WHY SINGH IS KING IN CANADA
With his brightly coloured turbans and flowing beard, Jagmeet Singh is forging a new path for a leader of a mainstream political party in Canada.
Singh, 40, was elected leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) a year ago — a relatively unknown member of the Ontario provincial legislature who convinced members of Canada’s thirdlargest party that he had the right stuff to succeed Thomas Mulcair in restoring its left-wing democratic socialist credentials.
He only won a seat in the federal parliament in Ottawa in February — but over the past nine months has proven to be a wily and natural politician on the campaign trail.
In last week’s television debates, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau seemed hesitant, with Singh impressing voters in snap polls taken immediately after the telecast.
Heading into the six-week campaign that concludes in today’s polls, Singh’s NDP looked flat and likely to lose seats to a Green party rising in on environmental concerns and caught between the Liberals and Conservatives.
Minority power
But in multicultural Canada where nearly one-in-four are from visible minorities and a further five per cent are First Nations aboriginals, it was Singh’s emotional response to Trudeau’s blackface photograph’s that resonated with voters.
“The kids that see this image, the people who see this image, are going to think about all of the times in their life that they are made fun of, that they are hurt, that they were hit, that they were insulted, that they were made to feel less because of who they are,” he said in a three-minute video posted on social media. It went viral.
“I want you to know you have value, you have worth, you are loved,” he said. “And I don’t want you to give upon Canada, and please don’t give up on yourselves.”
Largely as a result of Singh’s response and his personal affability with voters, 15 per cent say he’d make the best prime minister. Singh’s New Democrats aren’t likely to win today’s election but he could become kingmaker in Ottawa if the Liberals under Trudeau or Conservatives under Andrew Scheer, fail to earn a majority of the 338 seats up for grabs.