Juno News - February 24, 2025


Ruby Dhalla speaks out about disqualification from leadership race

Topics
struggles and sacrifices Liberal Party disqualification disqualification from leadership race
Mentioned
Justin Trudeau Mark Carney Ruby Dalla Chrystia Freeland Jody Wilson-Raybould Sam Harris Aria
Danielle Smith reveals that Donald Trump does, in fact, want to buy Canadian oil and gas “We must do everything in our power to enable Ukraine to secure a just and lasting peace.” - Trudeau

Episode Stats


Length

17 minutes

Words per minute

178.95

Word count

3,071

Sentence count

183

Harmful content

Misogyny

5

sentences flagged

Hate speech

3

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

When I found out that Ruby Dalla had been disqualified from running for Liberal Party Leader, I knew I had to reach out to her. So on a whim, I sent her a message and was pleasantly surprised that she agreed to this non-traditional media request.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 After I found out that Ruby Dalla learned about her disqualification from running for Liberal Party leader, I knew I had to reach out to her.
00:00:12.780 So on a whim, I sent her a message and was pleasantly surprised that she agreed to this non-traditional media request.
00:00:20.760 Here's my conversation with Ruby Dalla.
00:00:23.640 Ruby, thank you so much for joining me.
00:00:25.420 This is the first time a Liberal politician was even willing to actually answer a question from a non-traditional media person.
00:00:31.980 I'm just an account on X.
00:00:33.180 And so I just want to start by asking a question for those that may not know you.
00:00:38.440 What is your political background and why did you decide to run for the Liberal Party leader position?
00:00:44.200 Well, my name is Ruby Dalla and I was running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and to become Canada's next Prime Minister.
00:00:52.300 I believe I had the experience, the insight as a doctor about the crisis of our health care system.
00:00:59.520 As a businesswoman, I knew about the challenges that entrepreneurs and businesses in our country face with the overburdening of tax.
00:01:06.800 I have been a three-time elected Member of Parliament.
00:01:09.560 I have legislative experience.
00:01:11.100 And most importantly, I just have been living in the real world for the last 10 years and I had my ear to the ground as to the many challenges that Canadians are facing and the type of leadership that they are looking for, which is to have a leader who is going to stand up for them and fight for our country.
00:01:27.660 Well, that sounds great.
00:01:28.940 And what do you think of the last decade under the Trudeau government slash shadow Kearney government and what they've done to this country?
00:01:38.860 What do you think Canadians think about that?
00:01:41.040 Well, I think that Canadians are actually living it.
00:01:43.260 And the reality is, is that there are way too many Canadians that are struggling.
00:01:47.640 We take a look at, you know, the cost of homes.
00:01:50.360 There are Canadians in our country because of these high prices that are unable to put a roof over their head.
00:01:56.260 You take a look at grocery prices.
00:01:58.000 They've all gone through the roof.
00:01:59.320 People cannot put food on the table.
00:02:01.380 You have Canadians that are working not only one job, but two or three jobs. 0.99
00:02:05.760 And they're trying to make ends meet.
00:02:07.980 And when it comes down to it, you know, they pay all of their bills.
00:02:10.940 And guess what?
00:02:11.700 They don't have very much money in their pockets because they've been overburdened.
00:02:15.680 That is why in the leadership race, I spoke about progressive policy ideas, which would meet the meat of the hour.
00:02:23.000 I talked about having a review of our taxation system to create value for tax so that life could be more affordable for Canadians and Canadian families.
00:02:33.100 I talked about initiatives of toughening up on crime, you know, our crime legislation that we have, of bail reform, of ensuring that we actually start reducing the crime in our country so people start to feel safer.
00:02:44.500 I talked about issues of affordability, of how to make, you know, life more affordable for Canadians who are working so hard.
00:02:51.560 And also about ensuring that we start ensuring that Canada has a greater role in the world.
00:02:57.860 And I think that it was these progressive ideas, you know, that our campaign gained so much momentum from so many people across Canada.
00:03:05.360 And so I've noticed, what or any roadblocks have you met from the Liberal Party as running for Liberal leader?
00:03:17.180 I know there's been a few.
00:03:18.660 Well, I'll talk about that in the coming days, but the roadblocks really started, you know, from the first day of the campaign.
00:03:24.420 And it was difficult to actually get access to various lists with registered Liberal members.
