On the heels of a newly-elected Conservative Leader in Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer, the NDP Leadership race had a pit stop in Sudbury Sunday.

Naturally, Scheer was a topic of discussion and some NDP Leader hopefuls didn’t hold back.

Some even referred to the new Opposition Leader as “Canada’s Donald Trump.”

(The Sudbury debate can be seen at the bottom of the article.)

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus is one of six NDP Leadership hopefuls. Rogers Media asked Angus Monday morning about his thoughts on Scheer’s election.

While Angus offered his congratulations, he was quick to say he’s more focused on his own race and “the fact that a lot of people are disconnected from politics altogether because they don’t trust politicians.”

“And rightly so,” he added, “Ottawa has been failing us so my job is to engage with people, to show them there’s a clear alternative and to have a positive vision going forward so Mr. Scheer’s in the race, (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau’s in the race and I’m hoping at the end of the day Charlie Angus is going to be there to take both of them on.”

Angus did say that Scheer is a likeable guy, but they do disagree on most things.

“Parliament is about bringing different views, it’s about working together on issues when you need to work, it’s about having a respectful relationship but it’s also about us as New Democrats coming forward with a real clear plan that shows an alternative.”

If elected as NDP Leader in October, Angus says he’ll be ready to work with and against Scheer to make sure “things are going to be done right for Canadians.”

On Sunday’s debate in Sudbury, the local MP was happy to have new hopefuls aboard in Pat Strogan and Jagmeet Singh, calling Strogan a “fighter for veterans.”

He says it was a good debate to lay out issues that are important to Northerners, like the economy, regional infrastructure and that economic diversification “doesn’t seem to be a priority in Ottawa.”

When asked if he felt a ‘home-field advantage’ being in Sudbury, Angus quickly added the quality of the issues discussed stuck out to him more.

Filed under: Local News