Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- The Economist reports on new research estimating that COVID-19 vaccines saved 20 million lives in their first year of availability - though that reality makes it all the more galling that there's been so little progress both in ensuring greater availability of existing vaccines for lower-income people, and developing new versions to address the flood of variants. Alice Park discusses why it's important to vaccinate the young children whose doses have only recently been approved. And Rick Howe writes that the elimination of any public health measures in the midst of a raging pandemic leaves the inescapable impression that we don't value the lives of immunocompromised people.

- Stephen Wentzel reports on Niki Ashton's push to ensure that the Canada Revenue Agency uses its resources to crack down on tax avoidance by the wealthy, not to add injury to insult for CERB recipients. 

- Sam Pizzigati offers a reminder that obscene wealth is invariably the result of a combination of luck and ruthlessness. And Michael Grabell reports on a stark example of both being torqued to extreme levels, as shipping and transportation magnates are extracting massive windfall profits from their own refusal to cooperate with customers. 

- Qingchen Chao and Wang Yang estimate China' viable renewable energy production at four times the amount of power needed to meet all current global electricity demand. And Simon Evans reports on the latest UK wind power contract which has produced prices a fraction of the cost of fossil fuel gas generation.

- Finally, Umair Haque discusses how the U.S.'s obsession with constant self-reliance and competition leads to ambient stress for everybody.

Sunday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your Sunday reading.

- Carly Weeks reports on the work being done to begin to understand and treat long COVID, while Erika Edwards reports on the profiteers directing people toward lucrative (if not necessarily effective) interventions where governments have failed to offer anything. Mario Canseco finds that more than half of Canadians are anxious about the political class' inexplicable decision to eliminate public health protections, while Bruce Arthur discusses the impossibility of mounting any effective fight against a pandemic while trying to pretend it's over. And Maiike Swets et al. find that in a particularly painful twist on attempts to minimize COVID as "no worse than a flu", the combination of the coronavirus and an actual flu produces particularly severe outcomes.

- Niki Ashton highlights how public ownership can serve as a level for effective climate action. John Vidal discusses Amory Lovins' work demonstrating that energy efficiency should be central to our carbon mitigation plans. And Maddelin McCosker and Danielle O'Neal report on the farce that is Australia's carbon credit scheme, as credits (and associated profits) have been handed out regardless of any contribution to emission reductions.

- Meanwhile, the National Post reports that the proliferation of plastics has reached the point where microparticles are contaminating human bloodstreams.

- Finally, Jon Queally discusses Joe Biden's laudable effort to ensure the wealthiest few in the U.S. contribute at least something toward funding a functional society.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- CBC News reports on the expert response to deaths caused by the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant in a Calgary hospital - including needed warnings that vaccinations aren't a bulletproof line of defence against it. And Mary Van Beukesom discusses how the combination of the Delta variant and increased spread among younger demographics is driving a new surge in the UK. 

- Jeremy Corbyn and Niki Ashton question the G7's willingness to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic in order to preserve the pharmaceutical industry's plans to turn the coronavirus into a long-term profit centre. And Grant Robertson reports on the data gaps which have reduced the effectiveness of Canada's vaccination efforts. 

- Kerry Campbell reports on the conclusions of the House of Commons' standing committee on human resources that Canada's EI system needs to be reworked to ensuring benefits are available for all types of workers. 

- Marc Lee discusses how spin about distant and selective "net zero" emission targets serves only to distract us from the need to actually reduce carbon pollution as soon as possible. 

- Finally, Tristin Hopper discusses a few of the systemic choices which have resulted in decent housing being unaffordable for far too many Canadians. And Martine August points out the rise of institutional landlords (driven by preferential tax treatment) which is driving up the cost of rental housing. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Adam Hunter talks to epidemiologists about Saskatchewan's pitiful COVID-19 response and the avoidable disease and death that have resulted. Gary Mason warns that we shouldn't expect to be into a post-COVID period by this summer. And Crawford Kilian writes that not only can we not rush in pretending we're back to normal, but we also shouldn't accept what we put up with as normality before.

