A British Columbia union leader entered the federal NDP leadership race on Wednesday, promoting himself as a contender who understands the concerns of workers.
Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, officially announced he was running to become the next leader of the New Democratic Party, with his campaign describing him as “the first working-class labour candidate in the federal NDP leadership race.”
In an interview with CBC News ahead of the launch, Ashton acknowledged his reputation for being a voice within Canada’s labour movement who tends to speak his mind.
“I talk like I talk at work. I’m not gonna bullshit you,” he said.
“I’m honest. I’m gonna tell you what’s what, because I’m tired of politicians telling workers nothing but lies.”
Ashton was one of the few voices inside the NDP who publicly stated that the party was in for a dismal election result in April after propping up the Liberals through the supply-and-confidence agreement it had with former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
He told CBC News back in February that New Democrats were “in really bad shape” because workers were “running towards the Conservative Party.”
Ashton joins Edmonton MP Heather McPherson, former journalist Avi Lewis and political activist Yves Engler, who are vying to replace former leader Jagmeet Singh. He stepped down after the NDP’s worst election loss this past spring, leaving the party with just seven MPs.
Ashton said that both Conservatives and Liberals have attempted to befriend workers, only to abandon them when it really matters.
“We’ve seen it time and time again, you see the blue team and the red team make promises to workers. And every single election cycle, nothing changes,” he said. “The rich get richer and the working-class members of our country are left in the dust.”
He didn’t reveal many policy details of his campaign, but he said the NDP needs to protect Canadian jobs and domestic industries and “start taxing the rich, not the members of the working class.”
Ashton spent 30 years as a longshoreman, close to half of that representing dock workers in B.C.
“I know why people are suffering out there. And I know that I can bring the NDP back to the roots, and our roots for the NDP is labour,” he said. “I’m from labour, and I am one of those working Canadians that are pissed off at where the country is.”
