Liberal candidate Braeden Caley picked up a key labour endorsement Thursday, with Ironworkers Local 97 Business Manager Doug Parton backing his bid for the North Vancouver–Capilano seat.
According to the news release from Caley’s camp, Parton posted the endorsement on social media the day before, citing his members’ work on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and other infrastructure that links the North Shore to the rest of British Columbia. He called the bridge a lasting reminder of the skill and sacrifice that went into the province’s construction.
Parton said Canadians should be doing that building — Canadian workers on the tools, Canadian apprentices in training, and Canadian steel going into the ground.
Caley called the endorsement an honour, according to the news release, and pointed to the union’s role in building infrastructure connecting the North Shore to the rest of the country. He tied the endorsement to a broader message of Canadian workers, apprentices and materials driving the country’s growth.
Parton said the endorsement wasn’t made lightly. According to the news release, he described a meeting with Caley in which the candidate came to listen rather than talk at union members.
He also cited Liberal commitments he said matter to Local 97: $6 billion to recruit, train and hire 100,000 trades workers, expanded apprenticeship programs and new training facilities, and a focus on union labour in major project construction. Parton said Caley understands that skilled trades workers will shape Canada’s next chapter and would be a strong voice for them in Parliament.
By-election day in North Vancouver–Capilano is Monday, August 31, with advance voting from August 21 to 24. Caley’s campaign office is at 206 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver.