- Linda McQuaig reminds us that the Libs' infrastructure bank is designed to turn needed public services into a windfall for wealthy investors. And Shoo Lee, Brian Rowe and Sukhy Mahl study how privatized health care produces worse results for everybody other than the people extracting profits from the system. 

- Emily Dwyer writes about the futility of a mining "watchdog" which has been denied any authority to actually investigate complaints.

- Finally, Dan Darrah highlights how there's no reason for Niki Ashton (or anybody else) to be shy about engaging with Jeremy Corbyn in the development of the Progressive International. And Joe Roberts warns against allowing hostile and politicized actors to determine who's entitled to be involved in movement-building.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Niki Ashton writes about Justin Trudeau's glaring failure to understand the importance of parity in services and genuine nation-to-nation recognition as core elements of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

- Helena Hanson points out that voters are entirely unsatisfied with both Trudeau and Andrew Scheer as electoral options. Karl Nerenberg explores the ramifications of Elizabeth May's willingness to back Scheer - particularly as it would allow Scheer to use effectively unfettered executive power. And Laura Nguyen discusses the hope Jagmeet Singh offers for racialized voters in an environment of increasingly loud bigotry and xenophobia.

- David Climenhaga writes about Calgary's appalling choice to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to further enrich Murray Edwards and the Flames while slashing basic services in the name of austerity.

- Tristan Hughes discusses Jason Kenney's war against the environment and its defenders. Matt McGrath writes that keeping greenhouse gases at anything below catastrophic levels may require a major change of course as soon as the end of 2020. And Anthony Davis points out some of the mental barriers to the change we urgently need to make.

- Finally, Jonathan Watts discusses a push to treat environmental damage as a war crime.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the NDP's federal leadership campaign following Jagmeet Singh's impressive first-ballot victory.

- Paul Wells discusses how Singh's youth and optimism fit with the NDP's history and self-image. Jeremy Nuttall interviews Brian Topp about some lessons Singh can take from Jack Layton - including his apparent plan to engage first and foremost in party-building in the lead up to the next election. Bill Tieleman suggests that Singh is Justin Trudeau's worst nightmare as a magnet for young and suburban voters (with Alex Ballingall also exploring the prospect), while John Doyle theorizes as to how Singh communicates with the public.

- Tim Harper discusses how Singh will be the first leader of a major federal party to be able to speak from experience about racial profiling. Drew Brown looks at Terry Milewski's appalling first interview of Singh as a prime example of how the media will need to learn to cover a non-white leader. And Susan Delacourt looks to the history of woman leaders at the federal level to warn against taking a single precedent as a sign that equality is at hand. 

- Christo Aivalis points out how Niki Ashton changed the campaign by pressing all of the candidates to talk about progressive principles and policies. And Dylan Robertson interviews Ashton about her view of the campaign.

- Nora Loreto examines a few policy areas where the NDP should focus in the lead up to the 2019 election. And Kristy Kirkup reports on Singh's appointment of Guy Caron to lead the NDP in Parliament in the interim.

- Finally, Althia Raj talks to several key figures in the campaign as to how Singh emerged with his first-ballot win.

Leadership 2017 Reference Page (Now Unpinned)

A one-stop source for general links on the 2017 NDP leadership campaign, to be updated as the race progresses. Please feel free to add additional suggestions in comments. (And note that new posts will appear below this one.)

General Information
NDP Constitution (PDF)
Leadership Rules (PDF) - Voting Process
NDP Leadership 2017
Leadership Debates: Ottawa (March 12) - Montreal (March 26) - Sudbury (May 28) - St. John's (June 11) - Saskatoon (July 11) - Victoria (August 2) - Montreal (August 27) - Vancouver (September 10)
Leadership Showcase: Hamilton (September 17)

Candidate Information

Candidate	Website	Twitter	Profile	Platform	Ranking
Charlie Angus	CharlieAngusNDP.ca	@CharlieAngusNDP	Profile	Analysis	2
Niki Ashton	NikiAshton2017.ca	@NikiAshton	Profile	Analysis	4
Guy Caron	GuyCaron.ca	@GuyCaronNPD	Profile	Analysis	3
Jagmeet Singh	JagmeetSingh.ca	@theJagmeetSingh	Profile	Analysis	1

