Nash ready to campaign in Parliament for Toronto

On Monday night, as Peggy Nash celebrated her to return to Parliament as MP for Parkdale-High Park, nobody was happier than Sarah Doucette.

The Toronto City Councillor for Ward 18, Doucette cited Nash for spurring her to enter municipal politics last fall.

“Peggy was one of the women who inspired me to get into politics – she and Cheri (DiNovo, MPP for Parkdale-High Park),” Doucette said. “I’m thrilled to be here … I’m thrilled to thank her for helping me and I’m proud here to give back and help her.”

Doucette joined post-election festivities at Queen Street West’s Cadillac Lounge on Monday night. Nash’s victory over Liberal incumbent Gerard Kennedy marked her return to the federal scene after defeat to Kennedy in the 2008 election. Supporters, including Doucette, noted Nash’s commitment to the riding, even while not in Parliament, as a main reason for her success. Nash said the district is a special place to her.

“I’ve lived (in Parkdale-High Park) for a long time and what makes this community different is the community engagement,” Nash said. “Whether it’s people bonding together to build supportive housing for low-income people … whether it’s people fighting to save swimming pools, people get involved and I want to support that.”

With Jack Layton’s NDP now positioned as the official opposition, Nash may find herself in the shadow cabinet. With a Conservative majority in place, Nash recognized that a great deal of compromise and working with the Harper government will be necessary.

“I would obviously have preferred Jack Layton in the prime minister’s chair,” Nash said. “This will be a challenge for us, but with our expanded caucus, we will work as hard as we possibly can with whoever we can for Toronto and to get things done for all Canadians.”

About this article

By: Mike Beauvais
Posted: May 3 2011 2:16 pm
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Filed under: Canada Votes 2011 News
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