Achi news desk-
Ottawa –
City councilor Craig Sava will run for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in LaSalle-Amard-Verdun in Montreal in the next general election.
He will be elected by roll call at a nomination meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon, as no other nominations were received before the deadline, the political party confirmed to The Canadian Press.
In a video to be shown to activists, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the 43-year-old politician, who has been a councilor in the Sud-Oust ward since 2013, represents a “golden opportunity” for their party.
“Craig is already a really well-known councilor in the district and can present himself as a real option for the working class, for working people, and we can win,” he says. “Together we can build a better country. Together we can build a better society.”
In an interview Friday night, Sauve said he “loves” his current job but also understands that “more structural” changes require support from higher levels of government.
Savva said he sees “enthusiasm” for the NDP as he goes door-to-door and discontent with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, so much so that he believes his colleagues, whom he describes as “progressives,” may well pull off a surprise and “turn orange this time. “
But this is not an easy task. Liberal David Lamati has won three consecutive elections since 2015, when the riding was created. In the last elections, in 2021, Lemati was re-elected with 42.9 percent of the votes. The Bloc Quebec candidate was a distant second (22.1 percent) and the NDP candidate came third (19.4 percent).
Sauvé felt all hopes were justified, given his record as a councilor who “delivered the goods” and the fact that the previous NDP candidate ran a “very small campaign” with almost no public presence.
“Even so, there were 20 percent. So that’s the base, the base, the base. We’re going to run a big campaign, we’re going to pull out all the stops,” he said.
Savva does not intend to resign from his position but plans to take a sabbatical during the election period “like the other council members before me” and donate his salary to local non-profit organizations at that time.
In 2021, he resigned from Mayor Valerie Plante’s conference on the Montreal Project, and has been sitting as an independent councilor since becoming embroiled in sexual assault allegations just days before the municipal election. He has always denied the allegations.
“As far as I’m concerned, the case is closed,” Savva repeated in the interview. He stated that a police investigation had taken place and that no charges had been filed. The victim did not file a claim either.
The riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun was left vacant following the resignation of David Lamati on January 31, just months after the former justice minister was kicked out of the cabinet during last summer’s reshuffle.
The government has a maximum of six months after the resignation of an MP to convene a by-election.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 27, 2024.
