NDP to set date for leadership vote
FEDERAL POLITICS: Governing council may also increase campaign spending limits
OTTAWA — Internal debate is heating up regarding the timing of a leadership vote to replace Tom Mulcair.
At a meeting Sunday in Ottawa, the party’s governing council is expected to make key decisions on the leadership race, including the date of the vote and campaign spending limits.
With the party facing poor fundraising results during the past quarter — its worst since 2011 — some are looking to expedite the process to put new blood at the helm.
Three camps have formed within the NDP on when the leadership vote should be held, a party insider says.
Some are hoping to see a new leader elected as early as September while others, including party brass, are looking for a “regular” leadership cycle ending late this year or early next.
Longer-term planners are looking to give leadership hopefuls the maximum amount of time to prepare, with a vote by fall 2017 or early 2018.
The party set a two-year deadline at its convention last month, when 52 per cent of members voted to replace Mulcair. A leadership vote can’t take place later than April 10, 2018.
Unlike the Liberal and Conservative parties, the NDP’s federal and provincial branches are integrated, which means representatives from provincial politics have a say on the national stage.
Sources inside the party say the B.C. and Ontario branches of the NDP are looking to protect the windows around their own elections — in May 2017 and spring 2018, respectively.
Meanwhile, federal Conservatives will choose a new leader at a convention in May 2017.
With Tories upping the spending cap on their leadership campaign to $5 million, the NDP may revisit the $500,000 limit that governed its past two races — not least because this one could be longer than usual.
The campaigns that elected Jack Layton in 2003 and Mulcair in 2012 were just seven months long.
The NDP’s national director, Karl Bélanger, said only three rules surrounding party leadership are “set in stone.”
Leaders must be elected by secret ballot; every party member is entitled to cast a ballot; and voting is held in rounds, such that candidates with the least support get dropped off the list until a front-runner has 50 per cent of the votes plus one.
“Federal council has the power to determine other leadership selection guidelines and rules, such as entry fees, timing and spending limits. The party is currently consulting on these questions,” Bélanger said.