Federal NDP leader comes across as a straight shooter.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair strode into the heart of Calgary last week wearing full cowboy regalia — white hat, blue and white plaid shirt (with just a hint of orange), a huge bronze belt buckle (under a bit of a paunch), jeans and black boots. With his beard, he looked more like a grizzled range rider than Stephen Harper ever will. The Quebec MP was even pronounced the best-dressed politician at the Stampede by a keen observer of cowboy fashion.
"He seems to have nailed it with a good western outfit and he looks like he belongs, looks like he's stepping into the role," said Brian Guichon, owner of Riley & McCormick Western Stores. Guichon named Harper the runner-up for his outfit, which was topped by a black hat. Mayor Naheed Nenshi garnered third place.
During his short visit Mulcair showed that he had much more going for him than an acute fashion sense.
He clearly had the wind in his sails as he stood on the steps of Calgary City Hall after a meeting with Nenshi and pronounced to a media scrum that "I'm convinced that whether I'm in Calgary or I'm in Toronto, Canadians agree with basic principles of sustainable development like polluter pay."
Twangy cowboy music and the smell of horse manure wafting over from a loud Stampede shindig across the street didn't deter him in the least. Neither did the oil company towers glinting in the sun.
No wonder. Just two days before a damning report on Enbridge Inc.'s handling of a serious pipeline rupture in 2010 in Michigan was released by the US National Transportation Safety Board. Enbridge's response to the spill was deemed so inept that the chair of the board compared the Calgary-based company to the "Keystone Kops."
Within hours, Mulcair declared that the report should be the "final nail in the coffin" for Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway Pipeline that would carry tarry bitumen from the Alberta oilsands to the BC coast so it can shipped through tricky coastal waters to Asia.
Since support for both the federal and BC NDP is rising in public opinion polls, it would seem Mulcair's stand is resonating with many Canadians. Although certainly not with the majority of Albertans, who stand to lose the most if the pipeline project is abandoned.
Later in the day, Mulcair attended a barbecue at a housing co-operative put on by the local NDP faithful. About 100 people applauded vigorously as he was introduced as "the next prime minister of Canada." For these Dippers, who are used to defeat after defeat in this part of the country, it doesn't seem like such as distant dream any more.
Mulcair joked that Alberta Premier Alison Redford is much more interested in talking about him than talking to him since she is very quick to criticize his energy policies but did not extend an invitation to meet with him while he was in Calgary.
But Mulcair's meeting with Nenshi must have gone extremely well because right after the NDP leader told the news media that Calgary's mayor is "one of the most exciting politicians in Canada," and "one of the most interesting and capable politicians I've met in my life."
No question Nenshi was smart to meet with the leader of the opposition.
Simply lambasting him, as many Alberta politicians have, because he openly criticizes the pace of oilsands development and calls for more environmental protection, doesn't help Canadians come to grips with the issues involved in the largest industrial project in the country.
As Don Braid, senior political columnist for the Calgary Herald, wrote the day before Mulcair arrived, "
“Albertans cannot just wish Mulcair away; in fact, 18.5 percent of us want to vote him in.” — columnist Don Braid.
"Clearly, his aggressive stance on energy — first slagging the oilsands for hurting Canada's economy, now calling for the shutdown of a project vital to Alberta's access to markets — is working. That's because Mulcair both voices and shapes growing national opinion."
Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell wrote that Mulcair "oozes confidence in his standard-issue cowboy duds and look-you-straight-in-the-eye answers."
Mulcair made quite an impression in cow town. He'd been here before. His sister lives here. But he'd never visited during Stampede.
The NDP leader walked in, took it all in stride, and stood his ground on contentious energy issues. That's quite an accomplishment for someone not used to wearing cowboy boots.
About Gillian Steward
Gillian Steward is a Calgary writer and journalist, and former managing editor of the Calgary Herald.
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