Mulcair’s first year as NDP leader.
He’s Thomas in French, but Tom in English
stories by To bi Cohen
OTTAWA — Sunday marks Tom Mulcair’s first anniversary as leader of the federal New Democrats.
In that year, public support for the NDP has dipped slightly (to between 27 and 29 per cent, depending on the poll), party unity seems relatively intact and Mulcair has managed to duck the sort of Conservative mudslinging that tarnished the reputations of former official Opposition leaders such as Liberals Michael Ignatieff and Stéphane Dion.
What has the NDP leader’s year been like? And what does his future hold? Here are some things we learned about Mulcair in the past year: ❚ He’s now Tom Mulcair in English, but Thomas Mulcair en francais. A highly unscientific survey of pre-election news archives put the Thomas-to-Tom ratio at 14:1. Since then, all official NDP news releases, literature and websites refer to the leader differently, depending on the language. “Tom Mulcair” is his official English moniker. Perhaps this is because “Thomas” is easier to pronounce with a French accent, while “Tom” has a friendly ring to it. Kind of like “Jack.” ❚ Mulcair still treads lightly on Quebec affairs. During the student uprising over tuition fees, he spoke cautiously, saying education was the province’s jurisdiction. While a handful of his New Democrats took part in the demonstrations and even wore red squares in solidarity, it was formal party policy to stay out of the fray. ❚ He’s keeping the beard. Canada hasn’t had a bearded prime minister since Mackenzie Bowell in 1894, but Mulcair insists his party will form the government when Canadians return to the polls in 2015 and he will do it with full facial hair. ❚ Mulcair hasn’t quite sorted out the aboriginal affairs file. He said during the leadership race that he had a lot to learn about First Nations. He now says “there’s no issue on which I’ve held more meetings.” But he was admonished by critics for his silence during Chief Theresa Spence’s protest in Ottawa and the Idle No More movement. ❚ Once seen as a hothead, Mulcair has shown he can hold his tongue. In the House of Commons in December, Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan stomped across the floor, finger wagging, to yell at NDP MP Nathan Cullen over a budget bill. While Mulcair intervened, Van Loan took the brunt of public criticism over his behaviour.
Here are some things people said about Mulcair: ❚ The Tories excoriated him for his “job killing carbon tax,” which they’ve cited hundreds of times during question period. But Mulcair says carbon taxes are “regressive” and that his party supports a capand-trade scheme. Some say the two are one-in-the-same — in that consumers end up on the hook for increased production costs at the end. ❚ Mulcair was called “facile” and “divisive” by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall when he suggested Alberta’s oilsands were to blame for inflating the Canadian dollar and killing manufacturing jobs in Ontario and Quebec — the “Dutch disease,” a reference to a similar situation in the Netherlands in the 1970s. He made no friends after dismissing Wall, Alberta Premier Alison Redford and B.C. Premier Christy Clark as “messengers” for the prime minister. Redford accused him of practising “old-style politics — trying to pit one part of the country against another.” ❚ Mulcair was accused of “trash talking” Canada after a recent trip to Washington in which he slammed the Canadian government’s environmental record and raised concern about the Keystone XL pipeline. He also fanned U.S. worries over China’s growing interest in the North American energy market. International Trade Minister Ed Fast called his comments about China “shocking,” adding they “undermine ... efforts to promote economic growth, investment and job creation in Canada.”
Here are some challenges Mulcair faces this year: ❚ Mulcair has dodged questions about the potential impact of a Justin Trudeau Liberal leadership win, saying the winner will be the Liberals’ “seventh leader in nine years” and that the Grits have “a lot of things to figure out on their own.” But on April 15, Mulcair will have another adversary in the House of Commons. Trudeau could take a bite out of the 57 seats Mulcair has in Quebec — not to mention the 43 he has elsewhere in Canada, where his name carries cachet. ❚ At the height of a recent Senate spending scandal, Mulcair danced around the question of whether he will appoint senators if his party forms the government in 2015 but finally said he would not. It’s long been the party’s position to abolish the Senate. But that’s easier said than done. ❚ The election of a Parti Québécois government in Quebec puts Mulcair in a difficult spot every time the province seeks new powers or puts forward legislation to protect the French language. Agreeing with the sovereignist party could at once boost NDP support in Quebec but would hurt the NDP everywhere else. It hasn’t helped that JonquièreAlma MP Claude Patry announced he was leaving the NDP and crossing the floor to the Bloc Québécois in February, reviving controversy over the party’s position on Quebec sovereignty. An NDP private member’s bill would recognize the legitimacy of a vote for sovereignty of 50 per cent plus one, while allowing the federal government to maintain some control over the wording of a referendum question. This appears to please no one. Meanwhile, Patry’s defection raised questions about whether soft nationalists may be having second thoughts. ❚ Its ability to manage the economy will keep dogging the NDP. The party has tried to counter any perceived weakness by citing examples of provincial NDP governments that have balanced the books. Mulcair points to his experience as a public administrator in a bid to boost his credentials. Being able to manage the public purse is critical to proving the NDP is indeed a government in waiting and the ability to cost out policies is key. Last week after the NDP unveiled its budget wish list, however, it forgot this principle and came under fire for it. “Talk about irresponsibility with taxpayers’ money. To bring forward something called an alternative budget with no numbers,” scoffed Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.