00:03:31.180 There was issues with people wanting to donate into the campaign and the donor link, you know, not working.
00:03:37.560 So there were multiple, multiple issues.
00:03:39.900 And I think most importantly was the limited ability to be able to communicate, you know, with registered Liberals.
00:03:46.440 But it's the power of social media.
00:03:49.060 I went into the race with, you know, hundreds of thousands of followers just on my Instagram alone.
00:03:54.600 And that's why we started to utilize our digital media to really get our word out of what our policies were.
00:04:01.960 Because I don't believe that anyone running for any type of leadership position in any party should ever be denied access or the ability to speak to its members.
00:04:10.500 I started to hold virtual town halls.
00:04:12.640 And, you know, in the two weekends that town halls were held, we had over a thousand people just join these town hall meetings.
00:04:20.680 We took a look at my Instagram page alone.
00:04:23.840 You know, in the last 30 days, we've had 4.7 million people engage with us.
00:04:28.440 Just on Twitter last night alone, we had over 1.5 million people, you know, engaging.
00:04:33.720 So I started to use alternative means to reach out to the Liberals because even though they were people that were trying to stop me in the establishment from connecting and communicating with people who are registered voters, we found, you know, more innovative ways to reach out.
00:04:49.060 And that's why the momentum in our campaign continued to grow.
00:04:52.760 It sounds like you've been really successful at doing that.
00:04:57.680 So, I mean, kudos to you for that.
00:04:59.560 That's incredible.
00:05:00.460 I know the typical Liberal like Trudeau would not dare do something similar to you because he just gets booed everywhere he goes.
00:05:07.700 Can you talk a little bit about what distinguishes you from someone like, let's say, Mark Carney or Justin Trudeau as a Liberal?
00:05:15.360 Well, number one, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
00:05:18.840 I haven't lived in the Ottawa bubble in the last 10 years.
00:05:21.860 I grew up from very humble beginnings, being born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
00:05:26.920 My mother is a single mother who raised my brother and I.
00:05:30.880 We've seen a lot of hardship.
00:05:32.600 We've seen a lot of struggle and a lot of challenge in our life.
00:05:35.900 And I believe those struggles and those sacrifices and that challenge that we, you know, have lived through as a family are many of the same challenges that so many Canadians are actually facing.
00:05:45.400 And because I had my ear to the ground over the last 10 years, I actually spoke about policies and put forward a platform which many people actually identified with and said, you know what, we need this now.
00:05:58.180 This is the need of the hour.
00:05:59.460 And she is actually speaking, you know, with us about issues that we can connect with and identify with.
00:06:06.000 And we identify with Ruby Della.
00:06:07.940 We connect with her.
00:06:09.360 So a lot of people saw, you know, their struggle, their sacrifice and their journey in life, you know, through through my lens.
00:06:16.380 And I just have the ability to connect with people.
00:06:18.800 And that's why we were building this momentum, you know, that I've shared with you.
00:06:22.960 But I think that would be the biggest differentiating factor between myself and the individual that you mentioned.
00:06:30.000 It sounds like you really have your hand on the pulse of what's happening in Canada and the problems Canadians are facing.
00:06:37.380 And I wanted to ask, do you think that's the reason the so-called establishment is trying to prevent you from succeeding in this leadership race?
00:06:46.000 And now that they've put up this roadblock of disqualification, apparently?
00:06:50.640 Well, I don't know if there is a there's room in the Liberal Party of Canada anymore for a strong, you know, smart, successful woman, because they did this to Jody Wilson-Raybeau.
00:07:03.140 They've done it to a few other women. 1.00
00:07:05.260 We have the prime minister, you know, standing up on stage saying that the, you know, preaching to the Americans that they should have elected, you know, Kamala Harris.
00:07:13.620 And it would have been time for a woman to lead America. 0.99
00:07:18.000 Well, how about having a woman lead Canada? 1.00
00:07:21.860 How about having a female prime minister in Canada and the female prime minister who is a woman of color in Canada and that as the leader for the Liberal Party of Canada? 1.00
00:07:33.140 So I think that it's very easy to preach all of this, but to actually put it into action are two different things.
00:07:39.300 I entered the leadership race.
00:07:41.000 I didn't even receive a phone call from, you know, Mr. Trudeau, you know, sharing of the fact that this was a historic candidacy.
00:07:48.260 My entry into the leadership race, you know, was historic.
