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Guelph Politico is locally sourced and dedicated to covering the political and cultural scene in the City of Guelph. Est. 2008.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Charlie Angus Coming to Guelph to Warm Up Local NDP


A lot of the local news for the upcoming Federal Election has been in regards to the very busy race for the Liberal nomination, but what of other opposition parties? The NDP hopes to make their presence felt in the suddenly vacant Royal City riding by bringing in a trusted representative to rile up the base. Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus will be at the Bullring at the University of Guelph on Sunday February 22 to do a fundraising concert to “build momentum” for the 2015 election.

Here’s the press release on the Angus fundraiser via the local NDP riding association:
The Guelph NDP is set to hold a number of events over the upcoming months as it seeks to build momentum for the federal election set for October 19th of this year. First up is a fundraising concert by Timmins-James Bay MP, Charlie Angus, that will take place on February 22nd at the Bullring, located on the University of Guelph campus. The concert starts at 6pm and will include food. Angus has been an MP for the past 10 years, serving as the party’s spokesman on Digital Issues, Agriculture, Arts and Heritage, and Government Operations. He is currently the Official Opposition critic for Ethics.

Angus hopes to share the NDP’s vision for Canada during his visit. “Under the Harper Conservatives middle class families are working harder while falling farther behind. New Democrats across the country are ready to present Canadians the change that they deserve. We are building the team that will give Canadians the choice that they want in 2015.”

Guelph NDP federal executive vice-president David Josephy says that the fundraiser will be a great way to build momentum for the upcoming campaign. “Charlie Angus is one of our most dedicated, passionate, and eloquent Members of Parliament –and a great singer too! It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to welcome him back to Guelph for an entertaining evening that will put us firmly on the road to electing a New Democrat in Guelph and Canada’s first NDP government!”

In 2011, CTV Power Play voted Angus one of the top three MPs of the year. He has been a passionate advocate for the rights of First Nation children and was the co-founder of the “Shannen’s Dream” campaign – named in honour of the late Cree youth leader Shannen Koostachin. During his time in parliament, Angus has been an advocate for justice on issues ranging from support for veterans to calling for a national inquiry to investigate the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Angus will showcase his music prowess at the event. In his previous career, Angus was a founding member of the Canadian punk Band L’Etranger in the early 1980’s. He formed the band Grievous Angels in 1985 and toured across Canada many times. The band was nominated for two Juno Awards. Their seventh album, Great Divide, was released in 2013.

The local riding association plans to use this event as an unofficial kickoff to the federal election campaign. It plans to choose its local candidate at a nomination meeting in March and will host its annual Noodle Supper event in April.

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