Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh returned to Peterborough on Tuesday afternoon (May 31), two days before the Ontario election, to once again show his support for provincial Peterborough-Kawartha NDP candidate Jen Deck.
Singh’s return visit came almost three weeks to the day when he was aggressively accosted by a small group of protesters outside Deck’s campaign office in downtown Peterborough. The protesters’ treatment of Singh made national headlines and was roundly condemned.
Singh and Deck, along with NDP supporters and local media, gathered in front of the Peterborough Lift Lock. The event was originally scheduled to take place under the Hunter Street bridge, but was moved as a precaution after word of the original location leaked out. Two Peterborough police officers were also present in the background during the event, at the request of the local NDP.
A small group of invited supporters applauded Singh after he arrived at the Parks Canada property.
“I’m excited to be back in Peterborough,” Singh said, to more applause and cheers, before showing his support for Deck. “I know the people of Peterborough will be better served by New Democrats. We’ve shown it time and time again: when people are down and out, when they need help, New Democrats have been there for them.”
“New Democrats are the ones people are turning to for hope. They’re turning to New Democrats to lift them up, and here in Peterborough they’re turning to Jen Deck,” he added.
VIDEO: Jen Deck welcomes Jagmeet Singh back to Peterborough
After making an Indigenous land acknowledgement and noting the approaching one-year anniversary of the discovery of burial sites of Indigenous children at former residential schools, Deck addressed what happened during Singh’s previous visit.
“I really want to thank you for coming to Peterborough,” she told Singh. “I can tell you that the people of Peterborough-Kawartha were shocked and embarrassed at what took place outside of the office when you came.”
Deck pointed out that no-one is immune from the kind of hate that was on display during Singh’s previous visit.
“Even the most progressive and thoughtful and well-educated person carries within them internalized racism, homophobia, ableism, ageism, sexism — you name it,” Deck said. “We all carry that as a legacy of the world that we’ve grown up in. If we cannot acknowledge that there is hate within every single one of us, I don’t think we can truly address the issues that we’re really struggling with.”
Deck said she has spoken to many people who have expressed upset and outrage about what happened during Singh’s earlier visit, adding “I would like to think it has shaken us out of our complacency.”
After speaking with supporters, Singh then held a media conference and took questions.
VIDEO: Jagmeet Singh comments on his first visit to Peterborough
“I’ve had many great experiences in Peterborough, so I wasn’t going to let one isolated incident in any way discourage me from coming back,” he said. “Jen Deck and the team wanted me to come back and I wanted to come back myself, so it was both of those things.”
Singh went on to say the NDP is offering solutions to address the housing crisis, home affordability, and investments in health care.
“Jen is going to be a strong voice for you in Queen’s Park. I’ll continue to fight for you at the federal level.”
Singh mentioned NDP provincial leader Andrea Horwath’s plan for mental health coverage under OHIP, working with the federal NDP on a national dental care program to bring in a provincial one as well, as well as a pharmacare program.
When asked if he was aware Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien and city council resolved on Monday night to invite him back to Peterborough, Singh said he was “honoured.”
“First of all, I accept — of course — the invitation,” Singh said. “I will definitely be back. I hope we get a chance to meet with more folks from Peterborough and the Kawartha area, get to hear their concerns, chat with them, and let them know I’m here to listen and her to fight for the solutions that you need, to fight to get you the help that you need. And that’s what you can count on, not just with me as leader but with Jen as your local representative.”
Singh’s stop in Peterborough, which was only announced earlier today, came as the federal leader was on his way to Ottawa to support provincial Ottawa Centre NDP candidate Joel Harden. Earlier in the day, he was in Oshawa for the ground-breaking of Ed Broadbent Waterfront Park, named after former long-time federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent who also attended that event.
Singh said he was happy to be in Peterborough again to support Deck and to meet with volunteers, and he had some words of praise for Peterborough.
“It’s very beautiful,” Singh said, gesturing towards the Peterborough Lift Lock. “I think you all are very lucky to have such a beautiful city — not just the canal and the infrastructure behind me, but the large downtown core. There’s lots of food shops. I actually stopped by a vegetarian restaurant, of which there’s a couple in the city, which is quite exciting.”
Singh also had praise for Deck.
“Jen is an incredible communicator,” he said. “If you’ve ever spoken to Jen, she really cares about people, hears their concerns.”
Singh returned to the May 11 incident in response to a reporter’s question.
“What happened when I was first here, in terms of the folks that were in front of the office, that’s not representative of Peterborough,” Singh said. “There are people that are genuinely frustrated and angry, and I think we have to listen to that frustration. People are upset about a lot of things — it’s hard to get by, things are harder and harder to afford — I think these are some of the frustrations.”
“But some of the folks there were anti-public health folks that don’t believe in some of the public health measures that we need to take. And they’re entitled to their position, but they don’t represent Peterborough.”
Singh expressed concerns about the “toxicity” in behaviour and language intended to harass or intimidate people — particularly its impact on those who may be considering going into politics.
“I worry about what that says to maybe to a new politician or a young person who wants to be a leader, and to people that are marginalized,” he said. “Women are often not represented in politics the way they should be. I worry that those type of intimidating and harassing events will discourage young people.”
“I’m not going to be discouraged, but it shouldn’t be that you have to be a martial artist or trained in being able to fight to be able to be comfortable in the public sphere.”
It should be noted that Singh is himself a trained martial artist. He was bullied as a child and began training to defend himself, later winning the Toronto championships in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“People should be able to protest, to dissent, but it should not come to the point where someone is going to be intimidated or harassed or afraid to come forward because they don’t want to deal with that,” Singh said. “That to me is an eroding of our democracy, and something that I worry about.”
