NDP aims to fight fire with fire with Singh
First non-Caucasian leader of a federal political party will be ‘a game changer’
OTTAWA — He’s young, hip and brimming with charisma, a likable rookie with an eye for style and a robust following on social media who wants to be Canada’s next prime minister. Sound familiar?
If Jagmeet Singh’s bona fides offer an echo of Justin Trudeau’s attimes-unlikely journey to the top job in Canadian politics, that’s no coincidence. In fact, it’s probably why New Democrat members flocked to make the 38-year-old Singh their new federal leader.
Singh, a turbaned Sikh, made history Sunday when he became the first non-Caucasian leader of a federal political party — a sign, perhaps, of how serious the NDP is about sweeping away its past disappointments and leadership woes and giving Trudeau a real fight.
The Ontario MPP romped to victory with a convincing 35,266 votes — 53.8 of the eligible votes in the first ballot.
Uniting the New Democrats and rebuilding the party’s fundraising moxie are among the top challenges Singh must confront as he takes over the leadership from Tom Mulcair. He will also have to quickly name an interim leader in the House of Commons, since he lacks a federal seat of his own — a situation that poses both a challenge and an opportunity, said Christo Aivalis, a post-doctoral fellow in the history department at the University of Toronto.
It also evokes another comparison with you-know-who.
“Justin Trudeau had a seat in the House of Commons, but he spent relatively little time in the House of Commons compared to Tom Mulcair,” Aivalis said. “In the end, he is prime minister.”
Singh, who has represented the riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton in Queen’s Park since 2011, became deputy leader of the party’s provincial wing in 2015, a role he surrendered in May when he decided to seek the federal job.
Prior to entering politics, Singh worked as a criminal defence lawyer — a background that doubtless informed the justice plank of his leadership campaign, which included a push to decriminalize drugs beyond marijuana and a pitch for a federal ban on racial profiling. Singh said he knows firsthand what it is like to be racially profiled during arbitrary street checks, a practice known in policing circles as “carding.”
Born in Scarborough to Punjabi parents, Singh’s upbringing included stints in St. John’s, N.L., and Windsor, Ont.
He’s also known as a fashion enthusiast — he has graced multiple best-dressed and style-icon lists in the Toronto — and for his skills as a mixed martial arts fighter.
But it’s the obvious difference that perhaps carries the most weight: Singh is a practising Sikh with a penchant for brightly coloured turbans.
“There’s no question in my mind Jagmeet is a game changer,” said NDP national director Robert Fox. “He’s a new, fresh, dynamic voice and a new, fresh dynamic face on the Canadian political landscape.”