At the all-candidates’ debate at Victoria Hall in Westmount on Tuesday, September 14, New Democratic Party candidate, Emma Elbourne-Weinstock was a very credible representative of the party, on a panel of 6 candidates, and showed great poise and a strong grasp of the issues both federal and local.
Emma may be young, but she is determined and energetic.
Her grandmother Ann Elbourne ran for NDP the in the riding in the 1980’s, and her mother Elizabeth, who teaches History at McGill, is a long-time supporter. Her Dad Daniel Weinstock also teaches at McGill, is descended from Holocaust survivors, and a strong defender of human rights
Fluently bilingual, at 26 Emma already has an MA in Political Science from the University of Toronto, and a BA from McGill. She did a DEC in Music at CEGEP and is an accomplished singer and performer. She also works with the Indigenous Initiatives program at McGill, and as a sound technician and barista at Café Résonance.
She is the eldest of three children and her family lives on Old Orchard. She went to four different schools in the riding and knows NDG-Westmount like the back of her hand.
The NDP has long and deep roots in NDG going back to the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the founding of the NDG Community Council after WW2. There have been a series of credible candidates who have run feisty and spirited campaigns in the riding over the years: Jim Hughes, Franklin Gertler, Peter DesLauriers, Anne Lagacé Dowson.
Emma is the newest generation in a long line of people who want better for the riding, better than what is on offer from the Liberals and Conservatives who have traded power back and forth for decades.
