Interim NDP leader, 23, confesses to 'a little bit of panic' over possible fall election

Mackenzie Thomason wasn't even supposed to be leader of the provincial NDP this summer, never mind the person to lead the party into a provincial election.

But here he is, confessing to "a little bit of panic" as he faces the prospect of fronting the campaign.

"It wasn't something I ever thought of when I first signed up for the job," he said during an interview, sporting a trademark orange bowtie. 

The 23-year-old Fredericton hotel employee planned to serve as interim NDP leader for just four months last year, performing essential functions like signing documents filed to Elections New Brunswick.

Then fate intervened. Twice.

The party planned to hold its leadership vote last August, but only one candidate submitted paperwork to run and she was disqualified.

So the vote was put off until June of 2020- when COVID-19 scuttled that date.

3 people to run for leadership

Now it's set for next April, and three people have already filed their papers to be vetted by a party committee.

Except Premier Blaine Higgs has said he could call an early election by next week if he can't get an agreement among all party leaders in the legislature — which could force Thomason onto the campaign trail despite his "interim" status.

"We would go about it like any other election," Thomason said. "We'd get candidates, we'd make a platform and we'd go from there. As far as what the public would see, it would look like any other election for any other party.

"It's just you'll have an interim leader running the election instead of a permanent leader."

Not included in opposition request

The NDP's lack of any elected MLAs means Thomason was on the outside looking in this week when Higgs asked the Liberal, Green and People's Alliance leaders to enter into an unprecedented four-party agreement to govern collaboratively until 2022. 

If those talks fail and Higgs calls an election, Thomason will be in the unusual position of being the face of a party he would not be leading for much longer.

He said it won't be handicap.

"New Brunswickers are going to be more interested in what we have to say, not so much where or not I am interim or permanent," he said. "It's not the Mackenzie Thomason party, it's the NDP."  

The unusual situation is another indicator of the NDP's marginalized position in New Brunswick politics. It hasn't elected an MLA since 2003, the last time then-leader Elizabeth Weir won her seat.

The party has found itself eclipsed on the left of the political spectrum by the Greens, which won almost 12 per cent of the popular vote, and three ridings, in the last provincial election.

The NDP managed only five per cent of the vote and was shut out of the legislature for the fourth straight time.

Political scientist J.P. Lewis of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John said the Greens and the Alliance have given voters other non-mainstream options, and the NDP's national name recognition may be all that's keeping the provincial party from disappearing.

"That's really the only thing that I think is holding them back from being on the cusp of an incredibly problematic future," he said.

"Without having a national political brand, this [election] could be especially existential."

Young voters party

But Saint John activist Courtney Pyrke said the party is the best vehicle for young voters concerned about issues such as universal basic income, transit and LGBTQ+ health. 

"A lot of these progressive issue and ideas and things I care about are quite line with what the NDP care about as well." 

Pyrke is looking at running for the party in Saint John Harbour and prefers the NDP over the Greens because of its stance on those issues and because of its roots in the riding, once held by Weir when she was leader.

Pyrke is also originally from Hamilton, Ontario, an NDP stronghold, and supported the party there.

The party has struggled in recent years to file its financing reports with Elections New Brunswick as required by law, though its paperwork is now up to date.

Debt-free

In fact, the party is debt-free and last year raised more than $37,000 in donations, more than the People's Alliance. 

Thomason said he believes the abstention of the three Green MLAs on the recent vote on a mandatory vaccination bill, which was defeated in the legislature 22-20, will help him make the case for the NDP. 

He said he would have voted for the bill and accused the Greens of fence-sitting.

"You need to show New Brunswicks that you have a position, you have an opinion and you're not afraid to make that opinion known," he said. 

Pyrke also said the abstentions on the vaccination vote was another reason to opt for the NDP over the Greens.

Thomason plans to run for the NDP in Fredericton North but hopes that happens sometime next year, after he has relinquished his position to a permanent leader.