The First Friday monthly art crawl is the busiest night in downtown Peterborough, seeing galleries, bars, and restaurants filled to the brim with patrons from all walks of life. To those already familiar with the city’s downtown arts scene, the Only Cafe needs no introduction. 

On the chilly night of Friday, February 7th, New Democratic Party (NDP) supporters and organizers from the Peterborough–Kawartha riding association filled the bar in a First Friday mixer to socialize and discuss the hot-ticket political issues of the moment.  

Just one week after her re-acclamation, Peterborough-Kawartha NDP candidate Jen Deck descended upon the hallowed halls of the Only to meet with constituents and supporters, and to simply enjoy a drink after a long week. 

With advance voting underway and a provincial election in three weeks, Deck has been hard at work on the campaign trail since her nomination. This is by no means a solo endeavour, however. 

“You know, there's a famous union song that's called [“Bread and Roses”],” Deck told Arthur. The song references a suffragette political slogan, the bread being the basic necessities of fair wage and representation, while the roses symbolize the recognition of the effort to achieve those ends.

“Tonight is an opportunity for us to thank our volunteers and meet other supporters in a social context,” Deck explained.

Since her acclamation, the streets of downtown have become laden with orange signs for Deck’s campaign. The people responsible are a keen team of young and enthusiastic volunteers. One of these key organizers is Ben Hickey, Co-Chair of the Peterborough Youth NDP and Voter Contact Organizer for Deck’s campaign.

Hickey loves the bustling scene of downtown Peterborough, frequently organizing YNDP meet-ups at the Only whenever possible.

“The Only is the unofficial gay bar in town,” Hickey laughed. “It's a very progressive space, and it’s in the heart of the city!” 

Hickey has been a fulcrum member of the YNDP chapter being one of the few responsible for its recent revival as a Trent University club this past summer. Hickey hopes that the bolstered YNDP presence on campus will encourage Trent students to vote and get involved in local politics. 

“Reviving the youth club has been hugely positive for student engagement,” Hickey told Arthur. “We're present on campus all the time. People know us.”

Hickey is also responsible for the Youth NDP’s weekly Breakfast Club where volunteers connect with students every Saturday morning at Sadleir House, cultivating a presence in the off-campus Trent community. 

“It’s been phenomenal for engaging youth. So many people come out to that, and so many people have seen our posters, encouraging people to register to vote or volunteer with us.” Hickey said. “Their future is at stake here, so it’s very important we kill it and fight for a future that is going to be the best possible one.”

As for his work on Jen Deck’s campaign, Hickey has become privy to the issues affecting Peterborough through extensive canvassing, especially the lack of provincial funding towards education, healthcare, and housing. The Deck campaign has been especially focused on the concerns of renters suffering under the burden of increased rents. 

“The Ford government has completely got rid of rent control and stopped building not-for-profit housing, and we're only beginning to see the consequences of that these past few years,” Hickey shared. 

Hickey is not the only Trent student involved in the Deck campaign. Miranda Jones, a psychology student at Trent, recently joined the YNDP organizing effort around the election, citing how she is a first-time voter and how important mobilizing other students has become  for her. 

“I'm kind of big on helping people understand politics, because I realize it can be incredibly daunting for a lot of people,” Jones told Arthur. “I want to get out and get as many people voting as possible to let them know that their voice does matter.”

“You think one person doesn't make a difference, but you then realize that collectively we can all make a difference through doing anything as simple as voting.” Jones said. 

The importance of student involvement has been a cornerstone of the NDP’s recent campaigning. For Deck whose background is in education, the challenges faced by Trent and Fleming students (most of whom are first-time voters)to get to the polls are of serious cause for concern. 

“There's a structural impediment for students voting,” Deck told Arthur. “The poll just never seems to be on Trent campus, which I find very surprising.”

“What I'm really curious to know from Trent students is what it is that they need from us,” Deck continued. “I’m keen to meet with students on campus.”

Deck encourages students interested to volunteer and canvas with her campaign, and is “excited” to represent the larger populace of Peterborough. 

Deck also feels her vocation as President and Chief Negotiator of the Kawartha Pine Ridge Elementary Teachers’ and Occasional Teachers’ Federation (EFTO) Local has prepared her exceedingly well for representing Peterborough-Kawartha. 

Deck cited her collective bargaining experiences at her EFTO Local and how she’s made “significant gains” for the workers she represents. 

“It's like I've been auditioning for this job for the last 10 years,” Deck told Arthur. “I listen to my members and what they're experiencing, provide them with information and access to supports that they might need, and help them with problems as they come up.”

She’s keen on maintaining strong connections with the institutions governing the everyday lives of Peterborough residents, stating that “the role of the MPP is to listen to constituents, to hear from them what their concerns are, to provide them with supports and information when they need it, and to fight for their living lives.” 

Deck feels that current Peterborough–Kawartha MPP Dave Smith has not enshrined those key relationships, especially with the City of Peterborough and its Council. 

“At a debate in the last election, our MPP made really disparaging comments about the Peterborough City Council and to me, that is shocking.” Deck said to Arthur. 

“It is your job as MPP to work with municipal governments, whoever they are, and I don't think we make any progress if we're pot-shotting.” 

Deck currently enjoys strong, communicative relationships with Town Ward councillors Alex Bierk and Joy Lachica and stressed the importance of engaging with the municipality. 

“All municipal politics matters,” Deck said. “It's important to elect people who are progressive. And so if we want progressive policies, we need to elect progressive councilors.” 

“People really need to start taking municipal elections really seriously and vote with their conscience. But I think also we have to give municipal councilors some credit for the fact that they're being asked to split a baby, right?” 

Deck emphasized the consequences of the Ford government downloading responsibilities onto municipalities across Ontario, citing a decreasing budget with growing operational responsibility.  

“That's why the NDP is committed to taking back the portfolio of housing and bring it back up to the provincial level, where it's much better suited,” Deck continued. 

“The province can fund and make intelligent planning decisions on a larger scale, and it would take a lot of pressure off of municipalities, allowing them to focus on issues that they're much better suited to to work with.” 

As First Friday came to a close, Kathryn Langley, Membership Organizer at the Peterborough-Kawartha NDP Riding Association, gave Arthur a succinct and serious piece of parting advice.

“This is class warfare.”