Love & Courage
Page 25
Compared to our past campaign, I personally didn’t have as much to lose this time. I was running with great leaders in our movement, so no matter what, the party of the people would be in good hands. The feeling inside the hotel living room was less stressful and more excited, buzzing with possibility. I’d continued to try to live by my promise—to represent all people—in the provincial legislature. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up at the thought that I might have the chance to fight for all Canadians.
“It’s just about time,” said one of my friends. “Should we do a meditation first?”
All of us stood up and faced one of our friends, who led us in the meditation. My friend led the Ardas, a practice in which you reflect on those who came before and ask for the strength and wisdom to handle what will come next. She added her own powerful and moving words that brought almost all of us to tears. She asked that we find the courage and love to accept whatever happened that day. Then she ended with the final words of the Ardas, a reminder to connect with the one force, the universal energy to lift us with courageous optimism (chardi kala), and a request for universal well-being and the betterment of all (sarbat da bhalla).
We heard a knock on the door. It was my campaign manager, Michal Hay. “It’s time to head down,” she said. I put on my suit jacket, and we followed her into the elevator to the ballroom. The place was filled with a thousand party delegates and staff and volunteers.
I wished my fellow candidates good luck, greeted some friends and colleagues, and finally took my place in a seat between Michal and my parents. My brother and Gurkiran sat behind me.
Marit Stiles and Hans Marotte, the president and vice-president of Canada’s NDP, approached the podium onstage to announce the results of the first round of voting. To win, a candidate had to receive more than 50 per cent of the 65,782 votes that had been cast. Marit and Hans proceeded in alphabetical order. Charlie Angus received a little over 12,000 votes. Niki Ashton was next, with just a little less than Charlie. I was too numb with excitement to understand what each number meant. Guy Caron was third, and his number of votes was read out.
I could sense the ripple of anticipation in the crowd. I reached back and grabbed Gurkiran’s hand. At this point, my brother, father, and a number of others had figured it out. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening.
“Jagmeet Singh, number of votes,” said Marit Stiles. “Thirty-five thousand—”
Before she finished, Gurratan and my dad jumped up in celebration. People in the audience screamed with joy, but my mother and I sat for an impossibly long moment, still processing that number—35,266—until it clicked. That was more than half of the total votes cast.
We’d won! I was now the leader of the NDP, following in the footsteps of Tom Mulcair, Tommy Douglas, David Lewis, Ed Broadbent, Audrey McLaughlin, Alexa McDonough, and Jack Layton. I suddenly remembered the day, during my first campaign, when Jack took me aside and said, “Never let them tell you it can’t be done. It can be done.” Those words echoed in my memory in that moment when, against the odds, we’d won.
I was flooded with hugs from friends, family, and supporters. As I climbed the stage steps, overwhelmed by love, I had to clear my eyes of tears. My squad crowded around me at the podium, and the purest feeling of gratitude rushed through me.
My brother grabbed my shoulder and leaned into my ear. “We did it,” he said.
We had won, but our journey was far from over. On the road ahead, we would face many difficulties, but we would face them knowing one thing for certain: we are all in this together, because no matter what happens, we are all one.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have to thank so many people. Of course, I will start with my family. I want to thank my mom and dad for having the courage to let me tell our story. Words alone cannot adequately thank them for the sacrifices and love they’ve bestowed on me over a lifetime.
I want to thank my brother, who went from being my student to my teacher. I raised him like a son, only to have him become my mentor. Thank you, Brother.
To my sister, thank you for a lifetime of support and for your limitless empathy and compassion.
To my life partner and wife, the writing of this book took me away a lot. You were a rock through it all. You supported me and helped me along the journey. Thank you.
I hope this came through clearly in the book, but I literally would not be here without the support of so many people, many of whom probably don’t even know how much they helped. Thank you to my oldest friend—a teacher forced us to become friends but you chose to remain so. Thanks to the families who cooked for both my brother and me, and who probably didn’t realize how much we depended on their help. Thank you to the friend to whom I first opened up a little about what I had gone through early in my life. In law school, a dear friend was there for me when I opened up in more detail about what I was going through, and that dear friend was the first to tell me it wasn’t my fault. That friend witnessed some of my worst pain as it was happening. Thank you for being there.
Thank you to my uncle, who let my family stay with him when we didn’t have anywhere else to go. Thank you to my other uncle who co-signed my mortgage when I didn’t have anyone else who would. Thank you to my friend who helped me find a mortgage broker when I most needed one. Thanks to the mortgage broker who went above and beyond to help out a kid who he probably didn’t know was almost down and out.
Thank you to Brentwood Rehabilitation, a publicly funded rehabilitation center that, in many ways, helped to save my family.
Thank you to Canada’s health care system. When I blew out my ACL several years ago in a martial arts competition, a whole team of specialists and health care providers put me back together. My friends and family cared for me when I couldn’t care for myself—thank you.
Thank you to my New Democratic family for your ongoing support and guidance.
Thank you to my publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, for having faith in my story and for those people behind the scenes who guided me with editorial support and encouraged me to keep going.
Thank you to my friend at Skyrocket for coming up with the concept of love and courage, and thank you to my friends at The Archery Club, for creating an amazing book cover.
This book is my small act of love and courage. Beyond sharing my experiences, I hope it helps those who have experienced challenges similar to the ones I’ve faced. You are not alone. You can ask for help. We are all one.
Thank you for giving me the honour of sharing my story with you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHOTOGRAPH BY HARMAN DULAY
JAGMEET SINGH is the leader of the New Democratic Party and a Member of Parliament. Born in Scarborough, Ontario, he moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and later to Windsor, Ontario. He studied law at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Ontario, and practiced as a criminal defence lawyer in Brampton, Ontario. He was elected to the Ontario legislature as an MPP in 2011 and became the Ontario NDP deputy leader in 2015. He was elected leader of the federal NDP in 2017. Singh lives in Ottawa, Ontario, and Burnaby, British Columbia.
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Copyright © 2019 by Jagmeet Singh
The names of the martial arts students, legal clients, and some university friends who appear in Love & Courage have been changed. The references to these characters are based on true events.
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This Simon & Schuster Canada edition April 2019
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Interior Design by Carly Loman
Cover design: The Archery Club
Photos: (front) Singh on Bicycle/Harman Dulay (front and back) Family Portraits/Singh Family
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Love & courage : my story of family, resilience, and overcoming the unexpected / by Jagmeet Singh. Other titles: Love and courage
Names: Singh, Jagmeet, 1979– author.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190074191 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190074272 | ISBN 9781982105396 (softcover) | SBN 9781982105402 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Singh, Jagmeet, 1979– | LCSH: Lawyers—Canada—Biography. | LCSH: Politicians—Canada—Biography. | LCSH: Sikhs—Canada—Biography. | LCSH: South Asians—Canada—Biography. | CSH: Sikh Canadians—Biography | South Asian Canadians—Biography
Classification: LCC FC656.S56 A3 2019 | DDC 971.07/4092—dc23
ISBN 978-1-9821-0539-6
ISBN 978-1-9821-0540-2 (ebook)