Other Resources
Wikipedia
National Post Leadership Tracker
CPAC In Focus
IPolitics Inside the NDP Leadership Race
Chatelaine Cheat Sheet
NDP McGill Blog
NDPLeaderVote
Karl Nerenberg Candidate Profiles
Ishmael Daro Candidate Interviews
National Observer Candidate Interviews 
Toronto Star Profiles (Alex Ballingall)
CTV Meet the Candidates 

Posts
All Posts By Label
Candidate Rankings - August 6 - August 13 - August 27 - September 3 - September 10

Discussion
Babble threads: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
Peter Julian Forum
Twitter: #ndp - #ndpldr

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as we reach the last day of the first round of voting.

- B.J. Siekierski reports on the latest Mainstreet poll showing Jagmeet Singh with a lead, but significant room for movement at each step in the campaign. And the Huffington Post hosted the last (unofficial) all-candidates' debate of the campaign.

- Not surprisingly, the candidates have been making the rounds with late-campaign activity, including Niki Ashton's Q&A with Rabble and interview with Dylan Robertson; Guy Caron's interview with Maura Forrest and John Ivison; Singh's interviews with Justin Ling and Am Johal; and Buzzfeed's interviews with all four candidates. 

- The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group reviews the responses received from Ashton and Charlie Angus on security and human rights issues. And Courage offers its evaluation of the candidates.

- Christo Aivalis rightly criticizes the message that members signed up within minority communities are somehow less legitimate than other voters, while Kashif Pasta compares that insinuation to the acceptance that white male voters may leave a party then return without being seen as outsiders. And Nora Loreto discusses the sexism that Niki Ashton has faced in the course of the campaign.

- David Blocker has offered some lessons from past NDP leadership campaigns. Jessica Murphy, Marco Vigliotti and Kristy Kirkup provide overviews of the campaign. And Charlie Smith examines the prospect that Singh could be the NDP's first prime minister.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as the first voting window closes.

- Robin Sears frames the choice of members as being between a comfortable fit with Charlie Angus and a more ambitious option in Jagmeet Singh, while the Toronto Star's editorial board offers its endorsement to Singh based on its preference for the latter. And Adam Radwanski sees Singh as offering more swagger than the NDP generally exudes.

- Tom Parkin argues that the Bloc's attacks on Singh may both unite the NDP around the need to confront exclusionary identity politics, and win Quebec voters over to the cause. Stephen Tweedale examines Singh's social democratic credentials. And Janice Dickson reports on Singh's interest in running in Brampton East.

- Carl Meyer reports on Niki Ashton's plan to move beyond the Libs' patchwork funding for a green transition. And Maura Forrest and John Ivison interview Angus about his campaign based on authentic concern for the little guy, while Forrest interviews Niki Ashton about her plan for a bold progressive policy vision. 

- Finally, Eric Grenier examines the latest fund-raising numbers - which show Singh maintaining a lead, but not quite the same advantage he held in his first reporting period. And Drew Brown wonders whether the campaign is all but finished in Singh's favour, or whether the other candidates may all still be in the race. 

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as the first voting window remains open.

- Power & Politics and the Toronto Star have each posted new summaries of the candidates and their plans. Gloria Galloway reports on Charlie Angus' campaign as focusing on taking the NDP back to its roots. And Maura Forrest interviews Niki Ashton about her efforts to pull the NDP to the left.

- Stephen Tweedale examines how Jagmeet Singh's platform addresses both poverty and inequality - including both direct redistribution and protections for vulnerable workers. Dan Donovan offers his endorsement to Angus based in substantial part on his view that Angus is speaking more to a business audience - which makes for a noteworthy contrast with John Ibbitson's argument that Singh would be the candidate to fundamentally change the NDP's orientation toward pursuing immigrant and suburban voters while reducing the relative role of organized labour. And Thomas Walkom argues that Angus may be the perfect candidate for the traditional NDP - but may not be what members are looking for after coming close to winning power. 

