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.[8]
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;[9][10] he was replaced by Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies on an interim basis until a new party leader is elected.[11]
Rules
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,[2] 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, an earlier eligibility cutoff compare to the 45 days prescribed by the rules of the 2017 contest and the 35 days in the 2012 contest.[12][13][14][15]
Because membership is controlled by provincial and territorial branches, the voting age varies from 12 to 14 years old, depending on where the member lives.[16][17]
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."[18][19]
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.[20][21] Some called for renewed grassroots engagement and stronger ties to labour,[22] 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.[23][24][25] Concerns about financial challenges and a shrinking activist base further complicated the party's path forward ahead of the 2026 leadership race.[26][27][28]
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.[29][30] 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.[31] In late August 2025, representatives on behalf of Lewis and McPherson began collecting signatures before the launch of the leadership election on September 2.[32]
On September 19, Lewis, an activist and journalist, announced his leadership bid.[33]
Timeline
April 28, 2025 – The 2025 Canadian federal election was held. The New Democratic Party was reduced to seven seats and lost official party status for the first time since 1993. Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who was defeated in Burnaby Central, announced that he would step down once an interim leader was appointed.[34]
May 5, 2025 – The party's federal council named Don Davies, MP for Vancouver Kingsway, as interim leader following consultations with the party's parliamentary caucus.[35]
May 10, 2025 – NDP MPs Leah Gazan, Lori Idlout, and Jenny Kwan write a letter to the party's executive and council saying they were not properly consulted in the selection of Davies as interim leader. The letter says that the party executive and other MPs did not hold caucus discussions or provide a timeline. In a statement for a May 16 story in The Globe and Mail, NDP national director Lucy Watson said that the federal council had sole responsibility for choosing an interim leader under the constitution.[36]
July 8, 2025 – Party launches an internal review of the 2025 campaign; led by human rights lawyer and former candidate Emilie Taman.[37]
July 10, 2025 – The party's federal council meets to discuss a schedule and logistics for the leadership election; it decides the campaign period will be between September 2025 and March 2026. It also decides that the convention will be held concurrently with the party's federal convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[38][37]
August 20, 2025 – Leadership application package available.[39]
September 2, 2025 – Leadership campaign period start date.[2]
September 19, 2025 – Activist and journalist Avi Lewis announces his candidacy for the NDP leadership.
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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
