After months of speculation, Peter Julian announced on Sunday he’ll be running in this fall’s NDP leadership race to replace Tom Mulcair.
During a 20-minute speech at The Columbia in New West, Julian shared his vision for Canada, one where “everyone matters and no one is left behind.”
“The loss of so many good jobs, the fraying of the social safety net, record levels of family debt and homelessness; we can do better and the NDP can bring change,” he told the 200-plus-person crowd. “It’s time to make the priority regular folks rather than the rich and the well-connected.”
Julian, 55, said he’d tackle the inequality gap between the “top one per cent” and the majority of Canadians by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and shutting down tax havens and “sweetheart deals.”
“No matter how wealthy, no matter how well connected, everyone pays their fair share of taxes,” he said, to a round of applause.
The MP also touched on creating a national housing strategy and ending tuition fees in order to strengthen the economy. Julian said the latter is a fundamental issue to the young voters he’s chatted with and is a cause he thinks many will champion.
“Younger Canadians have been pushed aside more than other Canadians by what we’re seeing, an increased concentration of wealth, so what we need to do is talk very clearly about a new direction for this country. And I think that’s where you start to get younger people in politics and interested in change,” he told media after the announcement.
Julian made it clear he was opposed to pipelines and that investing in clean energy would lead to thousands of jobs.
“We cannot play Russian roulette with our planet. … Climate change is a profound and disturbing reality that will be accelerated substantially if these projects are built,” he said of the Kinder Morgan, Keystone XL and Energy East pipelines.
Julian called for “real, meaningful and full reconciliation” with First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.
The long-time MP was first elected in 2004 and served as critic for finance, international trade, transportation, persons with disabilities and energy, to name a few. He stepped down as House leader last fall to consider the leadership bid.
Those in attendance on Sunday included Mayor Jonathan Cote, who said he was happy to support Julian.
“He’s been an incredible member of Parliament for over a decade; not only represented New Westminster well, but really represented Canada well. I think he’s putting forward a positive vision for the NDP leadership and it’s what the party needs at this point in time,” said Cote.
Cote added he was inspired by Julian’s plans to tackle homelessness.
“Homelessness in Metro Vancouver and all of the country has reached, as far as I’m concerned, an unacceptable level, and it’s an issue that hasn’t galvanized the support of any major leader,” he said.
Penny Oyama, a longtime Julian fan, came out to show her support. The local resident attended the NDP convention last spring, an event she called “a huge eye-opener.”
“Ground-breaking discussions took place and Peter was right in the middle of it all, so we can expect some earth-shattering stuff to happen,” she said.
Arguably Julian’s biggest fans were also in the crowd – his parents, Terry and Ruth.
Both were all smiles as they watched their son deliver his speech.
“We’re very proud of him and we’re excited,” said Terry.
“He’s worked for this, I think since he was 12, when he first started talking about the New Democrats,” Ruth chimed in.
