Dance running for NDP in Elmwood-Transcona

Elmwood

Transcona

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This article was published 28/08/2024 (379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Leila Dance is the New Democratic Party of Canada candidate for Member of Parliament in the upcoming Elmwood-Transcona byelection, which will be held on Sept. 16.

“I just want to help my community,” Dance, 46, said. “I just want to make sure we have the resources, the programming, and the services we need.”

Dance, who described herself as “born and raised in Transcona,” is no stranger to community involvement. Before running for the federal seat, she served over four years as executive director of the Transcona Business Improvement Zone. Before that, she worked over 16 years in the non-profit sector, for organizations such as the Kidney Foundation and the Children’s Wish Foundation.

“I’ve always been very community oriented. My parents were very involved in the community, at the library and the museum and community centres,” Dance said.

“So when this opportunity presented itself, I thought of it as another way to give back to the community, hopefully at a larger scale and impact more people.”

A single mother, Dance also raised her son, now 21, in Transcona, and spent years volunteering at the grassroots level.

“I was also involved in various community groups in different ways, whether it was the day cares, Transcona Sea Cadets, the Legion, or raising money for the Canterbury Park greenspace, that kind of thing,” she said.

If elected, Dance said she would prioritize working on the issue of affordability.

“It used to be you could go grocery shopping and fill a cart for $100,” she said. “Now, you’re getting maybe two small bags. The essentials are so expensive. That is something I’m seeing and hearing, especially in my work the Transcona Food Bank and Transcona Food Security Network. It’s impacting everyone.”

Housing is another area where cost is a limiting factor for too many, Dance added.

“I want my son to be able to get a house at some point, to move out of my basement and get a place of his own,” she said. “We’re seeing people, students who have gone and taken university and trades still living at home with their parents because they can’t afford a home of their own. That shouldn’t be the case, when they’ve worked hard to get where they are.”

If elected, Dance also said she would push for federal funding for the East of the Red recreation complex.

“We’ve seen what happens when pools close in our area, be it the Transcona Centennial Pool or Kildonan Pool on Concordia when it was closed for a bit, how that impacted swimming lessons. In a province filled with lakes, we want to make sure everyone can swim,” she said. “And although it’s in Transcona, I think it would support the whole riding and the surrounding area, as well. There’s a large impact on that project. It’s a big ticket, but I think the ROI on that will be huge for generations.”

The Elmwood-Transcona federal byelection is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 16. Other registered candidates at press time included Colin Reynolds (Conservative Party of Canada), Ian MacIntyre (Liberal Party of Canada), Nic Geddert (Green Party of Canada), Zbig Strycharz (Canadian Future Party) and Sarah Couture (People’s Party of Canada).