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Globe and Mail
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
From musician to politician: rocker David Myles begins his life as an MP
David Myles was standing onstage at a downtown Fredericton hotel in front of a roomful of cheering supporters, halfway through his victory speech, when it dawned on him – really, really dawned on him – what had just happened. That an election had just taken place, that he had won his race and that he was now a member of Parliament. 'This is a shift in my life,' he recalled thinking to himself. 'This is a distinct moment. There's going to be a pre-MP life, and an MP life.' For any first-time MP, the transition to political life comes with challenges. But for the 44-year-old Mr. Myles – a political neophyte who will be among those first-timers at the House of Commons on Monday when it resumes – his learning curve will be, if not steeper, certainly different than for most. Until he was sworn in earlier this month as the new MP for Fredericton-Oromocto, Mr. Myles had never served in office. He'd never even volunteered on a campaign or attended an election night party. He wasn't even a member of the Liberal Party until earlier this spring, when he decided to run. Yet, Mr. Myles's pre-MP life has equipped him with a wealth of experience from an unusual place: The world of music. For the past two decades, the Fredericton-born-and-raised singer-songwriter has toured the country with his guitar, grooving on stages in his signature jaunty suits and bolo ties. His biggest hit, the 2013 earworm Inner Ninja with rapper Classified, went six-times platinum, earning Mr. Myles (along with Classified) his first Juno. 'People like musicians. People don't like politicians,' he said in an interview last month, while still campaigning. 'To willfully move into a world where people are going to dislike you – it's going to be a challenge.' It was only the month before, in March, when Mr. Myles made the decision to put music aside for politics. The actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the heated, divisive rhetoric of politicians on both sides of the border made him feel like this was an important moment to get involved. 'I don't want my country to go in that direction.' In his 20s, Mr. Myles studied political science and worked in the offices of two MPPs at Queen's Park. But it's his decades as a musician, touring Canada in a minivan that make him uniquely qualified. 'I feel like I have a really good sense of the country – a really good sense of rural and urban Canada,' he said. 'And I have the perspective to start bridging some gaps.' The leap is not entirely unheard of: Both Charlie Angus and Andrew Cash were former musicians-turned NDP MPs. Still, he faced questions on the campaign trail about his lack of political experience. By the weekend before the election, it was clear that the then 43-year-old was still figuring things out. Before knocking on doors, Mr. Myles – who's built like Where's Waldo, glasses and all – was still turning to his campaign manager, Kate McAllister (chief of staff to the previous MP in the riding, Jenica Atwin), to run him through his talking points. And it took him a few weeks of campaigning before realizing that his blue plaid flannel was confusing voters – that he should switch to Liberal red. But, when talking to voters, he was clearly in his element. He knew – owing to his family's deep roots in the city, and his years of experience fundraising for the local food bank – many of his supporters by name. And he seemed to genuinely enjoy himself. He sang and hummed as he walked. Spoke to supporters and strangers alike with the same awed, genuine delight. Spoke with one elderly couple, at length – and without a trace of irony – about how terrifically they'd organized their garage. 'Garage mahal,' he said, still marvelling at it minutes later. And now that he's been elected, it's this gee-shucks quality that some worry about. While on the campaign trail, several of his friends and supporters described Mr. Myles as a boy scout. Several also referenced Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, the classic film about a naive first-time U.S. senator in a corrupt government. One woman, Gale MacDonald, came out of her house to chat with him for several minutes. They'd never met before, but her daughters had gone to school with Mr. Myles. As she spoke, she reached out and placed her fingertips on his forehead. 'I thought, 'Why would that sweet boy put himself up for this?' ' she said. 'I can't help but say, 'Be careful. Guard your soul.' ' She worried, she said, that Ottawa might change him. Mr. Myles has spent a lot of time contemplating the same. 'If you're acting like someone else in a job, it just becomes an unbearable burden,' he said. It's a lesson he learned from music after Inner Ninja became a hit, and he wondered about how to navigate the music world next to his hip-hop collaborators. 'I had to figure out if I was going to try to fit into the hip-hop world, or if I was going to be the nerd with the suit,' he said. He chose the latter 'because I couldn't fake it.' He's confident he'll find a similar balance in Ottawa. 'I wouldn't have made this decision if I didn't want to be great at it,' he said. 'I want to be great in Ottawa. I want to be great at this job.'