- Chantal Hebert points out that conventional wisdom about Quebec voters has been proven wrong repeatedly in recent elections - suggesting that the assumption that Singh's religion will actually be an issue may be similarly flawed. Supriya Dwivedi questions whether a potential coalition which specifically embraces voters motivated by religious discrimination is worth pursuing based on both its unreliability in Quebec, and its message to voters across Canada. And the Globe and Mail calls out the intellectual dishonesty behind Quebec's Bill 62.

- Finally, Christo Aivalis offers his take on what the NDP should learn from the successes of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn - with particular emphasis on the need to inspire supporters with bold and clear social democratic policies.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- CBC reports on Nathan Cullen's endorsement of Jagmeet Singh - which may make for one of the few shows of support capable of influencing members at this stage of the campaign.

- Althia Raj highlights Charlie Angus' rebel yell, while Alex Ballingall writes about the Star editorial board's meeting with him (which includes somewhat more direct talk about potentially approving pipelines than we've heard through much of the campaign). Rob Rousseau is the latest to write about Niki Ashton as a Canadian counterpart to Bernie Sanders. And Guy Caron's reply to Martine Ouellet's attack on Singh offers a prime example as to how the NDP can and should respond to any attempt to use religious bigotry to silence minority voices.

- Eric Grenier offers a look at some of the policies on offer from the leadership candidates. And John Geddes interviews Avi Lewis about the policy discussion within the leadership campaign - and Lewis' hope to expand what's seen as possible. 

- Finally, Tom Parkin offers his reasoning for placing Caron and Singh at the top of his ballot. Alice Funke makes a case for Singh as a step toward greater diversity and energy within the NDP, while Tim Harper discusses Singh's ability to get noticed beyond party lines as a key advantage. And Chantal Hebert analyzes the campaign while viewing Singh as the likely victor.

Leadership 2017: The Ballot

Despite the federal NDP's candidate showcase there hasn't been much change since last week's rankings - and so I won't update those for this week. Rather than ranking the candidates based on their perceived likelihood of winning, I'll instead take the opportunity to offer my own endorsement and ballot ranking, along with some explanation as to how I've made my own choice among four strong candidates. (For further reading, Alice Funke offers a must-read summary as to the array of expectations and responsibilities for the NDP's leader.)

1. Guy Caron

The key for Caron has been to establish that he could demonstrate the capacity to grow in a campaign with relatively limited resources. And in the end, he's done just that - offering strong and popular individual policies within an effective philosophical framework, and managing to win over a far larger number of supporters on sheer personal appeal than I'd have anticipated.

The most important sticking point for me with Caron is then his tendency to put process and jurisdiction ahead of underlying values at times. That's been most obvious in his take on Quebec's Bill 62, where I'll note that he may be best served taking a lesson from Thomas Mulcair's response focusing on fundamental values rather than political calculations. And it's also been notable at other times when he's demurred on ambitious social policy proposals by pointing to jurisdictional questions.

But on the balance, Caron looks to have the best prospect of winning Canadians over to a progressive vision - just as he's won over supporters throughout the leadership campaign.

2. Jagmeet Singh

Singh too has done a highly effective job of situating worthwhile policy proposals within a framework of well-defined values. The primary factor placing him behind Caron is that those values don't overlap with the ones I'd like to see promoted to quite the same extent: on one set of key economic issues in particular, Singh has gone out of his way to express principles which are both contrary to NDP policy, and problematic from the standpoint of winning voters over to a coherent progressive philosophy.

That said, Singh's showcase today suggests that he's both tightening up his economic message, and making strides in tying it to his personal experience. And the areas of concern within the leadership race should be ones where he'll have reason to be on the proper side of any debate across party lines.  

Moreover, Singh has lived up to his own "love and courage" theme with strongly principled stances in other areas where I'd have expected him to play it safer. And that offers me enough comfort on policy to place him second in light of his success in building an organization and appealing to the public.

3. Niki Ashton

Ashton's deeply progressive platform and strategy based on the successful movement-building exemplified by Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders hold a great deal of appeal to me. And today's presentation was likely her strongest in putting those together. But Ashton ranks below the top of my ballot because of some uncertainty about her ability to execute that strategy.

