Don Davies has my vote!

orange check mark I am devoting my blog this week to Don Davies, member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway.

Don has long been my very favourite MP. I first came to know him before he was elected to Parliament in 2008. Before he was an MP, he would always very graciously support COPE fundraisers I was organizing. At that time, he was a lawyer for the Teamsters Union.

I chatted with Don recently and asked him about his background and priorities as an MP.

Don was born in Edmonton and graduated from the University of Alberta’s Law School, determining to use his law degree for social good. He moved to BC with his family in 1991, shortly thereafter becoming Director of Legal Services for Teamsters Canada. He spent the next 16 years there, working with organized labour as a good way to advocate for families.

As a lawyer, Don was able to seek justice for individuals but began to think it would be better to address structural issues to benefit many. Attracted to the NDP as a party that shared his values of society over profit, he ran as the NDP candidate for Vancouver Kingsway in the 2008 federal election. He won, earning 15,933 votes — over 2,000 more than his nearest opponent.

As an MP, Don has seen his primary role to be helping his constituents with their individual issues with government. To date, his Kingsway office has helped over 25,000 people. His policy priorities have been to drive pharmacare, dental care, and now mental health to the federal stage.

In the 2019 federal election, the Liberals threw everything they had into Vancouver Kingsway in an effort to defeat Don. They ran Tamara Taggart, a well-known news anchor and a very credible candidate. They poured lots of money and volunteers into her campaign. Don not only defeated her but in fact decisively crushed her – 21,680 to 10,194 votes, with other candidates earning even less support.

On election night, Monday September 20th, I will be cheering on my good friend Don Davies.

Need to know where to vote? Still have your mail-in ballot on your desk? Elections Canada has all the answers you need!

I’m starting a monthly online series of progressive film nights, on the 4th Friday of the month. Join us for our next event, Friday September 24 at 7pm. More details are here: https://www.timlouis.ca/fireside/