Vancouver Sun
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Canada summons its 'Inner Ninja' and elects the highest charting musician MP ever
OTTAWA — Canada just elected what could be the highest charting member of Parliament in history. Article content The song Inner Ninja, by Classified features newly-elected New Brunswick MP David Myles. The song hit number five on Billboard Canadian Hot 100, after its release in 2013 and has racked up 5.4 million views on YouTube. Article content Myles won the Fredericton—Oromocto riding as a Liberal candidate in Monday's federal election, becoming part of a new minority Liberal government. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is a handful of seats short of a majority government and will have to rely on the support of an opposition party to pass legislation in the House of Commons. Article content Article content Myles, a Juno Award winner, announced he would be running as a Liberal candidate in March 2025, two months after Fredericton's previous Liberal MP Jenica Atwinm said she wouldn't run again. Article content Article content The singer-songwriter also performed at a Liberal rally in Fredericton, N.B., in April, 2025. Article content 'Every single night when I'd get on stage, I'd start the show by saying 'Hi I'm David Myles, I'm from Fredericton New Brunswick,' and that made me so happy … and I'm thinking maybe someday … I'm gonna be able to stand in Parliament and say 'Hi I'm David Myles from Fredericton-Oromocto,'' he said before introducing Mark Carney to the podium. Article content Myles isn't the first musician turned politician in the House of Commons. Charlie Angus and Andrew Cash were both NDP MPs. Angus and Cash performed in a punk rock band together in the 1980s, called L'Étranger. Article content Article content Angus was the MP for Timmins-James Bay, Ont. from 2004 to 2025. He announced his retirement in April 2024. Meanwhile, Cash represented the Davenport riding in Toronto, from 2011 to 2014. Cash won a Juno award in 1989 for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year.
Calgary Herald
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Canada summons its 'Inner Ninja' and elects the highest charting musician MP ever
OTTAWA — Canada just elected what could be the highest charting member of Parliament in history. Article content The song Inner Ninja, by Classified features newly-elected New Brunswick MP David Myles. The song hit number five on Billboard Canadian Hot 100, after its release in 2013 and has racked up 5.4 million views on YouTube. Article content Myles won the Fredericton—Oromocto riding as a Liberal candidate in Monday's federal election, becoming part of a new minority Liberal government. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is a handful of seats short of a majority government and will have to rely on the support of an opposition party to pass legislation in the House of Commons. Article content Article content Myles, a Juno Award winner, announced he would be running as a Liberal candidate in March 2025, two months after Fredericton's previous Liberal MP Jenica Atwinm said she wouldn't run again. Article content Article content The singer-songwriter also performed at a Liberal rally in Fredericton, N.B., in April, 2025. Article content 'Every single night when I'd get on stage, I'd start the show by saying 'Hi I'm David Myles, I'm from Fredericton New Brunswick,' and that made me so happy … and I'm thinking maybe someday … I'm gonna be able to stand in Parliament and say 'Hi I'm David Myles from Fredericton-Oromocto,'' he said before introducing Mark Carney to the podium. Article content Myles isn't the first musician turned politician in the House of Commons. Charlie Angus and Andrew Cash were both NDP MPs. Angus and Cash performed in a punk rock band together in the 1980s, called L'Étranger. Article content Article content Angus was the MP for Timmins-James Bay, Ont. from 2004 to 2025. He announced his retirement in April 2024. Meanwhile, Cash represented the Davenport riding in Toronto, from 2011 to 2014. Cash won a Juno award in 1989 for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year. Article content
Edmonton Journal
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Canada summons its 'Inner Ninja' and elects the highest charting musician MP ever
Article content OTTAWA — Canada just elected what could be the highest charting member of Parliament in history. The song Inner Ninja, by Classified features newly-elected New Brunswick MP David Myles. The song hit number five on Billboard Canadian Hot 100, after its release in 2013 and has racked up 5.4 million views on YouTube. Myles won the Fredericton—Oromocto riding as a Liberal candidate in Monday's federal election, becoming part of a new minority Liberal government. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is a handful of seats short of a majority government and will have to rely on the support of an opposition party to pass legislation in the House of Commons.
National Post
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Canada summons its 'Inner Ninja' and elects the highest charting musician MP ever
OTTAWA — Canada just elected what could be the highest charting member of Parliament in history. Article content The song Inner Ninja, by Classified features newly-elected New Brunswick MP David Myles. The song hit number five on Billboard Canadian Hot 100, after its release in 2013 and has racked up 5.4 million views on YouTube. Article content Myles won the Fredericton—Oromocto riding as a Liberal candidate in Monday's federal election, becoming part of a new minority Liberal government. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is a handful of seats short of a majority government and will have to rely on the support of an opposition party to pass legislation in the House of Commons. Article content Article content The Juno Award winner announced he would be running as a Liberal candidate in March 2025, two months after Fredericton's previous Liberal MP Jenica Atwinm said she wouldn't run again. Article content Article content The singer-songwriter also performed at a Liberal rally in Fredericton, N.B., in April, 2025. Article content 'Every single night when I'd get on stage, I'd start the show by saying 'Hi I'm David Myles, I'm from Fredericton New Brunswick,' and that made me so happy … and I'm thinking maybe someday … I'm gonna be able to stand in Parliament and say 'Hi I'm David Myles from Fredericton-Oromocto,'' he said before introducing Mark Carney to the podium. Article content Myles isn't the first musician turned politician in the House of Commons. Charlie Angus and Andrew Cash were both NDP MPs. Angus and Cash performed in a punk rock band together in the 1980s, called L'Étranger. Article content Angus was the MP for Timmins-James Bay, Ont. from 2004 to 2025. He announced his retirement in April 2024. Meanwhile, Cash represented the Davenport riding in Toronto, from 2011 to 2014. Cash won a Juno award in 1989 for Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year. Article content
