OTTAWA — For the New Democrats touring the province three weeks into the Ontario election campaign, it was a real boost to get back on the road Monday after party leader Andrea Horwath was sidelined with COVID-19.
It helped that Jagmeet Singh was there, too.
“We were all like, ‘Yes!’ We were so happy to be on the bus,” said Laura Ziemba, a veteran campaigner who is quarterbacking the NDP leader’s tour.
“He just brought so much energy and enthusiasm to it, and a joy for what we’re doing.”
Singh was acting as Horwath’s surrogate, sitting in for the provincial leader on a “whistle stop” drive from Queen’s Park to Kingston and back, with events in Ajax and Scarborough on the return trip. Along the way, he rallied supporters, posed for selfies and took over Horwath’s Instagram account to document the journey.
It was just the latest assist that Singh has granted to his provincial NDP cousins, one that New Democrats say is a welcome lift in a campaign where polls suggest the party is battling for second place with the Liberals, with a slim shot — at best — of unseating Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives. While Singh has encountered opposition on the campaign trail, most notably when he was aggressively heckled during an appearance in Peterborough earlier this month, New Democrats argue his political style — conspicuously friendly, internet-savvy, with a personal appeal that extends to younger and racialized Ontarians — complements Horwath’s in her fourth campaign as leader with roots in working-class Hamilton.
“Her star power is a little bit different than Jagmeet’s,” said one senior New Democrat, who agreed to speak about the leaders on condition they aren’t named.
“The nice thing about Jagmeet is, people see themselves in it. People see themselves represented in him in a way that was difficult (before), especially for young, racialized people who may have never seen somebody who looks like they run in politics,” the party insider said.
“That appeal, that power, is obviously awesome to have on this tour.”
Singh has slowed his services throughout the campaign. When not tied up with his duties in Ottawa — or his parental obligations with his five-month-old daughter — Singh has pitched in through fundraising, canvassing door to door, and running his own shadow leader’s tour, which organizers call a “B Tour ” of Ontario ridings, mainly across the GTA and Hamilton area.
It’s safe to say he’s the most prominent federal politician on the provincial campaign trail: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is staying on the sidelines, while the Conservatives are tied up with their ongoing leadership race.
“I’m grateful to Jagmeet for taking my bus out for a spin the other day,” Horwath said Tuesday during a meeting at the Star’s editorial board. She called Singh a “cool guy” with “moxie,” and rejected a suggestion that his presence on the provincial campaign trail could bring unwelcome baggage from federal politics.
Conservatives, for instance, have criticized Singh’s NDP for inking a deal to prop up Trudeau’s minority government until 2025, in exchange for action on progressive policies like public medical insurance and dental coverage for low-income earners.
“We work to get results for everyday people, and he was successful in doing that,” Horwath said of the Liberal-NDP deal.
“He brings that sense of hopefulness that, when you elect New Democrats, you can get things done that make your lives better and easier… And it’s a campaign, so the more boots on the ground, the better.”
Michael Balagus has been Horwath’s chief of staff since 2014, and has also worked with Singh in federal politics. At the outset of the current campaign, he told the Star the two politicians have different styles that complement each other. Before Singh was federal NDP leader, he was Horwath’s deputy leader at Queen’s Park, and Balagus said Singh and Horwath speak regularly to exchange advice.
“They just have that kind of a relationship where they’re talking and kind of leaning on each other, and I think it’s been great for both of them.”
Ziemba, Horwath’s tour manager, also worked on Singh’s federal tours in the 2019 and 2021 campaigns. She said Singh sees Horwath as a mentor in his political career, and often jokes she’s still his “boss” even after he jumped to the federal scene.
The senior party source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Singh credits a lot of his success in politics to Horwath’s influence. That, combined with the fact that his younger brother el Gurratan is running for re-election in Brampton, means supporting the Ontario NDP is personal for Singh.
“He wants to be able to say that he did everything he could to help (Horwath) get elected as premier,” the source said.
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