Melissa Edwards, NDP: Brampton North

• Melissa is a long-time community organizer who has seen first-hand how hard life has become for ordinary Canadians. After working for 15 years with Plan International Canada and the Ontario NDP, she knows how hard it is to get ahead when governments keep giving breaks to rich corporations and forcing the rest of us to pay the price.

• Melissa is a community builder who is passionate about giving back to her home town of Brampton where you can often find her volunteering at various community events.

• Melissa understands it takes courage to invest in families and the services they need.  That’s why she’s fighting to make life more affordable for families, with more housing, health care that covers you from head to toe, and equitable access to education, so that everyone can thrive.

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Naiima Farah, NDP: Etobicoke North

• Naiima is a community worker, human rights advocate, and lifelong resident of Etobicoke North. Growing up in social housing, she became driven at an early age to work to end poverty, racism, and violence. 

• Since then, Naiima has worked hard to improve public education, healthcare, housing, and the justice system. Together with people in her community, she’s fought cuts to education and services. She has also worked to champion Community Benefit Agreements that create good-paying jobs for Canadians.

• She knows we can deliver real solutions for Canadian families by tackling crushing student debt, helping connect people with good quality jobs, and making sure the richest pay their fair share of taxes.

• Naiima is standing with Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to make life more affordable, healthier, and safer for all Canadians – with universal pharmacare, affordable housing, and a climate change plan that creates good green jobs. She’s fighting for a fairer Canada where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
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Joseph Hakizimana, NDP: Rivière-des-Mille-Îles

• Joseph Hakizimana est titulaire d’une maîtrise en administration publique en Gestion des services de santé et services sociaux, obtenue à l’École nationale d’administration publique. Infirmier et gestionnaire, c’est un altruiste qui s’est investi et mis au service des personnes les plus vulnérables de sa communauté, notamment en luttant contre la discrimination, la stigmatisation et en travaillant à briser les barrières d’accès aux soins et services.

• Avant la fonction administrative qu’il occupe au CHSLD, il a travaillé comme préposé aux bénéficiaires et infirmier. Passionné par son travail et grâce à ses valeurs familiales, sa créativité et sa détermination, Joseph ne cesse de réfléchir aux solutions pouvant améliorer les services offerts à nos aîné∙es. Comme gestionnaire, il est très préoccupé par le problème de pénurie de la main-d’œuvre. Il croit que toutes les solutions à ce problème passent par un meilleur traitement des travailleurs et travailleuses, entre autres en offrant de meilleures conditions de travail et des salaires justes et équitables.

• Joseph voit une responsabilité en chaque citoyen∙ne d’œuvrer pour notre avenir et pour un environnement sain : il veut concrétiser son rêve d’une société inclusive dans laquelle tout le monde peut se réaliser.

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Adam Kilner, NDP: Sarnia Lambton

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Christine Paré, NDP: Papineau

• Féministe, socialiste et infatigable défenseure du logement social et des droits des femmes, Christine Paré est le type de candidate que les milliardaires veulent garder en dehors du Parlement.

• Christine a adhéré à son premier syndicat comme travailleuse à l’âge de 18 ans et s’est impliquée activement dans le mouvement syndical en se faisant élire à des postes et en militant sur le terrain. Elle a milité activement au sein du NPD, présidant des comités de femmes aux niveaux fédéral et provincial.

• Complétant ses études supérieures tout en travaillant à temps plein, Christine a étudié le rôle des femmes dans les organisations. Originaire du Burkina Faso, Elle a participé à des mouvements populaires et a combattu la dictature de Blaise Compaoré avant d’immigrer au Québec.

• Elle vit dans Parc Extension depuis dix-sept ans, où elle s’est impliquée dans des mouvements pour le logement et la justice sociale. Elle a été inspirée par des leaders syndicaux comme Madeleine Parent et des écrivains comme Toni Morrison. Lorsqu’elle ne travaille pas à bâtir avec ses voisin·es une communauté forte et dynamique, elle aime lire et cultiver des légumes dans sa cour.

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Shailene Panylo, NDP: Oshawa

• Shailene is a mentor and community organizer who has fought for years to ensure everyone in Oshawa can fully participate in society. She knows from experience that Canadians benefit when governments remove barriers to accessibility and invest in communities like Oshawa. Shailene is also a dedicated community volunteer and activist operating various organizations to promote equity, anti-discrimination and anti-bullying campaigns.

• A lifelong resident of Oshawa, she has seen people working hard and still struggle to make ends meet. She wants to ensure that no one is forced to pay the price when Ottawa gives breaks to the super-rich.

• She’s fighting to make life more affordable for families with better health care, universal pharmacare, housing that’s affordable and good, green, fair-waged jobs, so that everyone can thrive. Her unique experiences ensure that she will be a strong voice in Ottawa.

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Dirka Prout, NDP: London North Centre

• A long time resident of London, Dirka has seen how the housing crisis is squeezing people in our community – and she’s determined to fight to make London more affordable for families.

• An experienced leader in geotechnical engineering, Dirka manages major projects at both municipal and provincial levels. Dirka is focused on advocating for the London community through her work as current co-chair of the Women’s Commission of Canada’s NDP and as the president of the London chapter of Spelling Bee of Canada.

• Dirka will stand up for the solutions people in London need – like pharmacare that covers everyone, and half a million new units of affordable housing.