00:07:51.120 I was the first, you know, female immigrant, you know, to come from an immigrant family, to come from a multicultural community and the first woman of color who was running for the leadership race.
00:08:01.080 So the fact that the Liberal Party can go and turn around, you know, and do this to not only myself, they did it to Mr. Aria, you know, a few weeks ago.
00:08:10.780 So I think it just speaks to everyone just questioning, you know, is the Liberal Party really liberal and how inclusive are they when they keep on kicking out women, keep on kicking out the, you know, immigrants and people from multicultural communities and also kicking out people who are trying to bring forth policy ideas, which are the need of the hour.
00:08:33.240 So I think that they wanted to complete the coronation of Mark Carney.
00:08:38.760 They did not want to have Ruby Della on that debate stage or on that ballot. 1.00
00:08:42.740 And ultimately, they were denied, not Ruby Della, but they denied the thousands of people that were supporting me and wanted to vote for a Liberal Party that would be brought back to the centre.
00:08:53.920 And most importantly, a party where all the membership and the grassroots would actually have a voice.
00:08:58.900 Yeah, you know, the Liberals and Trudeau, the Trudeau-Carney Alliance, they do claim to care about minorities, people of colour, women.
00:09:09.840 Trudeau has said multiple times that he's a feminist.
00:09:13.120 What do you make of them pushing out two candidates that are candidates of colour and a woman like yourself?
00:09:20.600 Do you think they actually believe the things that they say when they say they care about women, minorities, etc.?
00:09:26.180 Or do you think that's just their talking points to shield themselves from any criticism?
00:09:31.300 I think it's very easy to talk the talk, but I think that Canadians are much smarter than that.
00:09:36.280 They're no longer looking, you know, for political slogans or this type of rhetoric.
00:09:41.980 Actions always speak louder than words. 0.94
00:09:43.960 And I can tell you, you know, from my experience of this particular leadership campaign, that that is certainly not the case.
00:09:51.780 The establishment continues to want, you know, their white, blue-eyed boys to continue to get elected.
00:09:57.460 And I wonder and I hope that they don't do this to Christia Freeland next, because you just never ever know what's down the pipeline with the establishment.
00:10:05.840 But anyone who questions the establishment or comes out with progressive ideas or wants to return the party back into the hands of the membership, you know, the establishment clearly doesn't want that.
00:10:17.040 It does seem these actions from the Liberal Party, for example, I saw that on your X feed that you said that there is possibly the chance of them not returning the payment that's required to enter the leadership race.
00:10:32.840 Can you talk a little bit about that?
00:10:34.900 Yes, definitely.
00:10:35.900 You know, the entry for the leadership race was $350,000.
00:10:40.240 That $350,000 was contributed by hardworking Canadians who are Canadian taxpayers.
00:10:47.900 They donated, you know, those monies.
00:10:51.420 They made contributions into the campaign because they believed in the vision that I had.
00:10:56.640 They believed in the mission and my policies and my platform about wanting to bring change, about wanting to make life more affordable, about ensuring that we reduce crime in our country.
00:11:07.560 They believed in all of those, you know, platform initiatives.
00:11:11.380 That's why they donated.
00:11:12.720 The deadline for that donation was the 17th of February.
00:11:17.220 And guess what?
00:11:18.540 A few hours later, after the $350,000 had been deposited, we received a letter stating that the Liberal Party wanted to have a meeting, you know, in regards to certain issues.
00:11:32.080 So it was quite interesting that this meeting only came about after the $350,000 was given.
00:11:38.320 But I know that I speak for hundreds of volunteers who contributed to my campaign, you know, who have stated that they were not doing this to have the coffers and the piggy banks of the Liberal Party full, you know, with this $350,000 donation.
00:11:55.200 So I think the party needs to do the right thing.
00:11:57.280 They need to do the honorable thing and have that $350,000 returned to all of the hardworking Canadians who contributed.
00:12:05.200 I completely agree.
00:12:06.480 Is it true that you learned about the disqualification first from the CBC?
00:12:12.380 Do I have that right?
00:12:14.420 That is correct.
00:12:15.860 Shockingly and surprisingly that the government funded CBC was the first people, you know, to be made aware of what the decision of the Liberal Party was.
00:12:28.280 I personally requested to not have this leaked to the media until they had first informed myself and to not be extended.
00:12:40.060 Even that type of common courtesy, I think is very, very, you know, not only unfortunate, to be honest, it's just disgusting, you know, to that type of, you know, humiliation for someone who's running for the leadership of your party.
