Mulcair to meet with NDP caucus, wants to play caretaker role

OTTAWA— Thomas Mulcair will meet with the NDP caucus Wednesday to discuss his role in the party while it seeks new leadership.

After the party’s rank-and-file made the unprecedented move to oust him on Sunday, Mulcair said he wants to stay on in a caretaker role while the party prepares for what could be a prolonged leadership race. Few NDP MPs contacted by the Star would speak publicly on whether the caucus will support that position. NDP House leader Peter Julian said Mulcair can stay until a new leader is chosen.

“The constitution is very clear. And the decision at the convention was very clear,” Julian told reporters. “There’ll be a new leadership convention within two years, probably a year and a half . . . (Mulcair) contin- ues as leader until then. If he wants to, yeah.”

“I think for the short term, it’s fine,” said deputy house leader Matthew Dubé, but said it might merit more discussion once the party begins its leadership race.

On Monday, caucus chair Charlie Angus said Mulcair has the support of his fellow NDP MPs to stay on. But British Columbia MP Don Davies thought it would be “very difficult” for Mulcair to remain leader.

Mulcair appealed to delegates at the party’s Edmonton convention Sunday to keep him as their leader, despite last October’s devastating election loss. In a shocking decision, 52 per cent of those delegates instead chose to hold a leadership race.

Mulcair wasted little time moving to interrogate the government in question period — a skill that won him widespread praise under the previous Conservative regime — about Justice Minister Jody WilsonRaybould’s fundraising efforts and the government’s response to the Panama Papers investigation.

There’s no timeline set for the race to replace Mulcair, although most party insiders believe that it will take place within a year and a half. The party’s executive will meet in the coming weeks to discuss the logistics of the race.