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Paul Taylor, NDP: Parkdale-High Park

• Paul has spent his life working to alleviate poverty, fighting for workers’ rights, and standing up for the most marginalized. He is committed to building solidarity between communities and continuing to push for justice.

• As Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto, Canada’s largest food security organization, Paul has been working to make Canada a place where no one struggles to put food on the table. He knows that by closing tax loopholes for the richest and putting everyday Canadians first, we can improve public services and make life more affordable. He’s seen the challenges the housing crisis has put on working people in Parkdale–High Park – and believes that it’s time for the government to start building affordable housing again.

• Paul uses strategic thinking and creativity to inspire and connect with his colleagues, volunteers, community, and everyone that he meets. When asked about his most influential experiences, he talks about growing up materially poor. Those experiences have inspired much of Paul’s activism.

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Michelle Spencer, NDP: Scarborough-Guildwood

• Michelle recently graduated cum laude with a double honours in Criminology and Psychology, because her passion was always to help youth and young adults in her community. A mature student in her late thirties, she served as peer mentor, and worked with community youth affected with parental incarceration. She understands it makes a difference when government invest in families and the services they need and deserve.      

• A single mother, Michelle knows first-hand how hard it is to have to choose between paying rent, or feeding your family, especially when government keeps giving breaks to the rich and forcing the rest of us to pay the price. That’s why she’s fighting for Scarborough-Guildford families. She wants to improve access to health care and Pharmacare, and increase the number of affordable housing units, so that everyone can thrive.

• A lifelong area resident, Michelle also advocates for the Toronto Caribbean community. She co-founded the Masqueraders Association that supports the Caribbean Carnival, in collaboration with various stakeholders and culturally-relevant educational campaigns. She’s ready to be a strong voice in Ottawa.
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Yafet Tewelde, NDP: York South-Weston

Yafet Tewelde is a father, educator, author, youth worker and community organizer who has worked on the frontlines of local change here in York South-Weston and Toronto for close to 20 years.

He immigrated to York South-Weston – the Woolner community in Rockcliffe-Smythe – from Eritrea with his mother in 1983 when he was just six months old. They would then move to Brampton but Yafet would eventually return home to York South-Weston as an adult to continue his lifelong commitment to fairness and justice for our communities. 

Yafet’s mother would constantly teach him and his younger siblings that limits and expectations set by others don’t define what is possible. She would lay the foundations for his values and eventually his professional journey. He is currently finishing his PhD at York University, having over ten years of post-secondary teaching experience in community advocacy and political theory.

He has always known that his advocacy couldn’t begin and end in the classroom. While in university, Yafet would begin his efforts in community organizing to end racial and economic injustice.

While working in the local non-profit sector, Yafet directly helped hundreds of young people find housing and jobs, supported them and their families to access services and helped vulnerable youth prepare for the future. He also secured millions of dollars in grants needed to enable this front line work.

In 2015, working closely with local community groups, he led the successful community campaign to stop the construction of a gas-fired power plant at Black Creek Drive and Eglinton Avenue West as part of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT project.

Yafet Tewelde and the NDP are on your side. Yafet knows what it means to stand up for what’s right and be a tireless advocate – it’s his life’s work.

For too long, York South-Weston has been neglected and left behind by Trudeau’s Liberals. We deserve better. It’s time for change.

As your NDP Member of Parliament for York South-Weston, Yafet will work to fight the climate crisis and put an end to extreme flooding in our neighbourhoods; make life more affordable for working people by providing relief from the sky-rocketing costs of housing and free medication coverage through pharmacare for all; and stop giving multi-million dollar tax breaks to the ultra-rich and big corporations.

Yafet Tewelde is our community champion for a better future in York South-Weston.

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Nicholas Thompson, NDP: Don Valley East

• Nicholas is a community advocate and trade union leader who is committed to finding real solutions for the challenges Canadians face. As President of the Union of Taxation Employees Toronto North and Co-Chair of the Racially Visible Committee, Nicholas has seen how hard-working Canadians have been left behind as costs go up – but their wages don’t. And he knows that governments have been putting the richest first for too long.

• He saw these challenges first-hand when he pushed the government to fix the disastrous Phoenix pay system that hurt many Canadians – and succeeded in getting the government to introduce a plan to resolve it.

• Nicholas is standing with Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to work to make life more affordable for Canadians with good green jobs and universal pharmacare. He’s fighting for a Canada where people can retire in security, find affordable housing that meets their needs, and be part of a climate change action plan that won’t leave workers behind.

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Barrington Walker, NDP: Kingston and the Islands

• Barrington grew up with immigrant parents who worked hard to build their lives in Canada. After 20 years teaching Canadian history at Queen’s university, he now wants to ensure all people feel welcomed and have the same opportunity his parents did – to succeed in a society increasingly defined by rising inequalities and diminishing services.

• To him, making life more affordable for people means implementing pharmacare, maintaining public health care, tackling climate change while creating a green new economy, providing a basic income and building new affordable housing. 

• Barrington lives in Kingston with his wife, Indigenous activist Georgina Riel, and their two sons.  He believes in the need for true reconciliation and is passionate about being on the side of people, not helping rich corporations get richer.

Source: https://www.ndp.ca/candidates

Source: https://www.ndp.ca/candidates