UFCW Canada Delivers Decisive Vote to Andrea Horwath
With her victory Horwath becomes the first woman to lead the party in Ontario. UFCW Canada had gone into the convention supporting Gilles Bisson the MPP for Timmins-James Bay, but after the first ballot when it became clear that that the fight for leadership would be between Horwath and Peter Tabuns the MPP for Toronto Danforth, UFCW Canada threw its support behind Horwath. With the second largest block of union delegates at the convention, the move by UFCW Canada delegates as a group to Horwath gave her campaign the momentum it needed to win the leadership with over 60 per cent of the vote. “UFCW Canada is excited about the future of the ONDP. Andrea has re-energized the party. We look forward to helping her build the NDP in Ontario and make a real difference in lives of working people,” says UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. In addition to electing Horwath, convention delegates paid tribute to outgoing leader Howard Hampton, the MPP for Kenora-Rainy River who had led the Party for thirteen years. Former UFCW Canada National Director of UFCW Canada Michael Fraser was one of the keynote speakers in the tribute. Fraser spoke of the work Howard had done in the legislature on behalf of UFCW Canada members and agricultural workers in the province. |