Dela Cruz Could be the Youngest NDP MLA since Ed Schreyer

Last night in a packed room at the Club Regent Casino in Radisson, surrounded by over 160 supporters, Jelynn Dela Cruz was nominated as the NDP candidate for Radisson in the 2023 election. "This is what happens when you lift up the daughter of immigrants,” said her nominator, Concordia hospital nurse, Miriam Fajardo, as Jelynn took to the stage to accept her nomination.

“I come from an immigrant working class family, a family like so many others in Radisson that the PCs have left behind,” said Dela Cruz. “Pallister cut my mother’s position at the Concordia hospital and then he tried to cut my father’s position as a school maintenance worker with Bill 64. My family deserves better and yours does too. It’s time we give Radisson back to the people. It’s time to elect a Premier and a government that will work hard for all of us. I’m so excited to be a part of this NDP team – now let’s get to work and flip this seat!”

The daughter of a Concordia hospital frontline health care worker and an elementary school maintenance worker, Jelynn is a Filipina community leader with a background in the student movement who works for the L’arche community in Transcona. As President of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union, she fought for accessible education, health coverage for students and their families, fair bargaining for faculty, and she helped mobilize the community to save the U-Pass.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew pointed out that if elected, Jelynn will be the youngest NDP MLA since Ed Schreyer. “Jelynn could do what Schreyer did – and it starts with getting her elected in Radisson,” he said. “Jelynn has the passion, the poise and the smarts to be an effective MLA who brings about real change and makes life better for families in Radisson and across the province. Together we’ll fix health care and make life more affordable for families in North East Winnipeg.”