Singh open to federal NDP leadership bid
MPP seen as having potential to mobilize youth
The young and popular deputy leader of Ontario’s NDP says he’s open to running for the leadership of the federal party.
“If there was a grassroots movement then I would seriously consider it,” Jagmeet Singh told the National Post. “I haven’t committed to anything, nor have I closed the door to anything.”
The 37-year-old was elected to the provincial legislature in 2011 for his Brampton, Ont., riding, Bramalea-Gore-Malton, after narrowly losing a bid for a federal seat that year.
A former criminal defence lawyer, Singh became the first turbaned Sikh MPP in the province.
In 2013, he made Toronto Life’s “50 Most Influential” and “Toronto’s Best Dressed” lists. He was also named one of Queen’s Park Briefing’s 75 most powerful people in the province. He’s fluent in French, along with Punjabi and Indian Urdu.
Many in Ottawa are abuzz at the prospect. Singh has the “royal jelly,” said Robin MacLachlan, a vice-president at Summa Strategies and a longtime NDP organizer. Singh has become something of a political celebrity in Toronto, who is sometimes “almost mobbed” at events, MacLachlan said.
“For folks to consider me for leadership of the party federally, that’s a huge honour,” Singh said.
Singh has been a prominent critic on a few high-profile files, notably the practice of carding, or police conducting street identification checks, allegedly influenced by racial bias.
“I personally have been stopped a number of times,” said Singh. “I understood the law, but I was also intimidated and made to feel like I didn’t belong. So that was an important moment, where I was able to champion that issue.”
MacLachlan said Singh is known as a good political organizer, and MacLachlan thinks he has the potential to mobilize disengaged youth and ethnocultural communities in the Greater Toronto Area where the federal NDP has struggled to make inroads.
“I think Mr. Singh has demonstrated an ability to energize at the grassroots level in a way that actually bears a resemblance to the success Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau had enjoyed during his own leadership run, and then of course in the most recent election,” said MacLachlan.
Singh sees the popularity of the prime minister and his government as a challenge for the NDP. “In terms of the optics, definitely they’re doing a tremendous job of making people feel good,” he noted, though he said he sees a lack of substance from the federal Liberals.
NDP positions on key issues such as national pharmacare and daycare programs and fighting antiterrorism laws weren’t delivered clearly enough to voters during last year’s campaign, Singh said.
“We need somebody to inspire folks. We need somebody who can communicate really well, to take the concerns or issues that we’re raising and communicate them in a passionate and effective way,” he said.
WE NEED SOMEBODY WHO CAN COMMUNICATE REALLY WELL.