With the federal NDP’s former leader Jagmeet Singh losing in his electoral district in the recent election and his subsequent decision to step down as party leader, the NDP will have to designate an interim leader.
According to NDP officials, the party’s national council is scheduled to meet this Monday, May 5th to select an interim leader, who will be the figurehead of the party until a vote can be held.
An official party-wide vote for the next leader will occur, but the NDP have not yet indicated when it will take place and what the rules will be.
History of NDP leadership
The NDP was established by the social-democratic organization, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and the central labour union body in the country, the Canadian Labour Congress.
Tommy Douglas was the first leader of the party when it was founded in 1961, and represented two ridings in BC throughout his tenure as the leader of the NDP.
Douglas is colloquially known as the “grandfather of Canadian healthcare” because of his work to get Saskatchewan under a universal single-healthcare system, which the entire country’s healthcare system is now based on.
He resigned as leader in 1971, but still held his seat until 1979 when he retired, under the leadership of his successor, David Lewis.
Lewis led the NDP until 1975 when Ed Broadbent would take the reigns, and Broadbent was succeeded by Audrey McLaughlin in 1989, who was then succeeded by Alexa McDonough
Then in 2003, the party’s most successful leader, Jack Layton, led the party.
Layton would see the NDP become the official Opposition in 2011, taking his party from having just 37 seats in the House of Commons in 2008, to a total of 103.
In 2010, Layton announced he had prostate cancer, but vowed it would not get in the way of him completing his duties as MP and Opposition leader. However, in 2011, he took a leave of absence to battle a newly diagnosed cancer, which would be his cause of death at the age of 61-years-old, and the height of his career.
Layton was succeeded by Thomas Mulcair who won the leadership race in 2012. In Mulcair’s first federal election as leader of the NDP, his party lost over half their seats in the House of Commons, winning just 44.
Jagmeet Singh would become the NDP’s next leader following Mulcair losing a leadership review vote at the party’s federal convention in 2016.
In 2019, Singh would see his first campaign and election as NDP leader. During this election, the NDP went from 39 to 24 seats in the House of Commons.
In the 2021 election, the NDP would win just one additional seat under Singh, bringing their total to 25; however, they were uniquely positioned to be the Liberal Party’s crutch, as they had only secured a minority government.
The Liberals and NDP signed a supply and confidence agreement which was severed shortly before Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as Prime Minister and the 2025 election campaign was launched.
Under the agreement between the Liberals and NDP, Singh and his colleagues were able to get Pharmacare and dental care bills passed in Parliament, allowing for some free prescription drugs for all Canadians and some dental coverage for those without insurance.
The NDP now
In the latest election, the NDP lost more than half their seats, securing only seven in total, with Singh losing in his riding of Burnaby South.
Currently, the NDP holds just three seats in BC, one in Alberta, one in Manitoba, one in Quebec as well as the only seat in Nunavut.
Because they lost so many seats, the NDP lost their official party status for the first time since 1993.
To achieve official party status, the NDP would have needed to win 12 seats. This loss means they no longer have certain financial incentives that paid for some staff members.
Now, the NDP are technically not recognized as a party in the House of Commons, but instead are seven independent MPs working together.
