A senior New Democrat insists the party can sweep to victory in Okanagan-Shuswap.
Murray Rankin, a Victoria MP and the NDP’s health critic, made a stop in Vernon Tuesday.
“I bring encouragement and excitement,” he said during an interview.
“The NDP are leading in the last nine polls and people are looking to us for the change they want. People are so tired of Stephen Harper. People who are long-time Conservatives are saying, ‘He is turning the country into something we don’t recognize.’”
For Rankin, an important issue heading into this fall’s election is the economy and he believes the Conservative government has dropped the ball.
“They are not good managers of the economy. We’re clearly going into a recession if we’re not in one already,” he said.
“They’ve never balanced a budget but one and that was on the back of cutting services.”
Other issues of concern for Rankin are the state of health care in the country and the environment, and particularly climate change.
He also points to the various scandals surrounding the federal government, including Senate spending.
“This is not a banana republic, this is our country.”
Rankin is currently touring to support NDP candidates who will be on the ballot during the election.
“People say it’s time for a change. The NDP in this region will be the party of change.”
However, for that to happen, Rankin insists party members must spread the word to voters.
“We can actually win in this riding and we can change this government. We are going to form the next government.”
