Chris Stephen -- Labour activist, award-winning coach, champion of progressive populism
Chesley’s Chris Stephen is a long-time employee for Arran-Elderslie municipality in Bruce County. He is this year’s (2018-2019) hockey coach of the year for Arran-Elderslie. And now he is seeking the nomination in this fall’s federal election for the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound (BGOS) NDP riding association.
Chris, 44, grew up in Chesley and attended the community’s elementary and secondary schools. He ran for Arran-Elderslie Council in the last municipal election and only narrowly lost. He is Vice-President of CUPE Local 255 and has focused on creating better relationships with management in the workplace. He represents his local on the Grey Bruce Labour Council. His first job was at the Tri-County Cattle Company (now Maple Hills Sales) where he learned the value of hard work and came face-to-face with some of the difficulties farmers must deal with. His wife, Amy, teaches in Desboro, and is a percussionist with the Southampton Concert Band. She is also a Labour Council rep and assists Chris with his hockey coaching.
Chris’s candidacy will be voted on by the BGOS NDP membership this Saturday, April 13 at Owen Sound’s Harmony Centre, 890 4th Ave East. The vote will take place at 2 p.m. Former federal NDP Leader Ed Broadbent will speak afterward.
Why is Chris an NDP member? “The NDP is the only party that seems to care about blue collar people. Too often we are told by politicians what is good for us without them actually knowing the struggles of the families they represent.”
Why is he running for Parliament? “I think it's time for regular people to step up and change the face of the political landscape. I am a blue-collar person and it's time for blue-collar candidates to start to come to the forefront across the country.“
What does he stand for? “As Ed Broadbent said recently, ‘For many today, the word “populism” calls to mind a right-wing scourge: a movement animated by polarizing hatred, racism and anti-democratic designs. But it is important to remember that populism also has a democratic and pluralist origin. Progressive populism speaks directly to the concerns of those threatened by inequality, democratic decline and the perceived indifference of elites and political leadership. It’s the kind of politics championed by Senator Bernie Sanders in the United States. He also takes aim at elites and their self-serving use of power and claims the status quo is broken. But in place of xenophobia and exclusionary nationalism, he calls for a diverse popular front with the explicit goal of strengthening and reinvigorating democracy, and uniting movements for social, racial, economic and environmental justice in a common struggle.
"That’s my kind of populism. That’s what I stand for.”
Chris can be reached at (519)270-0944, or via email at acjstephen@gmail.com
Chris, 44, grew up in Chesley and attended the community’s elementary and secondary schools. He ran for Arran-Elderslie Council in the last municipal election and only narrowly lost. He is Vice-President of CUPE Local 255 and has focused on creating better relationships with management in the workplace. He represents his local on the Grey Bruce Labour Council. His first job was at the Tri-County Cattle Company (now Maple Hills Sales) where he learned the value of hard work and came face-to-face with some of the difficulties farmers must deal with. His wife, Amy, teaches in Desboro, and is a percussionist with the Southampton Concert Band. She is also a Labour Council rep and assists Chris with his hockey coaching.
Chris’s candidacy will be voted on by the BGOS NDP membership this Saturday, April 13 at Owen Sound’s Harmony Centre, 890 4th Ave East. The vote will take place at 2 p.m. Former federal NDP Leader Ed Broadbent will speak afterward.
Why is Chris an NDP member? “The NDP is the only party that seems to care about blue collar people. Too often we are told by politicians what is good for us without them actually knowing the struggles of the families they represent.”
Why is he running for Parliament? “I think it's time for regular people to step up and change the face of the political landscape. I am a blue-collar person and it's time for blue-collar candidates to start to come to the forefront across the country.“
What does he stand for? “As Ed Broadbent said recently, ‘For many today, the word “populism” calls to mind a right-wing scourge: a movement animated by polarizing hatred, racism and anti-democratic designs. But it is important to remember that populism also has a democratic and pluralist origin. Progressive populism speaks directly to the concerns of those threatened by inequality, democratic decline and the perceived indifference of elites and political leadership. It’s the kind of politics championed by Senator Bernie Sanders in the United States. He also takes aim at elites and their self-serving use of power and claims the status quo is broken. But in place of xenophobia and exclusionary nationalism, he calls for a diverse popular front with the explicit goal of strengthening and reinvigorating democracy, and uniting movements for social, racial, economic and environmental justice in a common struggle.
"That’s my kind of populism. That’s what I stand for.”
Chris can be reached at (519)270-0944, or via email at acjstephen@gmail.com
