NDP to choose new leader in March following 7-month contest
Leadership race comes after party's worst electoral outcome in its history
New Democrats will choose their next leader in March after a seven-month campaign, the party announced Thursday.
"This is a crucial first step in what will be an important opportunity for New Democrats to come together, rebuild and elect our new leader," NDP president Mary Shortall said in a news release.
The campaign will officially begin in September with a vote "no later than March 29," the news release said. That date coincides with the NDP national convention in Winnipeg.
The party's federal council met Thursday to hammer out some of the rules to govern the leadership contest — which will include a $100,000 entry fee. The full guidelines for the race have yet to be finalized and will need to be discussed at another meeting.
Former B.C. NDP MP and House leader Libby Davies is pleased that the party is not rushing to elect a new leader.
In an op-ed in the Toronto Star, Davies noted that a lengthy race levels the playing field, allowing grassroots candidates to rise to the forefront alongside more well-established names. But Davies has issues with the entrance fee.
"That's a steep crawl. It will definitely limit the field," Davies said. "They will obviously have to have the ability to raise that kind of money in a very short period of time."
The last time the New Democrats held a leadership race, the entrance fee was $30,000 and the race lasted for more than a year. Davies hoped to see a fee of around $50,000 to $75,000.
The new leader will face the tough task of rebuilding the party in the wake of its worst electoral showing ever.
The NDP went into April's election with 24 MPs but limped away with only seven. The party lost incumbents in traditional strongholds, such as Hamilton and Windsor, Ont.
Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation on election night after he failed to win his own seat.
The poor result left the NDP with a reduced role in the House of Commons. A party needs 12 seats to be recognized in Parliament. Without party status, the NDP lost certain perks that include being guaranteed a question in the daily question period, participation in committees and funding for the leader's office and research bureau.
Avi Lewis, a former federal NDP candidate who says he is seriously considering a run for leadership, welcomed the federal council taking the time to deliberate and debate the leadership contest rules instead of rubber-stamping them.
Lewis called it a victory for internal democracy in a party that he and others have said has been run by backroom political strategists.
"This is great news," Lewis said. " This is a real turning point where we can start coming together."
But Lewis said he will wait until he sees the final rules before deciding whether to launch a campaign.
Lewis is a former host on Al Jazeera and CBC. His father, Stephen Lewis, led the Ontario New Democratic Party, and his grandfather, David Lewis, helped found the federal NDP in 1961.
Party facing internal spats
The NDP has also been faced with internal challenges since the election.
Veteran MP Don Davies was selected by the party's federal council in May to serve as interim leader. But a trio of MPs wrote a letter to the council blasting the selection process, saying it "failed to uphold democratic and transparent principles."
Then, last week, a group of NDP organizers and former MPs — branding themselves as "Reclaim Canada's NDP" — called on supporters to redirect donations from the central party to local riding associations.
"This election, Canadians showed that the NDP feels out of reach as a viable political option," the group said in a press release.
The group said that by directly funding riding associations, "progressive community organizers can access the resources required to meaningfully and equitably rebuild the NDP without being bureaucratically tangled with the party's management."
The party could face financial difficulty following the spring campaign. Hundreds of NDP candidates failed to reach the 10 per cent vote threshold that would have qualified them for campaign expense rebates.
The party announced earlier this week that it would be launching a "renewal" process led by lawyer and former candidate Emilie Taman.
The party says the review will include consultations with party members, staff, riding associations and volunteers.
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With files from Julie-Anne Lapointe