Island New Democrats choose new leader
The two contenders for the P. E. I. NDP leadership will square off today in Charlottetown, where they will make their final pitches in the hopes of being elected the party’s new leader.
Mike Redmond and Trevor Leclerc will be the focus of the party’s highly anticipated leadership convention at The Delta. They will rally their supporters, give one final speech and then wait for the votes to be tallied.
Party organizers are expecting a much higher turnout than past conventions, especially as party memberships have been in higher demand in recent months than ever before in the province.
NDP President Andrew Want, who will chair today’s convention, says he is bolstered by the excitement that has been building
around the party over the last several months.
“It’s a good feeling and there is a buzz about the party so we’re very pleased,” Want said.
The party has been without a leader since James Rodd stepped down last May. At that time, the party decided to go leaderless until this convention after the only candidate at the time, Leclerc, withdrew his bid, saying he did not want to win by acclamation.
Want says he feels support for the party can only grow with the election of a new leader this weekend.
“We’ve gained some support and we haven’t had a leader or figurehead of the party, so we hope that once we do have someone in place we’ll gain even more support.”
Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair will be at the event. He will speak both at the convention and at a fundraising dinner tonight. While in town, Mulcair will also meet with Premier Robert Ghiz. An official with the premier’s office told The Guardian Ghiz will share his concerns over the federal changes to employment insurance with Mulcair, who is the leader of the official Opposition in Ottawa.
The Guardian and Eastlink TV will be broadcasing a live TV special of the event on Eastlink – Channel 10 and in High Definition on Channel 610 beginning at 1 p. m. Be sure to tune in – and have your say online at The Guardian’s website, or on Twitter or Facebook. Selected comments and the results of a Guardian web poll will be shared as part of the live TV broadcast.