Singh gets endorsement from ex-candidate Julian

Points to NDP membership growth

B.C. MP and former leadership candidate Peter Julian has endorsed Ontario politician Jagmeet Singh in his bid to become the next leader of the federal NDP.

“If we’re talking about changing Canada, we need to be competitive ri ght across the country,” Julian told the Post ahead of his announcement in Vancouver on Thursday.

“The 47,000 new members ( that Singh’s campaign claims he signed up) is extraordinarily impressive. It’s not something that’s happened before in the history of the NDP.”

Last week, l eadership hopeful Charlie Angus’s cocampaign manager accused Singh’s campaign of inflating his membership numbers, which account for more than a third of the 124,000 members the party says are eligible to vote this fall. But Julian said he believes Singh’s numbers are “very accurate.”

He pointed to Singh’s success as an Ontario MPP in the ethnically diverse suburbs of Toronto, saying Singh is competitive in suburban areas where the NDP needs to gain ground.

“What Jagmeet did is he ran in a no- hope riding and built it up into a very strong NDP riding,” he said. “That’s something that will be a real strength for our party.”

In an i nterview, Singh said Julian’s support is a significant endorsement. “Throughout t he c a mpaign, he’s someone that is just really well- respected among New Democrats,” he said, referring specifically to Julian’s popularity in Quebec, where he had been endorsed by five MPs before quitting the race.

Julian was the first candidate to enter the leadership race, but dropped out in July, saying he hadn’t raised enough money to have a shot at winning.

At the time, he said he planned to speak with each of the remaining candidates before deciding which one to endorse.

Julian has l ong main- tained that his campaign influenced the others, especially by pushing them to oppose pipelines. During a debate in June, Julian and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton both pressed Singh to clarify where he stood on the proposed expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline in B.C., which Singh refused to do.

But Singh has since come out with a climate- change policy t hat did confirm his opposition to Kinder Morgan and the proposed Energy East pipeline.

“He believes in fighting climate change. He’s put out an exciting policy around Canada moving toward renewable energy,” Julian said.

Also on Thursday, Angus’s campaign announced that former veterans’ ombudsman Pat Stogran, who also ran a short- lived campaign for the NDP leadership, has endorsed the Ontario MP and will work with him on veterans’ and military affairs.

“Charlie is a stand-up guy, who isn’t afraid to say it as it is. That is what we need in Ottawa these days,” Stogran said in a news release.

Stogran l aunched his own campaign in April, but dropped out six weeks later in a YouTube video, accusing the party of putting “major obstacles” in the way of grassroots candidates and saying the inner workings of the party were “fundamentally flawed.”

Quebec MP Guy Caron has also racked up a number of endorsements recently, i ncluding support f rom former NDP leader Alexa McDonough, former NDP president Brian Topp and, on Thursday, from former Newfoundland and Labrador NDP leader Lorraine Michael.

Voting for the next NDP leader will begin on Sept. 18, with the results of the first ballot to be announced Oct. 1.

WE NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE RIGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.