over from candidate Peggy Nash to serve as the NDP's Finance Critic until the race was over, at which point Nash retook her spot and Julian was shifted to the lower-profile position of Energy Critic. Julian vocally opposed the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) that he believed threatened Canada's sovereignty through deep integration with the United States and Mexico. As NDP Transport Critic, Julian led the successful fight in the House of Commons to stop the SMS transport safety bill, which he believed to be an attempt to turn safety over to air transport companies themselves, something Julian termed "self-serve safety". Julian also initiated an NDP task force to meet and consult with diverse Canadian immigrant communities across the country, and to learn more about the challenges they face. The Georgia Straight newspaper has called Julian "one of the region's hardest working politicians". Julian ranked 3rd of 308 MPs in the 39th Parliament on bills, votes, and speeches. Amid the NDP's third-place performance in the 2015 federal election, Julian was re-elected. Party leader Tom Mulcair appointed him to continue serving as NDP House Leader. On December 21, 2016, Julian registered to run in the NDP leadership race to succeed Tom Mulcair. He withdrew on July 5, 2017, after trailing fellow candidates Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton, Guy Caron, and Jagmeet Singh in fundraising. He subsequently endorsed Singh for leader. On January 31, 2018, Peter Julian was named finance critic in the NDP shadow cabinet by party leader Jagmeet Singh. In addition, Julian was made House Leader of the NDP and energy critic on March 14, 2019. Committees Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade Electoral record Federal Provincial Municipal References External links Peter Julian 1962 births Canadian activists Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the United Church of Canada New Democratic Party MPs People from New Westminster Université du Québec à Montréal alumni New Democratic Party of Quebec candidates in Quebec provincial elections 21st-century Canadian politicians