Last time I saw Peggy Nash I told her to kick ass, and with enthusiasm and wit she kicked her boot high in the air, demonstrating her strength and grace.

In Parkdale - High Park, I predict NDP candidate Peggy Nash will be victorious. It will be a tight race against her Liberal opponent, Gerrard Kennedy, but as the incumbent she has an advantage, and friends of mine still in the riding say that as a local representative she has done a great job.

I lived in this riding for almost a decade, pretty much for all of my adolescence, and during that time volunteered for both the NDP and Liberals. This included David Miller way before he was Mayor let alone a city councilor. I remember an NDP t-shirt that said "I think therefore I'm NDP" which upset me as it was so elitist and condescending. That was the last time I did work for them. I also worked for Ted Lojko, where I met my current MP Mario Silva, but that's a story for another blog post.

As for Peggy Nash, I've met her many times, but she never seems able to remember me. The last time was at an event put on by the local chapter of the Fair Copyright movement. The NDP are the only party to have taken the time to listen to internet advocates and understand how important fair copyright and pro-internet policies are, not just for web surfers, but for the economy.

In Parkdale - High Park this is significant, as past Liberal MP Sarmite Bulte was defeated in part because of her backward stance on copyright. In fact since Bulte was embarrassed and lambasted for her position on the issue, the Liberals as a whole have avoided it like the plague.

Liberal Candidate Gerrard Kennedy after all is one of the main reasons the Conservatives were able to govern in a minority position with such confidence. Kennedy was strategic in helping Dion win the Liberal leadership, and Dion then chose to give Harper free reign to pass whatever he wanted. Therefore Kennedy is linked to Dion, and if Dion surges over the weekend that improves Kennedy's chances in this riding. However if Dion loses, so to should Kennedy.

The Green candidate in this riding is Robert Rishchynski, who happens to be a Facebook friend of mine, and has his campaign office in my friend Jake Koseleci's building on Dundas Street West (where we used to hold Clearing meetings). I expect the Greens to do relatively well in this riding, but I doubt they will be able to finish third ahead of the Tories. Still, expect the local Greens to continue expanding their support as neighbourhoods like the Junction recover from their industrial roots.

However the clear advantage in this election is with the NDP and Peggy Nash. Parkdale is a solid base of support for the NDP, and while there are pockets of the riding with massive houses and a few Tory supporters, most of the riding is red or orange with little blue in sight. That's something that all three of the ridings I've lived in have in common.

Update: Unfortunately I was wrong and Peggy Nash lost. What a bummer.

Another Update: Is Peggy gonna run for the provincial NDP leadership? That'd be cool.