While Corbyn was eventually able to build up his UK Labour party despite a combination of internal grumbling and a dismissive press, he's done so based in large part on the demonstrable strength and breadth of the movement behind him. Corbyn only won the opportunity to face the general electorate by twice winning the support of a strong majority of his party's members - and it's the endurance of his personal support among members that's allowed him to withstand storms both internal and external.

Based on how the media has treated her throughout the leadership campaign, Ashton stands to match Corbyn's status as a lightning rod for press attacks. But she hasn't yet shown much of a movement behind her to answer issues as they've arisen. And so Ashton's most plausible path to victory looks to represent a potentially dangerous outcome for the NDP as a whole: the most difficult road for the party may involve a multi-ballot vote in which Ashton narrowly noses ahead despite modest enthusiasm, then has to face an onslaught of media criticism with relatively little internal support.

4. Charlie Angus

Finally, Angus finishes fourth on my ballot based on a leadership campaign which hasn't lived up to either Angus' potential or his competitors' choices in terms of either policy development or progressive values.

To be sure, Angus has been able to secure the endorsement of plenty of prominent voices who are willing to trust him. But I have to wonder whether the relatively unfocused populism he's relied on during the leadership race will be ameliorated - or produce better results - against the NDP's competition. And if not, then Angus poses the risk of losing ground in terms of both party results and issue advocacy.

Again, that's not to say Angus wouldn't have a strong opportunity to succeed as the NDP's next leader. But it does mean he falls behind his fellow candidates on that score - and thus to the bottom of my ballot.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as tomorrow's showcases approach - and as members begin to fill out their ballots.

- The Star's editorial board has been meeting with the candidates, resulting in articles about Niki Ashton's determination that the NDP not be outflanked by Liberal rhetoric on the left and Guy Caron's pitch as the candidate who can win in Quebec, as well as Martin Regg Cohn's column arguing that Jagmeet Singh stands above his fellow candidates. Canadaland is interviewing the candidates, beginning with Guy Caron. Andrew Autio reports on Charlie Angus' take on the campaign so far and his position as voting begins. And Joanna Smith discusses Jagmeet Singh's familiarity with racism (and the need to respond with grace and purpose).

- Caron has released his nation-to-nation platform for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. And the Star's editorial board offers its support for decriminalizing drug possession as mentioned by Singh - though it neglects to note that both Ashton and Caron also expressed interest in the idea.

- Eric Grenier follows up on the significance of the endorsements made so far, while Campbell Clark picks up on Angus' surprising lack of support within the current caucus. Angus did add a potentially significant endorsement from Libby Davies as one of the NDP's most-admired voices from the left.  And Joel-Denis Bellavance reports on Alexandre Boulerice's decision to stay neutral - which is particularly interesting based on the view of one of the NDP's most prominent Quebec MPs that any of the candidates can succeed in his home province.

- Maura Forrest reports on a glitch which saw some members receive more than one ballot.

- Christo Aivalis offers his review of all of the candidates, while Alex Ballingall offers profiles from the Star.

- Finally, Ballingall discusses how the leadership candidates fit into the NDP's overarching goals as a party, while Jeremy Appel offers his take as to the impact of each candidate on the 2019 campaign. And Dennis Gruending highlights how the leadership campaign will affect Canada's broader political scene.

New column day

Here, on how the Libs' weakness in closing even modest loopholes is allowing tax entitlement to win out over tax fairness.

For further reading...
- Justin Ling offers a useful look at the minor moves to rein in the abuse of private corporations in this year's budget. Konrad Yakabuski rightly argues that the entire fight is primarily over politics rather than revenue. And Susan Delacourt speculates that such a minor change affecting a small number of incorporated businesses will result in as much controversy as the GST.
- James Laxer discusses how the reaction to the Libs' proposed changes represents class warfare by the wealthy. And Don Pittis writes about the clash between the public's desire for a fair tax system, and entrenched interests looking to preserve their perks.
- For a reminder, David MacDonald studied Canada's unfair tax expenditures, including the billion-dollar stock option loophole. And Dennis Howlett lamented the Libs' decision to leave that wide open for exploitation.
- Finally, for examples of the type of revenue options on the table in the NDP's leadership campaign, Niki Ashton, Guy Caron and Jagmeet Singh have each proposed substantial revenue increases to fund needed social spending, while Charlie Angus' plan includes targeting corporate tax havens.

