Horgan did not attend the convention.
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“I think it’s fair to say that everyone was shocked on the floor”, Ramsey said. The result galvanizes the federal NDP, which quickly vaults back into the lead in opinion polls.
New Democrat MPs returned to the House of Commons today after an emotional and divisive weekend that ended up costing Mulcair his job as leader.
The NDP’s constitution sets that Mulcair needed a simple majority to drive back a leadership vote. The party has given itself up to two years to select a new leader.
Speaking out forcefully for a clear left perspective was former Ontario party leader and former United Nations ambassador, Stephen Lewis.
I do feel sorry for some of my honorable NDP friends who were big Mulcair supporters and who made every effort to keep the party on track and not let it go down the slippery slope of anti-Israel, pro-BDS, anti-Semitic crap.
“I think we did some healing, coming together as a party, at the convention”, he said.
At the NDP convention on Saturday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley urged New Democrats to recognize that families in her province depend on employment in the oil and gas sector, and need pipelines to maintain their quality of life, even while they work to protect the environment.
Maybe he senses that the longer he hangs around, the more likely it is that NDP faithful could experience some sober second thought about his leadership. Benson is confident he’ll continue to push for change until the new leader can be chosen at some point in the next 24 months. Mulcair said on Sunday he would remain as the member of parliament for his Montreal electoral district.
“But we are a democratic party and our membership has spoken very clearly so we’re going to move forward and find our next leader to take us into the 2019 election”, Stetski adds. These positions – out of character for a nominally left-wing party – overshadowed other parts of the NDP platform, such as $15-a-day childcare, opposition to the TPP, and a $15 minimum wage for federal workers.
Early in last year’s federal election campaign, the NDP was pegged as a potential frontrunner.
Alberta NDP members are livid over how the party approached the issue over the weekend – with some calling for the party to cut ties with their federal cousins.
“In the months ahead, we will work tirelessly with our members to renew, rebuild, and strengthen this great party of ours”, Belanger said. The New Democrats voted to hold a leadership convention in two years.
On Wednesday, the caucus is expected to meet as per usual, but they will have a lot more than usual to discuss. With the Canadian economy facing strong headwinds due to declines in world oil prices, Trudeau’s openness to deficit stimulus spending appeared more in tune with the times than did the NDP’s flirtations with austerity.
There’s also the question of who will replace him and how soon hopefuls will organize their campaigns.
Seventy per cent support would have afforded Mulcair a chance to fight one more election, at least.
Anyone can support the NDP by donating a few bucks or simply marking a ballot come election time.
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Nevertheless, all this plays to the B.C. Liberals’ strategy of portraying the B.C. NDP as the “party of No”, one that opposes all kinds of industrial development and therefore – or so the B.C. Liberals argue – against job creation.
