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The stakes in this election are very high for working people, says Communist Party of Canada leader
Mar 30, 2025
What's hanging in the balance are hundreds of thousands of jobs and the wages and living standards of working class families across the country.
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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good
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morning my name is Elizabeth Rowley and
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I'm the leader of the Communist Party of
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Canada which is a registered political
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party in
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Canada so the stakes in this election
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are very high for working people
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what's hanging in the balance are
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hundreds of thousands of jobs and the
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wages and living standards of
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workingclass families across the country
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medicare and social programs are also on
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the table along with Canada's foreign
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policy our economic and trade policies
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the environment and people's sovereignty
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and democracy
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while Trump's tariffs endorsements and
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threats of annexation are the greatest
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foreign interference ever seen in the
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Canadian election they also expose the
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rot and violence of US imperialism as it
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moves towards fascism and global wars of
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unjust of conquest genocide and control
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tory leader Pierre Palevra is Trump's
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man in this election a right-wing
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populist whose party he linked up with
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far-right religious and political groups
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to move politics far to the right in
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uh like Trump and MAGA in the US while
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pretending to fight for workers but not
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unions as he said the Tories uh will
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deliver big dividends for big business
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and attack the rights and living
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standards of working people women youth
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seniors indigenous peoples people of
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color refugees and migrant workers and
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the 2s LGBTIQ community and many more
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liberal leader Mark Carney has a long
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history representing ruling class
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interests in Canada and internationally
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he plans to deliver big dividends to big
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business with tax cuts cuts to social
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programs and spending and big increases
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to military spending including NATO
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NORAD militarization of the Arctic and
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expanding Canada's military industrial
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complex quote unquote to secure jobs
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the NDP has rarely criticized liberal
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government policies since 2021 while
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making criticism of Israeli genocide a
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capital offense by its own
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members the Black Quebec leadership see
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the current struggle with Trump as an
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opportunity to negotiate new deals
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between Quebec and the US the Green
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Party which uh which opposed NATO until
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2023 now supports
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NATO this is the grim reality facing
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working people voters this election and
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likely after as well
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uh instead of voting for the least worst
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voters in this writings in writings
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where uh Canada has comm sorry instead
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of uh voting for the least worst voters
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in the writings across Canada where
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communists are running can vote for
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candidates who will fight for their
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interests and for policies that will
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deliver multilateral and mutually
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beneficial trade
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uh uh not not free trade with the US
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people's uh sovereignty and democracy
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not US threats of annexation and
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destroying
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uh tariffs peace and disarmament not war
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and austerity a Palestinian state and an
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end to genocide
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uh rising wages and living standards and
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reform
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uh that raises rates to 90 uh for
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unemployment insurance that raises rates
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to 90% of previous earnings
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uh to the full for the full duration of
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unemployment not recession inflation and
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unemployment price controls not price
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gouging and unprecedented profitering
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strong public services like the CBC and
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Canada Post and expanded social programs
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and Medicare not privatization on the
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heels of a thousand cuts and real action
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on climate change which includes
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nationalizing energy and national and
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natural
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resources i'm sorry my glasses broke
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this morning i'm struggling a bit here
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uh withdrawing from NATO would free up
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an annual uh payment of $61 billion
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which is 2% of GDP this year and $150
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billion of NATO membership in quotes
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rises to 5% of
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GDP uh withdrawing from NATO would free
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up 38.6 6 billion canceling the F-35
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fighter jets would free up 78.9 billion
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and cancelling the 25 the sorry the 15
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warships would free up another 300
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billion over their
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lifetime cutting the current military
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budget by 75% would save even more
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this is money that should be used to
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fund universal social programs and
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public services build social housing and
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public transit raise wages and
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incomes investing in peace or in war
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that is the real choice in this election
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that will move the country in one
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direction or the other we fight for
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peace and prosperity and oppose war and
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austerity
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these are just some of the policies that
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communists are fighting for in this
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election you will find more in the
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uh election flyer that we sent to
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parliamentary uh to the parliamentary
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press yesterday or at our website at
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communist-party.ca these policies and
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others are the reason that votes to
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communist candidates are rising and
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interest in socialism is also rising
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this is what worries Palevra who like
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Trump continues to suggest that
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socialism and fascism are the same thing
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citing the Nazi party's name and claim
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to be a socialist party as
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evidence it's a crude attempt to
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stampede workers and youth who don't
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know their their history to the far
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right and to the Conservative Party
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Canada's MAGA movement today
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uh these lies conflating socialism and
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fascism are a threat to democracy to
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labor and democratic rights and to an
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informed electorate as the results of
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the US election clearly
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demonstrate the rise of fascist
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movements around the world and the
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election of fascist parties in Europe
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South America Asia and elsewhere should
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sound alarm bells everywhere
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canadian communists have been uh elected
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and reelected federally proincially and
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in city councils and school boards
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across Canada over many decades uh
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introducing and fighting for policies
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that improved the lives of working
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people everywhere the election of
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communists uh as part of a strong
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progressive block in the next parliament
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would make a big difference in the
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struggles that will surely follow this
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election a strong progressive block
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including communists would be the best
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outcome of this very important election
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campaign thank you
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