NDP RACE SUGGESTS THIRD PLACE IS OK

NO EVIDENCE IN LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN PARTY HAS HOPE OF FORMING GOVERNMENT

Judging by the tenor of its leadership “race,” Canada’s NDP has quietly reached a communal decision to slip back into its traditional status as a permanent third-place political movement, well insulated from power, where it can comfortably lecture other Canadians on their failings.

The leadership vote takes place in October. As in, all of October. It starts on Oct. 1 and could go right through to Oct. 29. It’s tempting to suggest this is to allow tried-andtrue labour supporters to mail in their choices via unionized postal carriers, but according to the party, it’s so members can participate in a preferential, ranked-choice ballot system involving multiple rounds of voting until someone hits the 50 per cent + 1 mark (which is the same yardstick by which the party was willing to let Quebec separate.)

It’s a curiously drawn-out approach for a party that needs to generate some excitement if it hopes for a chance of forming a government. But that’s just the point: there’s no real evidence the NDP still harbours that faint hope, or even wants to strive for it.

This is a party that persists in referring to itself as “New” Democrats, 50 years after there was anything new about it. Oxford’s New College was founded in 1379, but has centuries of tradition to justify hanging on to its appellation. The NDP wants Canadians to think it has vibrant new ideas for the betterment of the country, yet the unfolding of the leadership contest thus far suggests the opposite.

As of midnight July 2 it will have been underway for a full year, yet the only newsy event to emerge is a stark division over how much to hate pipelines. Peter Julian of British Columbia really, really hates pipelines, because Alberta wants to run one across B.C. as a means of getting its oil to Pacific ports. Niki Ashton also hates pipelines and wants the other candidates to hate them in one united chorus. But Charlie Angus has noticed that Alberta has Canada’s only majority NDP government, and feels fellow leftwingers should make a show of helping Premier Rachel Notley deal with the fact her province remains heavily dependent on the energy business. Tens of thousands of jobs are at stake — the kind of “good middle-class jobs” politicians never tire of championing — and what is the NDP if it’s not there to protect workers and their jobs?

Perhaps it doesn’t know, and that’s another reason for it to seek the reassuring safety of third place. The party never quite knew how to handle the good fortune that befell it when the late Jack Layton led it to the promised land of Quebec, and the glories of serving as the official opposition. Had it not been robbed of Layton at the very moment of its breakthrough, the future might have been different: it’s possible Layton could have solidified its position and avoided being outflanked in 2015 by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

But life is cruel. Layton’s successor, Thomas Mulcair, sought to move towards middle ground, and got creamed in the process. It will likely be years, if ever, before another NDP leader dares risk a similar humiliation by choosing pragmatism and practicality over the joys of ideological purity and moral righteousness.

That much is clear from the candidates’ platforms. It’s all about “justice,” which is evidently lacking to an appalling extent in modern Canada. “The way forward,” proclaims Ashton, “is clear.”

“We must work tirelessly for true reconciliation with Indigenous people, for the protection and preservation of our environment, for working Canadians, for women, for people living with disabilities, for racial justice, for Trans justice, for LGBTQ justice, and for the right to be who you are, and to love who you want to love. We must build a political movement that connects with the many Indigenous, racialized, student, environmental and labour movements that are driving progressive political change. We must move ahead with a positive agenda that tackles rising inequality and climate change . ... As a party, we need to embrace the thousands of activists across this country who have paved the way for our movement. Their fight is our fight, and together, we are stronger.”

Eminently praiseworthy, that. To the barricades, citizens! Unfortunately for the NDP, the millions of Canadians who inhabit the suburbs, the countryside and the overpriced condominiums of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal have other more mundane issues at the top of their list. Justly or unjustly, they worry about health care, schools, taxes, security, trade and how to make ends meet. They may not attend as many street marches as students and labour movements, but they do tend to vote. Just not for the NDP in large enough numbers.

Judging by the aims of the leadership candidates, that will remain the case for the foreseeable future. Angus asserts that, “Now, more than ever, the New Democratic movement needs to be unafraid to speak truth to power,” which is not a statement that leads one to believe Angus expects to be the one with power. The candidates agree it is time to end “the same old revolving door of Conservative and Liberal governments,” but none offers a concrete means of doing so, other than hazy declarations about the need for more “justice.”

Everyone wants justice. It’s been 50 years since Pierre Trudeau campaigned for “the Just Society.” Canadians strive for justice all the time. Lecturing them about their failure to do so in a manner that satisfies the NDP may not be the best way to win them over. But maybe New Democrats don’t want to win over Canadians. Maybe they get too much enjoyment from constantly admonishing them for their shortcomings.

It can be lonely in third place, but it’s safe and comfortable. And there’s not much competition. Just the spot for a party unsure about its place in the world.