Anjali Appadurai insists she is not a one-issue candidate as NDP leadership campaign launches

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Climate activist Anjali Appadurai launched her NDP leadership campaign Monday night with a promise to scrap Site C and the Trans Mountain pipeline and remove government subsidies from fossil fuel companies.

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Hoping to change the narrative that David Eby is the 37th prime minister-in-waiting, Appadurai insisted she is not a one-issue candidate.

Appadurai, 32, acknowledges that it is a daunting task to challenge a seasoned government minister like Eby, who has tackled difficult files including reviewing ICBC, launching a money laundering investigation and pressuring local governments to pass more affordable housing.

“Just going into such a high-profile race against a well-established candidate, you are a magnet for judgment and criticism from everyone,” he told Postmedia on Monday ahead of his launch party at UBC Robson Square.

“Do I think I’m the perfect person for this? Absolutely not. But what I am is the person who can step into this role right now to represent a much larger electorate and represent the grassroots of the party. It’s a nasty job and I understand why a lot of other people might not want to take on this role.”

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Eby, who resigned as attorney general and housing minister to run for leadership, has been crowned the prime minister-in-waiting by many and has touted his support from 48 of the NDP’s 57 MLAs. On Monday, Eby posted a photo on Twitter of him leaving his candidate package at party headquarters, making his leadership official.

Appadurai said that as an insurgent candidate, her support base is among the party’s rank and file, not the government establishment.

“The support that I have sought for this candidacy has not been within the party,” he said.

Appadurai had to cut the phone interview short after he was asked to speak at a Vancouver rally in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs who oppose the $6 billion, 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline, an example of base support behind her. .

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When Appadurai was considering whether or not to run for leadership, the decision was practically made for her during a community meeting via Zoom on August 6. The group of approximately 100 supporters collected the $40,000 entrance fee in a matter of 10 minutes.

“I heard the call very loud and clear from many young people,” he said. “I think New Democrats who have been in the party for a long time are also disappointed in the direction of the party. I certainly think we have strayed from the heart and soul of what the party is supposed to stand for. It is supposed to be a party that puts people and workers first.”

Appadurai is the campaign manager for the Climate Emergency Unit, a project of the David Suzuki Institute. He ran for the federal NDP in the 2021 election, narrowly losing the Vancouver-Granville matchup by 258 votes to Liberal Taleeb Noormohamed.

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Appadurai was born in South India and her family emigrated to Canada when she was six years old. She grew up in Coquitlam and studied global politics and climate politics at the College of the Atlantic in Maine. She has also worked for the Sierra Club of BC and West Coast Environmental Law.

Appadurai dismissed concerns that she will be seen as a one-issue candidate, stressing that the climate emergency affects all aspects of our lives and government decision-making.

“It’s not that climate is a priority file along with other issues. The climate emergency is the general framework within which we have to make economic decisions. The government doesn’t seem to understand that. They have prioritized a political culture of rewarding industry without long-term planning for the climate crisis,” he said. “Climate change is an economic problem at heart.”

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Appadurai would cancel the Site C and Trans Mountain pipeline project, both of which have “increased its cost” and represent “decades of poor policymaking around fossil fuel infrastructure.”

It would reinvest the money earmarked for those projects into a job transition strategy to move workers from the fossil fuel industry to the green economy.

When asked how the government can increase the affordable housing stock, Appadurai cited the need to remove government subsidies to fossil fuel corporations “that are not investing back in the public.”

“So this year, we have the cost of living crisis where grocery bills are skyrocketing and life is incredibly unaffordable for many families. And it’s the same year that a handful of Canadian corporate and foreign corporations operating here are experiencing their biggest profits in Canadian history.”

Prime Minister John Horgan announced in June that he would not seek a third term due to fatigue related to his fight with cancer. He will remain prime minister until his successor is chosen.

The deadline for candidates to enter the NDP leadership race is October 4. Voting will take place online and the new leader will be announced on December 3.

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