Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

2026 New Democratic Party leadership election

Canadian political party election From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2026 New Democratic Party leadership election
Remove ads

In 2026, the New Democratic Party is expected to hold a leadership election to choose a permanent successor to Jagmeet Singh after he resigned as party leader following the 2025 Canadian federal election.[2]

Quick facts
Quick facts Date, Convention ...
Remove ads

Background

Summarize
Perspective

Jagmeet Singh was elected as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2017 leadership election.[3][4] He led the party in the 2019, 2021, and 2025 federal elections. On March 22, 2022, the NDP reached a confidence and supply agreement with the governing Liberal Party of Canada, agreeing to support the government until June 2025 in exchange for specific policy commitments.[5] On September 4, the NDP withdrew from their confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, though they did not commit to a motion of non-confidence.[6]

While the NDP under Singh stagnated in most opinion polls following the 2021 federal election, the party experienced a brief jump in support to second place following the collapse of the governing Liberal party, during the 2024–2025 political crisis. However, following Trudeau's resignation in January and Mark Carney's election as Liberal leader, the NDP collapsed in most polls, with most of its support going to the Liberals.[7]

At the 2025 federal election, Singh led the NDP to its worst result in party history, both in seat count and popular vote, losing official party status and himself having been defeated in the riding of Burnaby Central. On election night, he announced that he would resign as party leader;[8][9] he was replaced by Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies on an interim basis until a new party leader is elected.[10]

Remove ads

Rules

Summarize
Perspective

Under rules set out in the party's constitution, every member is entitled to cast a secret ballot for the selection of the leader. The new leader will be chosen at a leadership convention through a combination of ranked ballots and round-by-round voting. If a leader is not chosen in the first round, additional vote counts will occur until a candidate obtains 50 percent plus one vote and is declared the leader. Voters who chose to vote with an internet ballot will be allowed to change their vote at any time before the closure of the polls, including between each round of balloting.

Candidates will be required to pay a $100,000 entry fee, which will be due in four installments,[11] and abide by a $1,500,000 spending limit. One quarter of all donations to candidates will be paid to the party. To be nominated, candidates require at least 500 signatures from party members, at least half of which must be from female-identified members and at least 100 from "other equity-seeking groups," including Indigenous people, LGBTQIA2S+ people, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities. At least 50 signatures will be required from each of five regions: the Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, and British Columbia/the North. In addition, 10 percent of the signatures must come from Canada's Young New Democrats. Members must join the party at least 60 days prior to the vote, a change from the 45 days previously established in the party's constitution.[12][13][14][15]

Due to allegations of foreign interference in past Canadian federal leadership races, the party's federal council announced in July 2025 that "strong regulations will govern the role of third parties in the race."[16][17]

Remove ads

Campaign

Following the party's poor election showing, several commentators and party members pointed to organizational and strategic shortcomings, including leadership fatigue, messaging issues, and difficulty balancing support between urban progressives and working-class voters.[18][19] Some called for renewed grassroots engagement and stronger ties to labour[20], while others suggested the creation of a new progressive party, possibly including closer cooperation or a merger with the Green Party to consolidate progressive support.[21][22][23] Concerns about financial challenges and a shrinking activist base further complicated the party's path forward ahead of the 2026 leadership race.[24][25][26]

Following Singh's announcement, political commentators suggested that several figures were likely candidates: Alexandre Boulerice, Nathan Cullen, Leah Gazan, Matthew Green, Jenny Kwan, Avi Lewis, Heather McPherson, Rachel Notley, and Valérie Plante.[27][28] Boulerice, Cullen, Green, Notley, and Plante all declined to run before the start of the campaign period. McPherson's supporters publicly called on her to run in the election shortly following Singh's resignation.[29]

Timeline

More information Date, Event ...
Remove ads

Candidates

Declared

  • Yves Engler,[36] author, activist, and founder of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.
Date campaign announced: July 3, 2025
Campaign website: Website
Endorsements: NDP Socialist Caucus
Policies: Advocates for affordable public housing, universal pharmacare, slashing military spending, curtailing arms sales, and withdrawing Canadian troops from all international deployments with U.S. forces.
Date campaign announced: June 23, 2025
Campaign website:
Endorsements:
Policies: Proposes a merger of the NDP and the Green Party to form a new party, the Green Democratic Progressives.[38]

Potential

Declined

Remove ads

See also

Notes

  1. The NDP's federal convention will be held between March 27–29, 2026, with the leadership convention occurring at the end of the convention.

References

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads