After running head first into the 2021 federal election process, Andréane Chénier said she’s looking forward to easing into her next campaign with more cohesive messaging.
Chénier is the presumptive candidate for the newly configured Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt federal riding, and her candidacy is expected to be ratified at the Nickel Belt Federal NDP Nomination Meeting on June 23.
She is the sole candidate to put their name forward, which she’s taking as an early vote of confidence.
Chénier last ran under the NDP banner in 2021, when Marc Serré secured Nickel Belt for the Liberals in his third-consecutive victory.
This time around, Chénier said she anticipates making a stronger case locally for the NDP.
Her 2021 bid was “kind of last-minute,” she said, adding that she expressed interest in May, was nominated in July and the election took place in September.
With a federal election date yet to be called, and tentatively slated for on or before Oct. 20, 2025, she anticipates more lead time to build a base in Nickel Belt — to be reconfigured as Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt as soon as the writ drops.
In addition to presumably having more time to prepare, she also now carries experience from the 2021 election cycle and her time with the Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l’Ontario elected board (she was acclaimed to Area 10 in 2022).
“I just wasn't sure what to expect in the realm of politics,” she said of her 2021 bid, clarifying that while she’s been a public speaker and representative her entire adult life, being a woman in politics “in the current climate” was a bit of a learning experience.
“I feel a little bit more comfort and understanding that trolls will come at me, and all that jazz, which is unfortunately the political climate we’re in right now,” she said.
“I know what I’m looking ahead to, I have a plan to do the things I want to do, and I have a message I want to bring, so this time around I have comfort.”
While the 2021 effort was a scramble, “This time around, we’re using a lot more of the community-based strategies, and we’re talking to people about NDP policies,” she said.
Whereas the Sudbury and Nickel Belt NDP candidates shared a campaign office in 2021, both campaigns are slated to be based in their respective communities leading up to the next election, focusing their relationship-building at a grassroots level.
Chénier has already started door-knocking, and has been hearing about people's concerns.
While the last election cycle seemed to build around frustration regarding the pandemic, she said people’s anger hasn’t exactly dissipated alongside COVID-era mandates and concerns.
“People are still angry, and I think they’re angry because they’re coming out of the pandemic and it’s not the rosy freedom where everyone’s running out into the sunset like they thought it would be,” she said., adding that life is less affordable and people’s discontent is growing.
“The things that I’ve always believed in and which I continue to believe in is that the job of government is to provide service to constituents, whether that’s businesses or individuals, and that the thriving core to both of those is the community that people live in,” she said.
“I believe in building communities and I believe in having healthy people in healthy communities, which benefits individuals and the economy.”
A national representative for CUPE by trade, in addition to serving on the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc. board, Institute for Work and Health board and the Public Services Health and Safety Association, Chénier said the NDP has always been a natural fit.
They are the party, after all, which spearheaded key work-safety initiatives and espouse those values today, she said, and are strong advocates for such things as public health care, including pharmacare.
“I also believe in human rights, and not in a way that limits individuals, that actually believes in providing the freedoms to be the people they want to be,” she said. “When people are authentically who they are, they are creative and productive and a benefit to themselves, their family and communities.”
A proud Francophone woman, Chénier said her presence in the House of Commons would also serve as a signal that the French language and Francophone culture isn’t exclusive to Quebec.
“The more we have Francophone MPs who don’t come from Quebec, the more we can drive home the fact that we’re here, too,” she said, adding with a chuckle, “Andréane Chénier is very clearly not an English name.”
Nickel Belt is currently served by Liberal Marc Serré. The 2021 Conservative candidate for Nickel Belt, Charles Humphrey, is not running again, and a candidate has yet to be determined.
The Nickel Belt Federal NDP Nomination Meeting is on June 23, beginning at 2 p.m., at the CUPE 4705 Hall at 41 Veterans Road, Copper Cliff. Nickel Belt NDP MPP France Gélinas will moderate the event, and Algoma–Manitoulin–Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes will be a guest.
During the event, the new federal Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt riding map will be on display.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
