New Democrats are expecting the worst and questioning Jagmeet Singh's future
TORONTO — Before NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh even arrived, some people were thinking about his exit.
Several dozen NDP supporters gathered in a park on Thursday, waiting for Singh to arrive in what will be one of his last campaign stops in Toronto.
In the heart of Canada’s largest city, voters here elect progressives.
But the group standing around tonight knows that on Monday, voters will not be choosing NDP.
“We’re all worried,” says Greg Paget, who works on a local campaign. “I would be very disappointed if it lost its party status.” He adds he is “not very” hopeful.
Ryan Anderson has been voting NDP for as long as he has been able to vote. The lifelong Toronto resident stumbled on the event walking his dog, spotting lights and people gathering.
“There’s no way that Jagmeet can stay on in my opinion,” Ryan Anderson he says. “He’s had the time that he’s going to have to get the party and the voters excited and it unfortunately hasn’t happened … I’m sad about it.”
With only days left in the campaign, Singh is trying to win what he can.
After arriving at the downtown Toronto park last Thursday evening to music pumping, he delivers an energetic speech, talking up the NDP’s fight for universal healthcare, Tommy Douglas’s legacy as well as its latest big accomplishment: Leveraging its 25 seats to push the minority Liberals to introduce a national dental care program.
That’s why, Singh told the crowd, they need to get as many New Democrats elected as possible — a message he shifted to midway through the campaign after the party felt a Liberal win was inevitable, seeing many of their own flock to Liberal Leader Mark Carney, a former two-time central banker,
Near the end of his speech, Singh uses a slip of the tongue to nod to the fact he would rather things were different.
“So people have rejected the Liberals,” he says, stopping himself.
“Or,” he says, pausing again, before realizing his words.
“Or I hope they reject the Liberals more,” he says calmly, with a slight smile, as several around him let out a laugh.
“They rejected the Conservatives and it looks like Mark Carney might be the one that’s prime minister, but don’t let him have all the power.”
Ian Martin likes that message.
“It’s realistic,” says the longtime supporter says. “I think a lot of progressive people are on board with a majority or a minority Carney government — anything to stop Poilievre, basically.”
Should Singh’s B.C. seat fall — which successive public opinion suggest may be the case — Martin believes that would signal that it’s time for new leadership.
“I think the NDP will have to find someone to at least compete with Singh,” Martin said. “Or if he doesn’t win his seat, replace him.”
Nicole Best said that if Singh leaves, she sees no obvious successor.
“I would want him to stay on, but I know that that might not be realistic because he has not been successful in a few elections now.”
For his part, Singh has declined to weigh in on questions about his future leadership of the party, citing the ongoing campaign.
While names like Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Ontario provincial Opposition NDP Leader Marit Styles emerged as figures supporters told National Post they believe could be good for the role.
Another name kept coming up: Jack Layton.
“Nobody can compare to Jack Layton,” Martin said.
Layton, who is sometimes referred to as the prime minister Canada never had, led the New Democrats to its best election victory in 2011, when it became the Official Opposition.
From 2004 until his death from cancer in 2011, Layton represented Toronto-Danforth, the riding Singh found himself campaigning in last Thursday.
While Layton led the party through an orange wave, Singh could now see its collapse.
Last week, Matthew Green, the NDP incumbent in Hamilton Centre told National Post that when he speaks to party members, he reiterates how they need to stop waiting around for someone to save the party, but believes some soul-searching is needed post-election.
Green also told National Post the current party is in an entirely different reality than it was when the orange wave swept Canada more than a decade earlier.
The Liberals are not at historic lows as they were back in 2011 under former leader Michael Ignatieff and neither is the Bloc Quebecois. Quebec is where Layton rose to historic heights and captured most of its seats.
“The kind of the echoes of Jack Layton, that is a different time,” Green said last week.
“If there are people waiting for some charismatic leader to come and save us from ourselves, then we’re going to be waiting another four years.”
For Connie Langille, who danced as Singh finished his speech, she is not worried about the election’s outcome.
If the NDP loses party status, then it does, she said.
“We’ve been there before.”
“People laughed about voting for the NDP. People laughed about the image of them having any kind of power and here we are today.”
National Post
staylor@postmedia.com
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