As federal election pressure mounts, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair is drawing a hard line on Jagmeet Singh’s future, saying bluntly that Singh cannot continue to lead the party if it loses official party status—a scenario increasingly suggested by current polling.
Appearing on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos, Mulcair responded with a firm “No” when asked whether Singh could remain as leader if the party falls below the 12-seat threshold required for official status in Parliament.
“Mr. Singh knows what the results are going to be. I think he’s serene in his understanding of what it might mean for him,” Mulcair said, adding that there’s little indication Singh intends to fight to stay on. “The party is going to go through a real difficult time if the result is what’s being predicted.”
Prior to the campaign’s launch, the NDP held 24 seats. Now, according to aggregate polling by 338Canada, the party is projected to win just nine, placing them in jeopardy of losing official recognition in the House of Commons—a significant blow to their influence and funding.
Despite the warnings, Singh appeared upbeat at a Monday rally in Port Moody, B.C., a province that holds half of the NDP’s current seats. Urging supporters to “hold the line,” Singh positioned the party as a crucial buffer against a potential Mark Carney-led Liberal supermajority.
“British Columbians will decide what happens next,” Singh said. Pressed further on Tuesday about the implications if the party falls short, Singh avoided direct answers about resignation, stating only, “I’m not looking to after the election,” while maintaining that “Canadians have seen the difference we’ve made.”
Meanwhile, tension is also rising within Conservative ranks. Former federal cabinet minister Lisa Raitt admitted during her appearance on Power Play that not all voters are sold on leader Pierre Poilievre. “They like the Conservative policies,” she said, “but they want Mark Carney to implement them.”
Despite previously holding a commanding lead of 20+ points in the polls, the Conservatives now trail the Liberals, according to the latest Nanos Research poll, with Carney’s Liberals leading 43% to 37%. The shift comes after weeks of campaign missteps that strategist Kory Teneycke recently labeled “campaign malpractice.”
Still, Raitt insists the campaign is on the right track, arguing that Conservatives are now “exactly where we need to be,” focusing on change and pressing the case against a decade of Liberal rule.
With just days remaining before election day on April 28, the future of both Singh and Poilievre hangs in the balance—as one leader faces possible political exile, and the other tries to salvage a once-commanding lead.