Background
Jagmeet Singh was elected as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2017 leadership election. [5] [6] 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. [7] On September 4, 2024, the NDP withdrew from their confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, though they did not commit to a motion of non-confidence. [8]
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 Prime Minister Justin 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. [9]
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. [10] [11] On May 5, 2025, he was replaced by Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies on an interim basis until a new party leader is elected. [12]
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, [3] and abide by a $1,500,000 spending limit. The $100,000 entrance fee has been criticized by some of the party's grassroots. [13] [14] [15] The entrance fee marked a $70,000 increase over the prior $30,000 entrance fee in the 2017 NDP leadership election. [15] 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 per cent 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 compared to the 45 days prescribed by the rules of the 2017 contest and the 35 days in the 2012 contest. [16] [17] [18] [19]
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. [d] [20] [21]
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." [22] [23]
Campaign
Following the party's poor election showing, several commentators and party members pointed to organizational and strategic shortcomings, including leadership fatigue, messaging issues, overreliance on social media and identity politics, [24] [25] and difficulty balancing support between urban progressives and working-class voters. [26] [27] Some called for renewed grassroots engagement and stronger ties to organized labour, [28] [29] 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. [30] [31] Failure to obtain over 10% of the vote in all but 46 ridings meant many candidates did not receive campaign reimbursements, exacerbating concerns about financial challenges. [32] Internal disputes and a shrinking activist base further complicated the party's path forward ahead of the 2026 leadership race. [33] [34] [35] [36]
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. [37] [38] 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. [39] In late August 2025, representatives on behalf of Lewis and McPherson began collecting signatures before the launch of the leadership election on September 2. [40]
On June 23, Tony McQuail, an environmentalist and farmer, announced his campaign. He was approved to run on October 9. He suspended fundraising on November 20, to prevent splitting grassroots donations with Tanille Johnston. [41] [42] Shortly before the first debate on November 27, he resumed fundraising. McQuail would again suspend fundraising on December 23, with him resuming on December 28. [43] [44]
On July 3, activist Yves Engler announced his candidacy, backed by the NDP Socialist Caucus; he submitted his application to the NDP's leadership vote committee for vetting on November 10. [45] His application was rejected on December 8, 2025. However, his wife Bianca Mugyenyi announced her candidacy shortly before the deadline to apply on January 1, 2026. [46]
On September 19, Avi Lewis, an activist and journalist, announced his campaign. [47] Lewis is also the son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis. His campaign launch was held in Toronto. [47]
In an interview on May 20 with CBC News' Power & Politics , Heather McPherson, the MP for Edmonton Strathcona, confirmed she was seriously considering running for the leadership. [48] She announced her leadership bid on September 28, at an event in Edmonton. [49]
On September 30, it was reported that McPherson had raised nearly $100,000, followed by Lewis with around $55,500, Ashton with around $25,000, and Johnston with around $1,700. Lewis reported having the most individual donors with 353, followed by McPherson with 231 and Ashton with 45. [50]
On October 1, Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, announced his campaign in Toronto. [51] His campaign would notably be endorsed by the United Steelworkers trade union.
On October 8, Tanille Johnston, city councillor in Campbell River, announced her campaign in Nanaimo. [52] Johnston, a member of the We Wai Kai First Nation, [53] is the first Indigenous woman to seek the NDP leadership.
The first all-candidates forum took place in Nanaimo on October 16, [54] with Rob Ashton and Tanille Johnston attending in person, and the other candidates speaking via Zoom. [55] The Canadian Labour Congress hosted the first fully in-person forum on October 22, in Ottawa. [56] [57] Ashton, Lewis, and McPherson gathered in Ottawa for the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation leadership forum on October 28, while McQuail and Johnston attended virtually. [58] On November 22, all the candidates, except Tony McQuail, gathered virtually in Gibsons for a leadership forum. [59] [60] On November 27, the candidates all gathered in Montreal for the first debate; it was held using a mix of French and English. [61] [62] The debate was noted for none of the candidates being fluent in French, with most reading prepared French statements before switching to English. [63] The debate was followed by an all-candidates forum hosted by the Ontario NDP's northern caucus in December 2025, and a town hall hosted by the Canadian Union of Public Employees on January 7, 2026. [64] On January 10, the Ontario New Democratic Youth hosted an in-person debate at the Toronto Metropolitan University campus in Toronto. [65]
At the end of December 2025, the Lewis campaign reported raising nearly $783,000, with contributions from 4,400 individual donors. [66]
On January 11, Ashton's campaign was criticized for answering questions on Reddit using generative artificial intelligence, despite his criticism of the technology. [67] He previously made headlines for stating that Lewis's style of leadership would "divide" the party. [68]
