To say the federal NDP leadership contest has flown under the radar would be putting it gently, but the race to carry the standard for Canada’s fourth-largest party is in full swing.
What happened: The leadership race kicked into higher gear with the campaign’s first debate this week — there are now just four months to go until the NDP picks its new leader at its March convention.
Catch up: Whoever is chosen as the party’s new leader will replace Jagmeet Singh, who presided over a steep decline in the NDP’s seat count from 44 to just seven in the last election, a result that cost it official party status in the House of Commons.
The three top contenders for the job are Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson, longtime activist Avi Lewis, and longshoreman union leader Rob Ashton.
Two other candidates — former B.C. city councillor Tanille Johnston and farmer Tony McQuail — are long shots.
Why it matters: The NDP has fallen a long way from its glory days of Jack Layton’s “Orange Wave” in 2011, which brought the party to the brink of power and decimated the Liberals, its chief rival for progressive votes. Nevertheless, nearly half of Canadians say they are still open to voting New Democrat — whether they actually do will depend heavily on what they think of its next leader.
Our take: Mark Carney’s early moves (this week’s pipeline deal with Alberta being the prime example) suggest he is more comfortable than his predecessor with alienating left-of-centre voters who are open to switching between the NDP and Liberals. If they can find competent leadership, that should give the Orange Team a chance to get up off the mat in the next election. —TS