fixing and landlord collusion.
3. Does your party believe that human-caused climate change is real, and if so, what concrete plans does your party have to tackle it? Human-caused climate change is real. We’ve had massive wildfires, floods, and heat domes. The Conservatives reject climate science, Carney is backtracking, and the Liberals have failed to meet a single greenhouse gas reduction target.
The NDP will take strong action on the climate crisis plan that safeguards your job, lowers your bills, and builds a better future. We’ll scrap the consumer carbon tax for good, keep the industrial carbon price, eliminate oil and gas subsidies, and reinvest billions into a national retrofit plan, lowering energy costs for millions of families.
4. How is your party planning to strengthen and grow the Canadian economy? The NDP wants to strengthen and grow the economy by boosting EI to support displaced workers, building an east-west energy and electrical grid, making major investments in infrastructure — thus creating employment and boosting productivity — and creating tax-free Victory Bonds to accelerate massive housing construction and building infrastructure.
Additionally, Jagmeet Singh has announced a range of measures to help families by capping food prices, letting people keep more of their money before they start to pay income tax, taking the GST off essential purchases, taking the GST off Canadian-made vehicles to boost our auto sector, and doubling the Canada Disability Benefit.
5. How is your party planning to deal with the trade threats coming from the U.S. administration, and/or the president’s talk of annexing Canada? Jagmeet Singh and the NDP will protect workers, safeguard jobs, protect health care, and ensure Canadian families don’t bear the brunt of Trump tariffs. The NDP will fight to protect everyday people from paying the cost of Trump’s trade war while building a stronger, fairer economy for the future. These measures include improving Employment Insurance benefits, safeguarding jobs through strategic investments, ensuring families don’t bear the cost of tariffs, standing up for Canadian workers against corporate greed, and protecting public services from privatization threats.
