This Humanitarian Advocates for Crossing Party Lines

Claire Barrat, raised in a small town on Vancouver island, has “always been more of a left-wing voter,” but didn’t start working on campaigns for progressive change until last year. Since then, she has decided to stay unaffiliated with any particular party.

It took time and experience for her to make that decision, however. While volunteering her time to campaign for electoral reform with the nonpartisan organization Lead Now, Barrat “realized how problematic it is when you have a group of primarily white people making decisions on behalf of the entire population.” Barrat made recommendations for working towards more equitable patterns of who is valued in Lead Now. They claimed that this was important but nonetheless they were unwilling to implement any of her ideas so she left Lead Now to look for other opportunities.

A video of Jagmeet Singh responding to racist remarks from a white woman had already gone viral when she heard he was running in the by-election as a candidate for Burnaby South—a riding close to home for her—and was inspired to attend one of the New Democratic Party’s public office parties. There, she found some of the representation she was looking for.

“It was really refreshing seeing something that looked a little bit more like the makeup of Vancouver. There were white, Chinese, South Asian, and Black people. We had candid conversations about systemic racism. There wasn’t this problematic colour blind mentality,” she says. “Everyone was talking about racism because Jagmeet Singh was the first brown leader of a Canadian federal political party. It was historic, a big deal.”

“I was inspired by seeing a person of colour in leadership. That’s really what brought me there. What naturally follows when you have people of colour in leadership positions is their community.”

Barrat is now an NDP member, and “absolutely supports Jagmeet Singh as a candidate,” but doesn’t consider herself completely devoted to any one party. This stems from her perspective on politics, which she says changes once you’ve seen the field “from the inside.”

“There are some similarities between parties,” she says. “The Government of Canada has colonial foundations and these issues remain today. Government is also a massive structure which has a real environmental impact, even just through the process of campaigning.”

One example she cites is the production and distribution of candidate signage during campaign season, as well as the emissions produced through frequent long-distance travel, which many politicians may feel is necessary to winning over ridings. As an environmentalist, she disagrees with both of these practices.

“I think it’s sort of a crutch or a comfort to heavily rely on print materials still when we’re all primarily relying on technology in our daily lives. I encourage questioning: Is it essential for politicians to fly so much? Could they be doing that a little differently?” she says.

Another question she found herself asking over and over again as her political journey developed was, simply, “What’s next?”

“I went from Lead Now to the NDP to, ‘What’s the next step towards even more racial equality? Why aren’t more Black and Indigenous people showing up in NDP spaces? Low income people from the Downtown Eastside?’” says Barrat.

“For white people working on Jagmeet Singh’s campaign, they see a room full of melanin and they’re like, ‘Awesome, great.’ But for me as a Black person who cares deeply about about some of the issues impacting Black and Indigenous people, I’m aware that certain issues simply aren’t being talked about as much. As a Black person, I would like to hear more dialogue on criminal justice system reform, and it’s tough to bring up those topics in spaces where people can’t relate.”

She finds dialogue like this more common outside of political circles, and although she “wants those worlds to merge,” she also acknowledges “the reality is that more radical and especially nonwhite people don’t feel comfortable in political spaces.”

“Some of the people whose views align most closely with mine would consider themselves more “anti-government” while I am more of a reformist,” says Barrat. “However you frame it, I know it’s essential for marginalized people to have their perspective understood.”

She often crosses party lines in search of this, and has respect for politicians like the independent MP candidate Jody Wilson-Raybould. Notably, she adds, she met more Indigenous people at Wilson-Raybould’s campaign office than anyone else’s, and also noticed a higher number of grassroots activists from the Downtown Eastside there.

Still, she encourages those who continue to feel disheartened by white supremacy in politics to visit various campaigns, and to vote if they are capable of doing so.

“I understand skepticism that politics can create change at all. To that I say, fair enough. That’s valid, to be honest,” she says.

“If you feel hopeless about politics, though, know that you can show up to hold people accountable or simply look elsewhere to empower people you believe in. In politics, I’ve grappled with the question of whether it can create change given its colonial history. Wherever we go, I believe that we can create positive shift through rethinking systems and speaking frankly about our views. I am grateful for the people who have challenged my perspectives, and while it doesn’t happen overnight, lifestyle shift does happen and positive changes can have a ripple effect in spreading both hope and tangible results. Focus on that spark of hope that brought you to that movement while remaining open to the question: What’s next?”

Personally, Barrat says she will “absolutely” be voting in the upcoming election.