Former Hamilton MP Matthew Green talks new job and federal budget

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 4:24 PM EST | Last Updated: November 5

Former Hamilton metropolis councillor and NDP MP Matthew Green is taking connected a caller relation with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU). 

As a governmental and communications specializer with ATU Canada, Green said he’ll advocator for nationalist transit and working-class radical — some priorities during his decennary successful elected office, helium said.

The role, which ATU announced Tuesday, volition spot Green supply "advice connected issues affecting members" and enactment with national locals crossed Canada.

The ATU represents 200,000 transit workers successful Canada and the United States.

Green volition enactment successful Hamilton, wherever helium said helium was blessed to instrumentality full-time aft losing reelection arsenic Hamilton-Centre MP to Liberal Aslam Rana successful April.

In an interrogation with CBC Hamilton, Green discussed his caller job, beingness aft authorities and his thoughts connected what the precocious announced national fund means for nationalist transportation, Hamilton and the labour movement. 

New job, 'same' work

The caller occupation is simply a instrumentality to ATU Canada for Green, who worked with president John Di Nino betwixt his clip arsenic councillor and MP successful 2018.

ATU is progressive successful Hamilton, with Local 107 representing Hamilton Street Railway workers. For respective years, the national has besides advocated for the city’s impending airy obstruction transit enactment to beryllium operated by its members, though metropolis councillors person recommended against that.

When Green posted astir the occupation connected Facebook, ATU Local 107 president Eric Tuck commented, saying Green’s “leadership, advocacy enactment and unwavering committedness to the moving class,” made him the close fit.

“The occupation has changed but the enactment for maine has stayed the same,” Green said. “And that's trying to find supports that assistance amended people's prime of life.”

“Having low-cost, frequent, reliable, publically operated and funded transit volition instantly assistance amended the lives for tens of thousands of radical successful Hamilton and millions of Canadians,” helium said. 

At his predetermination nighttime enactment connected April 28, Matthew Green embraced Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 president Eric Tuck. Months later, Green announced a caller occupation with that union. (Justin Chandler/CBC)

Green mislaid his spot successful the House of Commons successful an April predetermination that saw the NDP suffer 17 seats and authoritative enactment status. 

“I deliberation for a batch of radical who’ve spent a batch of clip successful authorities arsenic I had ... I would usage the stages of grief analogy,” Green said Wednesday. “Initially, you benignant of spell done denial, bargaining, anger, and acceptance. I got to acceptance precise quickly.”

It helped, helium said, that being successful Hamilton full-time meant being determination for his spouse and their nine-year-old son. 

“My ain relationships present successful Hamilton were ne'er based connected the rubric that I held. They were based connected the communal ground, the communal causes that I shared with my neighbours,” Green said. “The rubric ne'er made maine who I was.”

More specifics needed connected national transit investments: Green

Tuesday’s national fund describes a program to put much connected infrastructure portion spending little connected day-to-day authorities operations. Through layoffs and attrition, the program volition mean astir 40,000 less radical moving successful the national authorities implicit the adjacent fewer years, down from astir 368,000 past year. 

Over 5 years, the national authorities pledged to walk $54 cardinal connected “core nationalist infrastructure,” including water, wastewater and transit. 

That’s positive, Green said, adding that fast, predominant inter-city transit betwixt Windsor, Ont., and Montreal oregon successful bluish Ontario communities would marque beingness amended for residents. 

He noted he’d similar much specificity connected what the Liberals mean by transit and much specificity connected the benignant of funding.

For example, Green said, the national authorities could assistance municipalities by investing successful yearly operational backing for transit. He said backing for infrastructure is insufficient for cash-strapped municipal governments. 

WATCH | Finance curate answers questions astir caller budget:

Green besides questioned the cuts to the government, saying those "inevitably" pb to municipalities paying much to screen the services radical need.

He said it’s “irresponsible” to chopped the nationalist work portion besides cutting taxes for corporations — thing the fund includes to purportedly promote investment.  

On Tuesday, CBC News asked Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne however the authorities tin propulsion disconnected what it describes arsenic a “generational” program with 10 per cent less workers.

Champagne said the authorities is “coming backmost to a much sustainable level” and said improvements successful exertion could support it moving good with less workers. 

Federal nationalist work unions accidental cuts volition weaken the government. 

Green said helium does not deliberation the Liberals were peculiarly labour affable nether Justin Trudeau and helium believes they’re little truthful now, pointing to the national authorities repeatedly forcing striking workers backmost to work, arsenic with Air Canada formation attendants successful August. 

One of the champion ways to enactment Canadians done pugnacious economical times is “having a bully national and beardown representation,” Green said. “I judge fundamentally successful increasing the moving people successful a mode that helps democratize our system and workplaces.”

When governments neglect to enactment moving radical and disregard their concerns astir issues similar affordability, Green said, they acceptable the signifier for right-wing populist movements which prehend connected existent grievances but scapegoat marginalized groups. 

“By addressing those halfway needs, we tin offset this increasing rage that's happening by radical who were told they were doing each the close things yet proceed to autumn behind,” Green said.

“They person a close to beryllium angry. The occupation with right-wing populism is it points to the incorrect radical oregon the incorrect systems and structures arsenic being the origin of their problems.”

Budget inactive needs bulk enactment

The national fund has not yet passed. It requires bulk enactment meaning astatine slightest 2 non-Liberal MPs indispensable enactment it. 

So far, absorption parties person either spoken retired against the fund oregon refused to perpetrate support. On Tuesday, 1 Conservative MP crossed the level to articulation the Liberals. 

Now, Green said, Prime Minister Mark Carney indispensable commencement having conversations with MPs extracurricular his caucus and beryllium consenting to “meet parties successful the mediate to beryllium capable to get support.”

“If helium doesn't bash that and we're thrusted into a drawback election,” Green said, “Canadians volition person cipher to blasted but Mark Carney and the Liberal Party themselves.”