Mulcair takes reins of NDP

Canada's first NDP MP in Quebec, Thomas Mulcair, is the new leader of federal New Democrats.

Mulcair was elected with a final vote of 57.2 per cent. It took four ballots to eliminate the six other candidates vying for leadership of the party. NDP delegates gathered in Toronto to vote and tens of thousands more voted online or in advance.

Following his elections, Mulcair said he would take forward from Day 1 the legacy of the late leader Jack Layton to bring change that puts Canadian families first.

“It is with great honour, but also with humility that I accept this position,” Mulcair said, in a press release. “The challenges facing me and my caucus are significant, but we have a tremendous team of dedicated and hard-working MPs. I know that by working together we can continue to achieve great results for Canadian families.”

Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle said he has every confidence Mulcair will make “a great leader.”

“It's a tough job to follow after a popular leader such as Jack Layton, but Thomas is more than capable of getting the job done, and we're all going to circle the wagons around our new leader and carry on the fight for Canadian families,” Gravelle said, moments before going into the party's first caucus meeting with Mulcair as its leader.

“He's a hard worker, he's a seasoned politician, and he is now in a position to take on Stephen Harper over the next three years and become our prime minister in 2015.”

Gravelle said going into the leadership race, he supported Paul Dewar, who was eliminated in the first round of ballots. After that, Mulcair was his immediate next pick.

Mulcair said in the press release that he is ready to get right down to work, starting now. The new leader will be in the House of Commons March 26 to start asking the prime minister questions leading up to the release of the federal budget on March 29, Gravelle said.

“There is no time to lose,” Mulcair said. “With the reckless Conservatives budget cuts we know are coming, Canadian families expect the Official Opposition to stand up to Stephen Harper and hold him to account. And this is exactly what the NDP will continue to do, every single day. We won't rest until we defeat the Harper Conservatives in 2015 and form the first New Democrat government.”

Mulcair was first elected to Quebec National Assembly in 1994, as MNA for Chomedey. He was re-elected three times. During his career in provincial politics, Mulcair served as critic for Justice and for Industry, as well as Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks.

At Layton's invitation, Mulcair joined Canada's New Democrats at the beginning of 2007, according to the NDP's website. Mulcair became the first NDP MP in the province of Quebec by winning a by-election in Outremont. He became Layton's Quebec lieutenant and co-deputy leader of the NDP.

The NDP is well positioned with respect to the views Canadians have of the party both as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and even in terms of being a potential government, according to a Nanos research poll.

The poll states it is clear that Layton was the lynch-pin of support galvanizing the NDP breakthrough, but the question remains, in the absence of Layton, what the future path of the NDP looks like.

According to poll results, 18 percent of individuals said they voted NDP in the last election because of policy, compared to 27 per cent that said they voted NDP because of Layton.

Posted by Arron Pickard