Angus says NDP leader needs to have seat in House
OTTAWA — NDP leadership candidate Charlie Angus marked the return of Parliament by stressing the importance of his party’s next leader having immediate access to the House of Commons — a pointed jab at fellow hopeful Jagmeet Singh.
Singh, who sits in the Ontario legislature, has suggested he won’t seek a federal seat right away if elected federal NDP leader — a scenario Angus said he believes should disqualify his rival from seeking to become prime minister in 2019.
“I was surprised that Jagmeet said he didn’t think he needed to be in Parliament until 2019,” Angus said Monday in an interview. “That’s his choice ... my focus is Parliament, what we are going to do there and the building on the ground from that.”
It will be up to party members to decide whether they want a leader who can square off right away with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the party has already waited long enough, he added.
In April 2016, some six months after their 2015 election drubbing, NDP members soundly rejected the long-term leadership of Tom Mulcair, sparking the current leadership race. Mulcair opted to stay on until a replacement could be named.
Singh, whose campaign has been gaining prominence in recent weeks, said last month he’d prefer to seek a federal seat in the next general election, giving him more time to reach out to Canadians in various parts of the country.
Singh did, however, leave the door open to seeking a seat sooner, saying he’d be “open to hearing more advice” on how to proceed.
Angus also said Trudeau has already benefited enormously from the fact both the NDP and Conservatives had to deal with leadership races since the last election.
“You have to be able to have that back and forth between the leaders,” Angus said. “They have to be able to confront each other. It is also a training ground.”
For his part, Singh has garnered the most support from NDP caucus members, with 10 MPs lining up behind him including his latest nod from B.C. MP Sheila Malcolmson. CBC is reporting former Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Wayne Marston is backing Angus.
Quebec MP Guy Caron and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton are also running for their party’s top job. Hamilton Mountain MP Scott Duvall is backing Caron and CBC is reporting he has been joined by former Mountain MP Chris Charlton.