Today, I’m pausing in sadness and solemn reflection to mourn the six worshippers who were killed in an act of Islamophobic terror at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City nine years ago.

My thoughts are with family members who lost loved ones, and with all those whose lives were forever changed by that horrific act of violence – including Aymen Derbali, who was paralyzed for life after attempting to stop the gunman.

This anniversary is a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of hate, and of the work that remains to be done in Canada to eradicate Islamophobia, racism, and anti-immigrant hatred.

At a time when racism and fearmongering is on the rise in the country, we must do far more to confront the forces that divide us. That includes working side by side with Muslim communities to protect their safety, security and wellbeing; strengthening education and public awareness about Islamophobia; enhancing support for victims of hate crimes; and taking real action to hold social media companies accountable for the spread of racist hate online.

Today and every day, I stand in solidarity with Muslim communities against hatred and discrimination. Our fates are intertwined – and our unity only makes us stronger.

I would like to send a message to the Latin American community in Canada at this difficult time.

As we have seen so many times before, the United States has carried out a violent intervention in a Latin American country.

This is an attack on the most basic principles of sovereignty and international law in the face of imperialism. The United States has no right to impose its will on Latin America — nor on Canada.

I know a little about the history of American imperialism in Latin American territories. I lived in Argentina in 2001, amid the ruins of an economic crisis created by local elites with the help of the IMF and Washington. It was a time of popular movements, and also of horrible repression.

The dictatorship of the 1970s was just beneath the surface. Many of those responsible had never left. And not only in Argentina — fascist actions filled with blood the already open veins of this Latin America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile…).

Many of you came to Canada as a result of those terrible years, and I know they are still very present for you, especially in weeks like this one.

Canada is a stronger, more vibrant, and more solidary country today because of you, and the contributions you bring to our communities and workplaces every day.

Finally, I want you to know that we are rebuilding the NDP right now. We need a left party that fights for a Canada that is a refuge from fascism and that does not participate in imperialism. For example, my platform includes a foreign policy independent from American foreign policy, especially with respect to Israel.

And we need your courage, your organizing capacity, and your generational wisdom.

Please join me and the party before January 28 to vote for the leadership. Vote for me to be the new leader of the NDP.

For almost two days, they have been cut off from loved ones by the Iranian government's internet blackout, which it has used in the past as cover for mass arrests and deadly force.

The protests are the latest expression of a struggle that has gone on for decades: against tyranny, against the crushing of the rights of women, workers, minorities, and dissidents, and against the impossible cost of living. The courage of those taking to the streets in cities, towns, and villages from across society is extraordinary.

Iranians know, especially in the wake of the brutal Israeli-US 12-day war, that their liberation will not come from outside forces waiting to exploit their fight for freedom. The responsibility of the Canadian government is clear: stand with the Iranian people, oppose repression, and refuse to support any attempt by foreign powers to hijack this moment for their own ends.

The US has attacked a country, kidnapped its head of state, and is seizing its oil. Trump has invoked the Monroe Doctrine.

This is a moment for Canada to stand up: condemn this act of imperialism. Reject impunity and the politics of brute force.

State clearly that we will not support a US invasion in any way whatsoever – and that includes our oil companies and weapons industry.

This is my position as a candidate for leader of the NDP.

Canada’s response has shown why we need the NDP: Poilievre applauds Trump. Carney's government cannot muster a single word of criticism.

Whatever you think about Maduro, Canada cannot be an accessory to this blatant violation of international law.

It’s an assault on the fundamental rights of migrants, refugees, and all Canadian citizens. Rather than keeping us safe, this bill creates a deportation machine that drags us ever closer to the horrors happening in the US.

Migrants deserve safety and protection, not scapegoating and discrimination. We stand in solidarity with the migrant justice movement and we won’t stop fighting until all people are guaranteed the freedom to move, the freedom to stay, and the freedom to return.

Today, across the country, we honour their memories, say their names, and re-commit to the collective work of changing the conditions that enabled their deaths.

We are collectively mourning Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, and Annie Turcotte, and we remember them.

