OTTAWA — Two former New Democrat MPs who lost their seats in April are spearheading a six-month volunteer effort to help rebuild the party ahead of its March leadership convention.
Peter Julian, who represented New Westminster–Burnaby, and Matthew Green, the former Hamilton Centre MP, announced Thursday in Ottawa that they will lead a renewal project designed to go beyond the party’s official election post-mortem. “The NDP is needed now more than ever,” Julian said, pointing to what he described as growing “voters’ remorse” with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government.
The NDP was reduced to just seven seats in the April election, its worst federal showing, and lost official party status. Jagmeet Singh resigned after losing his own seat, and members are set to choose his successor at a convention in Winnipeg next March. Former candidate and lawyer Emilie Taman has been tasked with conducting the party’s formal review, but Green argued that broader action cannot wait. “The rebuild of the party cannot rest on the shoulders of one person alone,” he said, noting that they have been working with grassroots groups to bring former and disillusioned supporters back into the fold.
Julian and Green said they will not endorse a leadership candidate but will focus on engagement and renewal. Doris Mah, a longtime volunteer, stressed the need to listen to members. “Everybody should have a seat at the table to contribute their ideas,” she said.
Their initiative has the backing of Reclaim Canada’s NDP, a grassroots coalition of local riding associations, former candidates and volunteers. The group has urged supporters to donate to local associations instead of the federal party as a form of protest, and on Thursday it welcomed the partnership with Julian and Green to make the NDP “a viable political option for the average Canadian.”
Julian recalled a similar renewal process he led after the party’s collapse in 1993, which resulted in constitutional reforms and stronger finances. But he and Green acknowledged that this time the clock is ticking, with the Liberals governing in a minority. “We are going to be election-ready, effective immediately,” Green vowed.