The New Democratic Party has announced Abbotsford resident Madeleine Sauvé as its candidate in the Abbotsford riding for the upcoming federal election on Oct. 21.
According to a press release from the party, Sauvé plans to bring her work as a labour advocate, film worker, artist and educator to support the human rights-based platform of the NDP and national leader, Jagmeet Singh.
Sauvé lives in the Clearbrook neighbourhood of Abbotsford with her husband and their two young sons. She is an IATSE 891 film and tv worker who is active in her union, working to develop training for new members and to support inclusive, safe and fair workplaces for her fellow workers.
For 10 years Sauvé was a faculty member at Emily Carr University, where she represented contract faculty and worked with the Federation of Post Secondary Educators (the FPSE) to address precarity in post-secondary institutions in B.C.
The release states that she is working to build on the achievements of previous NDP candidates, like Jennifer Martel who courted the youth vote under an organized labour banner and won almost 14 per cent of the ballots cast for Abbotsford in 2015.
“I am pleased to support Madeleine Sauvé as New Democratic Party candidate for Abbotsford in the upcoming federal election. Her work to advocate for the rights and safety of workers demonstrates a principled commitment to equality. With our support she can bring progressive change to Abbotsford,” stated Terri Van Steinburg, Abbotsford resident and NDP member.
The 2015 Canadian federal election saw Conservative Ed Fast garner 48.27 per cent of the vote, Liberal Peter Njenga receive 32.78 per cent, the NDP’s Jennifer Martel collect 13.7 per cent, the Green Party’s Stephen Fowler at 5.02 and the Marxist-Leninst’s David MacKay receive 0.23 per cent.
Sauvé joins incumbent Ed Fast as the only two declared candidates so far. The Liberal party has two candidates pursuing the nomination, but there has not been an official announcement yet. The Green Party also has not yet announced its candidate.
For more on Sauvé, follow her on Twitter @MadeleineSauve.
