Photo: Peter Power The Canadian Press Delegates at the NDP convention in Hamilton, Ontario on Saturday, October 14, 2023.
Michel Saba – The Canadian Press in Ottawa
Posted at 8:45 a.m. Updated at 2:02 p.m.
- Canada
Municipal councilor Craig Sauvé will wear the colors of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, in Montreal, during the next elections.
He will be elected by acclamation during an investiture meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon since no other candidacy was received before the deadline, the political party confirmed to The Canadian Press.
In a video that will be shown to activists, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the 43-year-old politician who has been a councilor in the South West district since 2013 represents “a golden opportunity” for their party.
“Craig is already a really well-known councilor in the county and can present himself as a real option for the working classes, for workers and we can win,” he said . Together, we can build a better country. Together, we can build a better society.”
In an interview Friday evening, Craig Sauvé said that he “loves” his current job, but that he also realizes that “more structuring” changes require support from higher levels of government.
Mr. Sauvé said he sees “enthusiasm” for the NDP when it goes door to door and dissatisfaction with Justin Trudeau's Liberals, so much so that he believes that his fellow citizens, whom he describes as “progressives”, could well cause surprise and “turn orange this time”.
Now, this is not an easy task. Liberal David Lametti has won three consecutive elections since 2015, when the riding was created. In the last election, in 2021, Mr. Lametti was re-elected with 42.9% of the votes. The Bloc Québécois candidate followed a long way behind (22.1%) and the NDP candidate came third (19.4%).
Mr. Sauvé believes that all hopes are justified given his record as an advisor who “delivered the goods” and the fact that the previous NDP candidate ran “a very small campaign” with a virtual absence in the public square. “Despite that, there was 20%. So that’s the base, base, base. We are going to do a big campaign, we are going to pull out all the stops,” he said.
Craig Sauvé does not intend to resign from his position, but plans to take a sabbatical during the election period “like the other councilors before me” and donate his salary to neighborhood charities at that time.
In 2021, he withdrew from the Projet Montréal caucus — the party of Mayor Valérie Plante — and has been serving as an independent advisor since he was splashed by allegations of sexual assault a few days before the municipal elections. He has always denied the facts with which he is accused.
“For me, the file is closed,” reiterated Craig Sauvé in an interview after mentioning having made it a “duty to treat this with the greatest respect, listening and transparency” and having taken part in a mediation process. He noted that a police investigation took place and resulted in no charges. The victim did not file a legal action either.
The riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun was left vacant by the resignation of David Lametti on January 31, a few months after the former justice minister was kicked out of the cabinet during last summer's cabinet reshuffle.
The government has a maximum of six months after the resignation of an MP to trigger by-elections.