Leadership 2017 Candidate Rankings - September 10

No, there isn't any change in this week's rankings compare to last week's positioning. But I'll post nonetheless to discuss how the candidates performed in today's debate, and how that looks to set up the balance of the campaign.

1. Jagmeet Singh (1)

While some different metrics continue to point in various directions, all candidates seem to be operating based on the premise that Singh is ahead of the pack at this point. And today, he was able both to respond to other candidates' challenges when they arose, and to find some useful contrasts against Charlie Angus as the strongest apparent competitor. (Most notably, a stronger position on harm reduction and decriminalization than Angus was willing to offer may help Singh to win down-ballot support.)

The one possible misfire on Singh's part was a closing statement oriented solely toward identifying target regions - which seems unlikely to be new to anybody already leaning his way, while raising more questions than answers with voters looking for a core message based on principle rather than political calculation.

2. Charlie Angus (2)

That makes for a particularly unhelpful contrast in light of Angus' closing statement, which capped an effective overall performance with a strong message about his motivations and values.

Angus carried out an ideal strategy for a second-place contender looking to both extend the campaign by challenging the front-runner, and ensure that he doesn't get overtaken from behind. And in particular, conciliatory themes toward both Guy Caron and Niki Ashton may help to limit the prospect that they or their supporters will decide to reject both frontrunners.

3. Guy Caron (3)

Once again, the main basis for my ranking between the remaining two candidates is Caron's room for growth on later ballots. There 's at least a foreseeable path to victory based on the other candidates' apparent bases of support if Caron is perceived as the most progressive remaining option to Ashton voters choosing among the other three candidates, then the more grassroots-friendly option to Angus supporters on a final ballot against Singh.

4. Niki Ashton (4)

Finally, the key late-campaign problems for Ashton are minimal public growth at a point when all of the other candidates can claim substantially more public momentum, and the lack of a clear path to appeal for final-ballot support against either Singh or Angus. And while I'd still consider her a relative favourite to claim third place on the first ballot, it's looking more plausible that Caron may be able to pass her on that front.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign in advance of tomorrow's final official debate. (Though the Huffington Post is advertising another to come on the 27th.)

- Elizabeth McSheffrey paints Charlie Angus' purpose as being to rebuild public trust in politics as a means of giving a voice to people.

- Jagmeet Singh's response to a heckler ranting about Sharia law with a call for love and courage has received attention on an international scale. And Jeffrey Ansloos views the incident as emblematic of a test for Canada's left in responding to religious diversity.

- Peter Julian's endorsement of Singh offers one more example of a key party figure with strong Quebec ties rejecting any concern about his prospects in the province - though it's particularly worth watching whether any of Julian's own Quebec endorsers follow suit.

- Djaouida Sellah's support for Charlie Angus, Scott Duvall's backing of Guy Caron and Morgane Oger's endorsement of Niki Ashton also provide noteworthy boosts as the campaign reaches the home stretch. (Meanwhile Pat Stogran's endorsement of Angus looks like more of a double-edged sword - Stogran certainly has his followers, but any association between his poorly-thought-out attacks on the NDP and Angus' campaign may raise concerns among the core supporters Angus is relying on.)

- Finally, James Laxer argues that now is the moment for the NDP to reemphasize democratic socialist values.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- NDP McGill has prepared handy summaries of the background and policy proposals of each of the leadership candidates.

- Tim Harper writes that Charlie Angus is relying on the NDP's grassroots as the foundation for his campaign - particularly compared to the new members signed up by Jagmeet Singh.

- Althia Raj takes an extended look at Guy Caron's political background and goals within the race. And John Ibbitson and Joel-Denis Bellavance each discuss Caron's place in the campaign - including the endorsement of Brian Topp, whose role as a strategist and strong leadership contender would figure to give Caron a significant boost if he's substantially involved in the campaign.

- Ryan Maloney reports on today's Canadian Nurses Association town hall featuring all four leadership candidates.

- Finally, Chris Watson offers his take on the importance of standing up against Quebec's Bill 62 and other anti-human rights legislation.