Remembering is essential. But it has not changed the reality that, decades later, gender-based violence is still rising and governments continue to cut or underfund services and supports that keep women, girls, and gender-diverse people safe.

I was fortunate to be raised by a feminist mother. Through her commitments and dedication to this struggle, I learned at an early age that gender-based violence is a systemic problem rooted in patriarchy, which is woven deep into the injustice and exploitation of our unfair economy.

But the feminist struggle is also woven into the fabric of our society – it sits at the heart of all righteous struggles. And it continues to shape and frame how I and so many others pour our hearts into the collective work of transformation.

In honour of the 14 victims at École Polytechnique, we want to amplify and uplift supports, services, and programs across this country that continue to show up in this collective struggle, and encourage you to donate, reach out, volunteer, or access the services that you or people you care about might need.

Today on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, I want to share my solidarity and support for Palestinians here at home and around the world.

It’s time for our government to have the moral courage to do what is right: no more arms sales to Israel, no more diplomatic and economic support, no more complicity with occupation and genocide.

A real nation-building project would expand the renewable energy of the future while creating thousands of jobs - powerlines not pipelines.

We will stand up for Indigenous rights, for our coast, for our country. We will fight to protect the places we love like our lives depend on it, because they absolutely do.

Prime Minister Carney needs to remember he has a minority mandate - instead of arrogantly forcing through a budget without changes, playing brinkmanship when Canadians are clear they don’t want an election.

Budgets like these underline the imperative of rebuilding the NDP so we can offer Canada an alternative to the disastrous pro-corporate agenda of the Liberals and Conservatives.

Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York is a beacon of hope and possibility - proof that a people-powered, solutions-focused, democratic socialist campaign can defeat entrenched power in the centre of global wealth.

His campaign did what so many said was impossible. Despite a tidal wave of corporate spending and a chorus dismissing his ideas as “too radical,” voters gave a huge victory to a candidate who spoke directly to the everyday emergency of just trying to get by in a rigged economy, offering concrete solutions as big as the crises working people face.

Like so many Canadians, I’ve been deeply inspired by Mamdani’s campaign - by the way he built power from the ground up, organizing with working people, tenants, young people and a diverse multiracial coalition long shut out of political power.

It’s the same energy and vision that’s driving our campaign here in Canada: a politics that takes on concentrated wealth, offers public options where markets fail, makes life much more affordable, and integrates climate solutions into everything we do.

Mamdani’s victory isn’t an outlier - it’s part of a new wave of bottom-up politics. Its lesson is simple: if you fight for people, people fight back with you.

Tonight, New Yorkers showed that politics rooted in justice, dignity, and solidarity can win - and win big. Canadians are hungry for that same courage and clarity.

It has nothing to do with students or improving the state of education in Alberta.

If Smith cared about that, she'd reverse her own cuts, address overcrowding and stop the creeping privatization through funding to charter and private schools.

There is a concerted attack on the right to strike in this country - we're seeing it in Alberta, we've seen it in Ontario, and we've seen it time and time again from the federal Liberal government.

I'm proud that the NDP has been a consistent voice in support of organized labour, including Leah Gazan’s recent motion to delete Section 107, the loophole Carney has been using.

Flight attendants showed us earlier this year that when workers stand up and use their power we can win - and we can do it again. Solidarity!

Exactly 20 years ago, I was honoured to speak at the Alberta Teachers’ Association convention, 2005.

I’ve got the same message of solidarity and appreciation I did then:

“I don’t need to tell you, of all people, that robust, creative, fully funded and universal Public Education is the foundation on which democracy rests.

You understand that there can be no meaningful democracy in a place where children go to school hungry, don’t have resources available when they have special needs, and can’t count on a healthy public system to be with them as they grow up.

And energized, hopeful and committed teachers have always been the ones to lead this struggle around the world.”

The antisemitic attack in Manchester is devastating enough without adding insult to mortal injury.

Two unshakeable principles should meet such acts.

First, clear and unequivocal condemnation of this crime of hate and against all antisemitism.

Second, clear and unequivocal opposition to all who would exploit such acts to silence others standing up to hate and violence (like those protesting Israel’s genocide).