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A Few Random Thoughts From 2021 @Sask_NDP Virtual Convention

Shea and I signed up to attend the virtual Sask NDP convention this weekend.

We’ve been to a handful of conventions over the years since our first in 2009 – mostly in years when there was a leadership vote but also as delegates from our constituency on occasion.  (With that said, we’re not actively involved at the constituency level right now so paid the shot ourselves.).

  • First off, the virtual convention format worked very well for the most part.  LumiAGM was the platform used and it was like Zoom but on steroids with hundreds of people attending concurrently at different points.
  • Of course, like Zoom, there were the odd tech glitches – people forgetting to mute mics, people leaving cameras on which may or may not impact the performance of the whole platform, etc.  Some less tech-savvy/people with poor Internet may have struggled and though there was a 1-800 number of tech support, I know firsthand from my day job how hard it can be to try to offer tech help over the phone.
  • One HUGE advantage to being a virtual convention – we hooked up one laptop to our TV and were able to do all sorts of tasks while monitoring the convention – dishes, laundry, making zucchini muffins, etc.  *Much* better than being stuck in a hotel ballroom or convention centre for a couple days!
  • The convention was even portable – at one point, we had to take our daughter to an art class and were able to continue listening through Shea’s phone as I was driving!
  • (Of course, we missed the social aspects – the dinners with friends, the drinks after the day ends, the karaoke.).
  • Arguably the most important part of the convention was the leadership vote which Ryan Meili won with 72% support.

  • As far as I know, there was no threshold for it to be considered a success – I guess 51% would be considered a “win” just like if you win a squeaker of an election as the NDP have often been on both the winning and losing side of close races where candidates are separated by less than a single percentage point.
  • But that result means slightly more than 2/3 of the party support Ryan’s continued leadership but 1/3 are unhappy which is, frankly, understandable.  Heck, I’ve supported Ryan since 2009 and I thought being led by a doctor during a pandemic should mean better results in the last election.  (To put it another way, as someone observed on Reddit, “Meili’s a doctor who ran *towards* an emergency, choosing to practice medicine as Covid hit the province while Scott Moe runs away from emergencies” – an allusion to the fact that Moe has DUIs on his record, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and even killed someone in a vehicle accident.
  • At the same time, things were relatively calm in October 2020 in terms of Covid cases numbers, hospitalizations and deaths leading up to Sask’s provincial election.  Someone told me there were literally zero deaths in the month leading up to that election – not sure if that’s true – but with vaccines on the horizon and little idea yet of how virulent Delta would be (or more accurately, how few would choose to be vaccinated against it), no one could predict the horrors of the fourth wave (well, except most medical professionals, many members of the media and even a few observant librarians!) 😉
  • Anyhow, I sensed that there was a recognition among the membership, even among people who may not be huge Meili supporters, that having gone through three leadership contests in the past decade (unfortunately, unavoidable as both previous leaders failed to keep their seats) the party would be doing itself no favours by going to the expense and possibly divisive process of a leadership contest instead of sticking with the leader they’ve got.
  • Speaking of divisions, since I’m not super-actively involved in the party anyhow, I was particularly heartened to see endorsements of various candidates for President, Treasurer, and various other executive roles crossing the old loyalties that I was familiar with – hey, that guy supported Ryan and he’s supporting Candidate A for President but that person who also supported Ryan says she’s supporting Candidate B for President.
  • Overall, it was a great experience and, like so many other sectors, it’ll be interesting to see if a “virtual” option might be provided in the future, even if conventions go back to being in-person for the most part.  I know I appreciated being able to watch in my PJ’s in my living room while doing chores instead of the expense and time commitment of driving to Saskatoon or wherever.
  • Oh, and I think someone mentioned the convention was hosted/broadcast from the Saskatoon Inn.  If so, I sure hope it got a thorough sanitizing/fumigating after the recent PPC federal election party a couple weeks ago! 😉

(One final thought – no idea how it may have influenced the leadership vote but Ryan’s speech was one of the best I’ve heard him give – humble, inspiring, personal, political and powerful.  I have no idea how he even finished after talking about his dad’s stroke putting him in ICU and how, if that happened today, his dad might not make it due to the pressures Covid patients are unnecessarily putting on ICUs right now.)

 

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