Leadership 2017 Candidate Rankings - September 3

The major development since last week has of course been the release of the NDP's national membership numbers. And as would have been expected, they lead to a change at the top - though it's worth putting their impact into perspective rather than taking every sign-up as an automatic vote.

1. Jagmeet Singh (2)

While Singh's claim to have signed up 47,000 members has given rise to some controversy, much of the issue seems to come from some confusion as to who's included in that number. In particular, it's highly likely that a substantial number of Singh's counted memberships consisted of renewals rather than first-time supporters - which couldn't necessarily be seen as separate from the pools of voters who have already been polled as known members.

But while those voters might not be as solidly in Singh's camp as people signing up for the express purpose of supporting him, it's still noteworthy that a candidate who got off to a late start seems to have managed to perform that strongly even in the renewal category where some low-hanging fruit would have been available to candidates starting early. And a campaign apparatus capable of achieving that looks to be at a huge advantage in maintaining and converting support once the voting window opens.

2. Charlie Angus (1)

Meanwhile, Angus' drop is due solely to Singh's strong showing in the membership numbers. But if Angus now looks likely to be substantially behind Singh on the first ballot, he'll have some work to do in establishing himself as the preferred final-ballot choice for supporters of the remaining candidates.

3. Guy Caron (3)

Caron holds his position thanks to another strong week in terms of both endorsements, and setting the terms of the campaign debate. But there still looks to be a long way for him to go in trying to reach a final ballot - and while Caron's position on Quebec's Bill 62 may have succeeded in attracting some positive attention, it will also offer a strong basis for contrast if he is one of the last two candidates standing.

4. Niki Ashton (4)

Finally, Ashton also stays in place in the absence of any significant change from the previous week. But as noted here, she may have an opportunity to demonstrate that her movement-building strategy has progressed further than might be obvious from the leadership campaign so far.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- Eric Grenier offers his take on the membership numbers released this week - including Jagmeet Singh's impressive signup totals. And Sarah Boesveld summarizes the state of the campaign and what's at stake.

- Kevin Taghabon's detailed interview with Guy Caron is worth a read in full, but particularly for Caron's take on when economic activity should be nationalized. 

- A few more Quebec MPs have offered their endorsements beyond those I've previously linked to - including Robert Aubin and Karine Trudel supporting Caron, and Brigitte Sansoucy endorsing Niki Ashton. And the United Steelworkers' backing of Caron makes clear that labour support is well distributed between the candidates.

- Ashton is promoting a Labour Day march in Toronto which may serve as a valuable indicator as to how far she's progressed in assembling the type of movement she wants to build.

- Finally, Michael Harris discusses Singh's potential to win over minority voters based on being able to offer perspective based on shared experience rather than Justin Trudeau's platitudes.

Leadership 2017 Platform Analysis - Niki Ashton

As I've noted previously, Niki Ashton's debate strategy doesn't often seem to involve discussing policy at length. And that's a shame, because she's done more than any other candidate to raise (and propose solutions to) a broad range of issues.

While Ashton has primarily emphasized her proposals for free tuition and social ownership, other parts of her platform which deserve further attention include:
- an immediate path to citizenship for migrant workers and temporary foreign workers, coupled with a plan to ensure that anybody who comes to Canada to live is similarly able to become a citizen;
- a reworking of prisons to improve the education and training available for offenders, while also providing labour protection for prison labourers;
- a jobs plan which explicitly aims toward sustainable full employment; 
- introducing a Financial Activities Tax aimed specifically at banking profits and bonuses, along with a "Robin Hood" tax on transactions which has been more extensively discussed elsewhere;
and
- including preventative dental care in the Canada Health Act (alongside plans for pharmacare and mental health).

Unfortunately, the lack of discussion of those proposals by either Ashton or her competitors has also left little scope to address either their respective priority, or any potential issues with them. And it's not clear that the current shape of the campaign will leave much time for clarification.

But Ashton deserves ample credit for developing a broad set of ideas which merit further discussion within the NDP no matter how members wind up voting in the leadership race. And anybody who hasn't heard as much policy detail as they'd like in the rest of the leadership campaign may want to give Ashton's policies a much closer look.