NDP touts substance over Trudeau’s style
But party is trying to ignore Liberals as it sets sights on Harper
MONTREAL— Substance and experience.
That’s how the NDP plan to counter a possible Liberal resurgence following the expected victory of Justin Trudeau in the leadership race.
Those were the words of the day for New Democrat MPs when asked what the party has in store to combat a revitalized Liberal party as grassroots members gathered in Montreal for a policy convention focused on preparing to take on Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the next federal election.
The NDP plan to focus on the strengths of their own leader.
The party will deal with any rise in popularity of the Liberals under Trudeau without directly attacking the perceived weaknesses of their expected new rival.
“I believe profoundly that what Canadians are looking for is a substantial alternative to the Harper government. They want somebody with experience, they want somebody who has tremendous leadership abilities, they want a team that is solid and that is what the NDP will be offering,” NDP MP Peter Julian, the national caucus chair, said in an interview Saturday.
Julian never connected the dots to address the criticism Trudeau faces of having little experience or substance — at least when it comes to policy ideas, a deliberate approach taken by his campaign.
But the message was clear: progressive Canadians seeking depth and a skilled hand are better off choosing Thomas Mulcair.
“Canadians are demanding concrete solutions and not just vapid platitudes and I think you will see more of that from our camp,” NDP MP Pat Martin said Saturday.
The New Democrats achieved unprecedented electoral success in the 2011 election and the title of Official Opposition is one they hold dear, the phrase peppered throughout their press releases and talking points.
It arrived due to a surge in Quebec, where some believe Trudeau may be able to help revitalize the Liberal brand, and by the hands of the late Jack Layton, seen as more personable and charismatic than his successor.
Quebec NDP MP Lysane BlanchetteLamothe said the party has been working hard to build up its ground game in the province and include those new voters and members in the process.
“It’s important to make this convention accessible to Quebecers as well, to include them in these debates,” she said.
The party has been working hard to present itself as a government in waiting through the continued modernization of its organization and fundraising capacities and moderation of its left-of-centre policies.
That has not come without some growing pains, most notably expressed by a small but vocal faction calling itself the socialist caucus, which is expected to oppose a renewed attempt to soften the socialist language in the preamble on Sunday.
Barry Weisleder, who leads the group, told reporters they have no intention of leaving.
“It would be insane to abandon this party to those who want to embrace capitalism in crisis,” Weisleder said.
Their presence provided an easy target for Liberal MP Marc Garneau, who is at the convention as an observer.
“Mr. Mulcair would like to be smack in the middle, but he has to grapple with the fact there are people who do not like free trade, there are people who want to leave the oilsands in the ground, people who don’t like private-public partnerships, that there are people who would like to nationalize certain companies in the private sector,” Garneau told reporters Saturday.
The New Democrats appear nonetheless ready to all but ignore Trudeau and the Liberals as they attempt to steer Canadians toward one of two options in the 2015 election.
“We’re focused on Stephen Harper,” said Raoul Gebert, chief of staff to Mulcair.
It is something the Liberals have tried to do to them.
“Our opponents arrogantly told Canadians they had to choose between the red door and the blue door,” Mulcair said in his speech to delegates Saturday, impersonating the voice of former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff as he borrowed his catchphrase from the 2011 campaign.
“Instead, Canadians showed them the door,” Mulcair said