Regardless of the outcome of the by-elections next Monday, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh assures that he will remain in office to lead his troops in the next general election.
“I will be a candidate in the next election for the post of prime minister,” Singh chanted, prompting some applause from his party’s elected officials gathered in Montreal on Tuesday.
The leader is making every effort to reframe the current political debate between his vision and that of the “conservative cuts” of Pierre Poilievre, his rival on the opposition benches in Ottawa. He had offered similar arguments when he tore up his agreement with the Liberal Party last week, raising the risk of an early election.
Jagmeet Singh wouldn’t elaborate on why he would stay on as leader if his party were to be disowned by voters in two ridings currently in byelections, where the NDP is counting on a win. He didn’t want to answer “hypothetical questions.”
NDP elected officials have been meeting since Tuesday morning in a downtown Montreal hotel to do “strategic planning” for the next parliamentary session. The fall session begins next Monday, the same day as these two elections.
Highly important partials
A loss in one of them, Elmwood—Transcona in Winnipeg, would mean a net loss for Jagmeet Singh. His constituents are running to fill the seat left vacant by the departure of his MP Daniel Blaikie to work for his province’s NDP premier, Wab Kinew. The Conservatives, who won the last by-election in Toronto—St. Paul’s, are now courting that riding.
The NDP could still redeem itself in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, in Montreal, left vacant following the resignation of Liberal minister David Lametti. Mr. Singh has been there several times to lend a hand to his candidate, Montreal city councillor Craig Sauvé, and is returning Tuesday night. Craig Sauvé is campaigning on the promise of capping the price of certain products at the grocery store. The Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois are also very active in this area.
Elected since 2004 under the orange banner, MP Peter Julian recalled that former NDP leader Jack Layton lost a seat in a 2011 by-election, just months before he did well in the following general election, dubbed the “orange wave.” Which goes to show that by-elections are not necessarily a gauge of a leader’s popularity.
No tears for the agreement
The NDP used its time in Montreal to launch its new digital ad campaign Tuesday, featuring its leader saying that “together, nothing is impossible.” The implication is that Singh could become prime minister of Canada. It features images of former leader Jack Layton and NDP premiers Rachel Notley and Wab Kinew winning in Alberta and Manitoba. The Conservative Party of Canada launched its own pre-election ad campaign earlier this month.
The NDP elected officials say they have quickly come to terms with the agreement that bound them to the Trudeau government, since March 2022 and until last week, in exchange for a list of public policies that were largely implemented.
“There is no one crying this morning, there are no tears in the eyes of any member of Parliament,” assured MP Alexandre Boulerice, at the entrance to the meeting on Tuesday. According to the only elected NDP member in Quebec, Mr. Singh’s decision to tear up his contract with the Liberals is a consensus among his colleagues.
Franco-Ontarian MP Carol Hughes didn’t exactly agree. “Even I was torn on the decision: do we do it or, or do we not do it?” [rompre l’entente] ” she told reporters.
According to her, the population is divided on the merits of an agreement between the NDP and the Liberal Party, just as opinions differ on the importance of going to the polls this fall.
Last week, Jagmeet Singh gave a speech in which he hinted at a new election, while refusing to specify whether he would bring down the government, such as by supporting a motion of non-confidence in the House of Commons. A federal election would be called no later than a year from now, in the fall of 2025.