Chung-Mowat the NDP candidate for Winnipeg North

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This article was published 03/09/2021 (1478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Melissa Chung-Mowat is hoping to turn Winnipeg North orange in the upcoming federal election.

Chung-Mowat, 34, is the NDP candidate for that riding, which has been held by the Liberal party since 2010.

Chung-Mowat has lived in North Point Douglas for the last seven years. She was born in Winnipeg and grew up in the Interlake community of Moosehorn, and Portage la Prairie.

She holds a bachelor of arts in political studies from the University of Winnipeg and a master of arts in immigration and settlement studies from Ryerson University in Toronto. For the last decade, she has worked in the community development sector.

“Most of my work has been at the grassroots level, with Indigenous organizations, newcomer-serving organizations, community economic development organizations, largely in the North End of Winnipeg,” Chung-Mowat told The Times.

She listed poverty, housing, climate change, health care, and education as the major issues challenging Winnipeg North residents, adding that community organizations are already doing plenty of work surrounding these matters — what they need is empowerment and investment.

“I really believe that communities know what they need to thrive. I’ve seen it throughout my work experience, and even in my own personal lived experience, that … there’s tons of innovation (and) community strength at the grassroots level.

“What we do need are folks in positions of power, who understand those strengths, understand the needs in the community, and then have the power to be able to support that work and scale that work.

“I think that people in Winnipeg North have felt left behind in not having investments in the community here. And so we do need to think about how … we (can) make sure that communities here have the infrastructure and the spaces they need to thrive.”

Chung-Mowat highlighted a housing policy recently announced by federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh that would offer rebates to first-time homebuyers. She said this would help individuals looking to enter the housing market.

When it comes to justice for Indigenous peoples and communities — such as fulfilling the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action and ending boil-water advisories in First Nations — she said they have already outlined their needs and now it’s up to the government to act.

“It’s laid out there quite clearly what the government needs to do,” she said. “I think that there’s been too slow and too little action towards those calls to action.”

Angela Brydges (Green), Anas Kassem (CPC), Kevin Lamoureux (Liberal), and Patrick Neilan (PPC) are also confirmed candidates running in Winnipeg North.