Greetings Fellow Pirates,
As many know by now Travis McCrea has stepped down as leader of the Pirate Party of Canada. On behalf of the Party I would like to thank him for his dedicated service this last year. Under his leadership the Pirate Party of Canada preserved its status as a registered party, began the process of expanding its platform, brought new people into the party and substantially increased its media coverage. Most importantly his drive and vision kept the party together through the challenges of this year.
There are also some people wondering who the heck this James Wilson fellow is. Fair question. I was born and raised in Albert County, New Brunswick but currently reside in Fox Creek, Alberta for reasons familiar to many New Brunswickers. I joined the Pirate Party of Canada during the 2011 Federal Election. Since then I have been involved in the party as a forum commenter, committee member, social media poster and member of the party leadership. I am also the prospective candidate for the riding of Fundy Royal in 2015.
I never aspired to be the leader of the party. I let my nomination stand during the last leadership election due to worries there were not enough candidates running rather than any great desire to lead. For that reason I ultimately threw my support behind Travis, who had a clearly defined vision for the party. It was the right decision. Travis has left some big shoes to fill and I promise you all I will fill them to the best of my ability.
If you have further questions about me, or if you just want to chat, I can be reached at [email protected]
Sincerely,
James Wilson
Interim Leader
Pirate Party of Canada
Thanks for your work Travis!
I’m looking forward to seeing your work too, James, to see your vision and leadership. Thanks for taking on the challenge.
James, Pirates spirit is pure and I believe it connected with middle class in Canada organically without the need for human transforms such as media. As you rightly point out here, what matters is the future and I think Pirates have a huge responsibility going forward. I see communities who feel they are being left behind for reasons they do not exactly understand, then there is the consumer like myself who just want to be left alone by Governments, Internet ad-beast tracking, so we can just focus on creating better opportunities for our kids, hopefully right here in Canada, in the communities we currently live. A lot of us have no aspirations to run for public office. In my case Government couldn’t afford me so No thanks I will stick to what I do for living, but I would like the Government to be accountable, working for me, and most importantly in this point in time, Sell brand Canada to the world. Canada is a Trust worthy brand and we are not capitalizing. Today the word Canada is associated with Trust around the globe. We can sell “Made in Canada” everything if we wanted to RIGHT now.
If Pirates sincerely focus on helping to keep the brand “Canada” clean, inside and outside and stick to core issues of under represented communities and tie it with Consumer (middle-class) related agendas of freedom of expressions, right to privacy (both physical and online), Government accountability, I can already imagine all you young, energetic and most importantly principled Canadian Pirates in the parliament come 2015 with a desire to rewrite the “System” that will be built around people, communities expanding into infinite space of opportunities, knowledge and fun.
You have a huge responsibility. Consumers like me are looking for leadership and I am very sure Pirates will help us move our agenda forward.
I think Canadians right now want one single focus on brand “Canada”, lets polish up our image just a tiny bit and hit the road. Each one of us is a brand ambassador, cutting party lines, cultures, provincial boundaries, everything. Our single focus ought to be to sell brand “Canada”. If we live outside of Canada then let them know to make an extra effort to wear a small Canadian flag on a shirt or a hat to tell communities that Canadian spirit is different, we are trustworthy. When we make a shirt and sell it for $75 in New Delhi, then it is likely to provide superior ROI than a cheap Shirt. You will be surprised how many people in India will swoop up anything that is made in Canada. They also have the moolah! I have never seen people buy Louis Vuitton merchandise as if picking up electronics item at a Best Buy, it happen in the New Delhi, It happens in Shanghai, Mumbai….
As a consumer I think it would be prudent to hold the fort at home for now while the PM and team Canada sell our brand to the world. While it is important to hold Governments accountable, I think we need to balance that with not hitting “Pause” button. It is Canada’s moment in history. Pirates need to help us Canadians now by becoming our trustworthy pals. I am sure we will remember who did what in the next elections.
Keep up the good work!