OTTAWA — The New Democratic Party’s national council is set to meet Monday night to select an interim leader, marking the official end of Jagmeet Singh’s tenure following the party’s crushing defeat in the April 28 federal election.
Singh, who led the NDP since 2017, announced on election night that he would step down once an interim replacement was named. The party, reduced to just seven seats in Parliament, lost its official party status and faces a steep uphill climb to rebuild its base and relevance on the national stage.
According to two party officials, the diminished NDP caucus met twice last week to discuss potential names to lead the party temporarily while preparations begin for a formal leadership race.
Singh is among more than a dozen sitting NDP MPs who were swept away in what has been described as one of the worst showings in the party’s history. Once viewed as a balance of power in a minority Parliament, the NDP was largely sidelined as voters gravitated toward the Liberals and Conservatives in a highly polarized campaign.
Former MP Charlie Angus, a respected voice within the party, criticized recent direction and strategy, saying the NDP drifted away from its working-class roots. “We lost touch with core supporters and focused too much on the personality of the leader,” Angus said, echoing growing internal calls for ideological recalibration.
Adding to the party’s internal challenges, the Alberta NDP voted over the weekend to allow new members to opt out of federal party membership when signing up provincially — a move that could deepen the divide between federal and provincial wings of the party.
The outcome of tonight’s meeting will set the tone for the NDP’s rebuilding efforts, as grassroots members and remaining MPs push to reassert the party’s core principles and reconnect with disenchanted supporters.