NDP candidate for Kelowna, Trevor McAleese, meets outgoing leader Jagmeet Singh/ submitted

By Glenn Hicks

what next?

Local NDP candidate McAleese ponders future for party and self

May 3, 2025 | 9:00 AM

The New Democratic Party candidate for Kelowna in the recent federal election, Trevor McAleese, says there could be renewal under a new leader and a more powerful positioning as the distinctive progressive choice in Canada.

Speaking to VernonMatters after the poor showing by the party Monday night that led to the stepping down of leader Jagmeet Singh, McAleese said it was more of a transfer of votes from the NDP to the Liberals rather than a shrinking of NDP support. He hopes in the future, it can regrow and reclaim its unique position on the political spectrum.

“The NDP needs to strongly differentiate itself from everyone else in the political landscape,” he said, pointing to their deep and rich history. “The party has been the fiercest critics of corporate greed, and the strongest advocates for marginalized groups like Indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people, people living with disabilities. What I really want to see the party do is present itself as the unabashedly progressive choice.”

McAleese secured 2,271 votes in the Kelowna riding, or under four per cent of the total, but said he was proud of his campaign that took their progressive messaging to the public. He added the Liberal win by Stephen Fuhr over Conservative incumbent Tracy Gray was “the best case option” and hopes his party’s dramatically reduced caucus of just seven seats can continue to play a collaborative roll with another Liberal minority government.

He said the NDP will continue to press for expansion of the national pharmacare program, which Liberal leader Mark Carney has not committed to.

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He said the party has the potential to engage otherwise disaffected and apathetic people who don’t feel any other party speaks to their progressive priorities.

“If we can really articulate society’s problems without scapegoating anyone; if we can communicate common sense solutions, we’ll energize a class-conscious, multi-cultural, multi-generational coalition,” he said.

After his first foray as a candidate, McAleese, 39, is now back to his regular job as a video game developer. But he figures this may not be a one-off, as many people have encouraged him to give other political opportunities a try, whether federal, provincial or municipal.

“Folks think that I should be in this, it’s something I’m definitely thinking about.”