THUNDER BAY -- If politically progressive voices are going to lead, the Ontario New Democratic Party's deputy leader believes they're going to have to change their tune.
"People think the left is scary," Bramalea-Gore-Malton MPP Jagmeet Singh said after a panel lecture at Lakehead University on Friday.
"Progressive people haven't been able to frame an argument that connects people with an emotional connection as well as a logical connection. People vote against their interests, people vote against things like minimum wage, which would benefit society broadly speaking. People vote against things like having a national daycare plan because they want to see a tax return in their own mailbox.
"The argument can be made that if we pool our resources, we can come up with a service that's far better, which would benefit far more people and create a far better society. That argument hasn't been made in a compelling and unifying way."
Singh agrees with the argument former NDP leader Ed Broadbent made in the Globe and Mail Thursday, advising prospective party leaders not to "get caught up in the spurious debate so often found in the politics of the left."
Singh sees the classic class paradigm as one of those ideas with ballot-mobilizing potential, considering wealth distribution continues to polarize across Canada.
"Class is a massive issue," he said. "Right now we have a massive gap that's widening between those who have resources and those who don't. That's a unifying issue. Most people fall into the bracket where they're losing their opportunities and their access to resources."
Singh wouldn't rule out a run of his own for the party's federal leadership but he sees real vulnerability in Ontario's Liberal Party under Premier Kathleen Wynne.
If NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and her team can find ways of communicating policies to Ontarians on health, education, and energy, Singh feels he could be passing up an opportunity to govern if he jumps from the provincial to the federal stage.
"I'd be honoured to be a part of the team under Andrea's leadership. That would be an amazing opportunity, which is why I'm struggling with making the decision on running federal."
