John Ede is running as the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) candidate for Vancouver Quadra on a platform of wanting re-examine policies around climate, immigration and protecting free speech.
Ede immigrated to Canada from Nigeria in 2017 to pursue a master’s in public policy and global affairs; he also has previous experience in banking, business and the oil sector, and currently works in UBC’s supply chain management.
When talking about his priorities, Ede said he believed Canadian democracy was under threat.
“I believe strongly that democracy ... [is] the ability of the people to hold views and to express those views and to discuss it openly and freely, and that's what culminates in an electoral process where people can cast the vote free of intimidation or manipulation,” he said.
Ede also said he wanted to “open the conversation in parliament and across my riding” regarding gender and sexual education among children.
On 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, Ede said Bill C-4 — which was passed in 2021 and bans conversion therapy — is "erroneous."
Ede also said he wants to ensure “individuals [aren’t] … prosecuted or denied any form of social integration or jobs based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” but also wants to work to “disentangle that from the treatment or the response to children.”
Ede did not provide specific examples of how he would fight against discrimination.
The PPC platform, however, aims to remove Bill C-16, which protects trans people and other gender diverse people from discrimination in Canada.
Regarding educating children around such issues, Ede said “children are, by nature, incapable of understanding … the long term impact of things like ... transitioning.”
While Ede didn’t mention specific policies, the PPC platform aims to outlaw the use of puberty blockers and cross sex hormones. Gender affirming care in minors is endorsed by the Canadian Psychological Association and the Canadian Pediatric Society.
Ede said the climate modelling done by the UN’s Panel on climate change needed to be “investigated.” However, he did not say what specific changes he wanted to see in Canadian climate policies.
On healthcare, Ede wants students to be able to access affordable healthcare and believes this can be done by creating a private sector alongside the public sector.
“My platform believes that the federal government should be less involved in provincial jurisdiction in setting up the health infrastructure, but should provide every resource available.”
The PPC’s immigration policies — which Ede reiterated his support for — would include not granting new permanent residents permits (PR)and reducing the number of student visas granted, in the hopes this partially fix the current housing crisis.
When asked to address potential economic effects to the university — 25 per cent of UBC’s budget comes from international tuition — and the emotional effects on current students who may not receive PR, Ede said “it might be uncomfortable for people to think about … not being able to stay or get a visa.”
“But in the long run, when you look at the data, housing affordability, food affordability, provision of availability of even housing ... Those impacts have to be mitigated from now.”
On what he thinks students are prioritizing this election, Ede said, “I think that younger voters right now are more concerned about having a peaceful and a less divisive society.”
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