00:12:54.340 Someone who signed up almost 100,000 members, you know, within the party to have that type of treatment.
00:13:00.640 And that to me just speaks of something that is not only unprofessional, but it really speaks to the fact that I believe in the Liberal Party.
00:13:08.760 They have not welcomed, you know, those who are from multicultural communities, they've not welcomed women. 1.00
00:13:15.400 But most importantly, they are not welcome to have anyone in the party who is questioning the establishment, who wants to bring change.
00:13:24.160 And the political party can no, you know, the Liberal Party of Canada can no longer operate in, you know, a five-person cabal or a fiefdom.
00:13:33.160 This is the party of the people.
00:13:35.720 And that was the voice that I was bringing to the table was a party of the people.
00:13:40.580 I did not enter that leadership race to look for a job.
00:13:43.940 I entered the leadership race to be a very strong voice, to push the envelope.
00:13:49.400 In an election campaign, to me, it's all about discussion and debate.
00:13:52.820 And if you're not putting forward your ideas or you keep on talking about the same old, what is the point of having, you know, a leadership contest or an election campaign?
00:14:02.000 But I was on a live interview with CBC.
00:14:06.300 And while I had just started the interview and the anchor says, oh, I just received an email from the national director of the Liberal Party of Canada.
00:14:16.240 And this individual actually read out to me the announcement that the Liberal Party had put out.
00:14:23.240 So it's just so disgusting.
00:14:26.020 That is unbelievably shocking.
00:14:28.880 I agree with you.
00:14:29.940 It's completely unacceptable.
00:14:32.100 I'm sorry that that's happening.
00:14:33.620 It doesn't sound like democracy to me at all.
00:14:35.840 For people who preach that this is a threat to our democracy and some other inane issue is a threat to our democracy, it sounds like they're being huge hypocrites there because this feels extremely anti-democratic to push out leaders like that and to bar them out from the liberal leadership debates.
00:14:56.520 Thank you so much for your time, Ruby.
00:14:58.500 Just a few quick, lighthearted questions at the end here.
00:15:02.620 I noticed that your meme game is really strong.
00:15:05.800 The latest one that I saw was when you posted a video that says, who is Mark Carney?
00:15:10.780 And it links to Justin Trudeau 2.0.
00:15:13.820 And I just wanted to know, is that your sense of humor or do you have a meme team?
00:15:18.600 You know, some of it's my sense of humor, but we have to have fun in a campaign.
00:15:21.960 And I think it's very important.
00:15:24.620 And, you know, we're talking about very serious issues, putting forward very serious, you know, policy ideas, because when you're going to leave the country, it requires that level of seriousness.
00:15:34.340 But it's also important in life to have, you know, a sense of humor and have some fun.
00:15:38.400 And I think that the memes are an opportunity for everyone because we all need to have a good laugh once in a while in life.
00:15:46.080 We all love memes.
00:15:48.120 Absolutely.
00:15:48.880 So that was just great to see.
00:15:50.120 And one last question to you.
00:15:53.360 Would you ever consider crossing the floor and running as a conservative?
00:15:57.240 Right now, I'm in the process of, you know, doing an appeal for the decision that has been made by the Liberal Party.
00:16:03.280 My phone has been ringing off the hook from thousands of volunteers across the country who are just really, you know, distraught and very upset and actually furious for the Liberal Party that they would have the audacity to, for the second time, to kick out, you know, someone from a cultural community.
00:16:18.960 And also to continue to continue to make it a habit to start kicking out women and Christia Freeland wondering if she's going to be next, because with the party, you just never, ever know.
00:16:27.680 So for them to have this type of audacity, it's really unacceptable.
00:16:32.560 I'm here to be a very strong voice.
00:16:34.400 We are going to be doing an appeal and we look forward to that decision.
00:16:39.020 Ruby Dalla, thank you so much for joining me.
00:16:41.940 I know this is not the traditional thing that Liberals typically do.
00:16:44.700 So it's incredibly it's an honor to have you on and I wanted to be respectful of your time.
00:16:50.600 So thank you so much for joining me and good luck to you with all the things that you're trying to do to take down this establishment.
00:16:58.220 Thank you.
00:16:58.560 It's important, you know, to have our voices heard.
00:17:00.600 And as I promised when I started my campaign, that I'm going to continue to stand up for Canadians.
00:17:05.240 I'm going to fight for Canada because we need to ensure that Canada's comeback starts now.