Embattled NDP taps Jagmeet Singh to succeed Tom Mulcair, lead federal party

The New Democrats have tapped Ontario politician Jagmeet Singh to take over for Tom Mulcair and lead the embattled party into the next federal election.

Singh romped to a first-ballot win with 35,266 votes, comprising a 53.8 per cent share, easily outstripping his three rivals: northern Ontario MP Charlie Angus, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton and Quebec MP Guy Caron.

Angus came in second with 12,705 votes, followed by Ashton with 11,374 and Caron with 6,164.

“Campaigns are never about one person; today is testament to an incredible team,” Singh told the crowd after the results were announced, supporters crowding in around him. “I don’t have the words to capture this journey and how this feels right now. It’s an incredibly profound honour.”

With its long-haul leadership race now over, the party — which has just 44 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons — is now free to focus on presenting a unified front to battle Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in the 2019 federal election.

Insiders and political observers alike say it’s high time the NDP regrouped, put the disappointment of the 2015 election result in the past and start laying the foundation for a strong showing in two years.

More than 124,000 card-carrying members were eligible to take part in the vote, which was conducted online and by mail by way of a ranked ballot — voters were able to rank the candidates in order of preference.

Kathleen Monk, an NDP stalwart who worked as director of strategic communications to former leader Jack Layton, said a new leader will now allow the party to begin growing again after two years in the political wilderness.

Tom Mulcair, who took over the party after Layton’s death in 2012, carried on his shoulders the party’s long-standing dream of forming a federal government for the first time.