Singh and the working class

He’s not white. He’s not macho. And he doesn’t drive an F-150 pickup. But the NDP wants working-class men to know that while they may not see themselves in their leader Jagmeet Singh, they shouldn’t see themselves in Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre either.

Speakers at the NDP’s threeday convention in Hamilton mentioned Poilievre so frequently he could have been mistaken as the guest of honour.

The most repeated line of attack, however, focused on workers’ rights. And with reason. Polling by Abacus Data this year found the Tory leader was most popular among all unionized workers, despite having a track record that suggests he is more likely a threat to unions rather than a champion.

In his speech to party members, Singh described Poilievre as a leader who wasn’t what he portrayed himself to be. He claims to care about working people, but shies away from taking on rich CEOs, voted against a federal minimum wage and doesn’t want workers to have pensions, said Singh.

“Pierre Poilievre doesn’t want to help. He just wants power. And he will use that power the same way Conservatives always use their power, to make the rich richer and to take away every bit of dignity from working people,” the NDP leader said.

Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske told delegates “a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre poses a clear danger to every worker in Canada.

“He is just another conservative politician who’s tried to strip away workers’ rights every time he had the opportunity,” she said.

Montreal MP Alexandre Boulerice described Poilievre as former prime minister Stephen Harper’s most relentless cabinet minister when it came to attacking the union movement, pointing to his support for Bills C-377 and C-525.

These were repealed by Justin Trudeau’s government after the 2015 election. Bill C-377 saddled unions with onerous and expensive reporting requirements. Bill C-525 made it more difficult for unions to organize, by eliminating automatic card check certification and lowered the threshold for decertification.

“Those bills gravely hurt the union movement and the rights of workers,” Boulerice told delegates. “Do not think for a moment that a Pierre Poilievre government wouldn’t attack the Rand formula. And that would be disastrous, and a catastrophe for the protection of our jobs.”

Boulerice’s comments aren’t an exaggeration.

Back in 2012, Poilievre essentially called for “right-to-work” legislation. He wanted to allow unionized employees to optout of paying union dues — measures that depressed not just union-sector wages but non-union wages in U.S. states that have adopted such laws, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Boulerice urged NDP delegates to spread the message to anyone who would listen. “I know I’m saying something that seems like a no-brainer to his group,” he said, to the party’s delegates. “But it is not a nobrainer for a lot of people outside this room, unfortunately.”

There were other attacks. Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, for example, claimed Poilievre would roll back the rights of women. Boulerice suggested Poilievre was in bed with ultraright-wing religious groups. Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Poilievre would be no different than Premier Doug Ford.

But the main theme was that Poilievre posed a threat to workers — a threat that might resonate with disenchanted Liberals and one that might stop the bleeding of NDP votes to the Conservatives. Abacus Data found the party is losing nearly 10 per cent of its voters to Poilievre.

Singh may not look like most blue-collar workers — with his bespoke three-piece suits and hipster bicycle — but for NDP delegate John Fagan the argument the party should be making is that “the working class is ‘One.’ ”

“Irrespective of ethnicity, faith, personal background, etc., we have to get all working-class people to see their commonality of prime interests that’s based on their economic status not their ethnicity or sexuality, etc.”

It’s a compelling argument, too bad we didn’t hear it from the stage.