NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh convenes caucus in Montreal to plot post-deal path forward

Just days after demolishing his deal with Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is holding a three-day strategy session with his MPs in Montreal.

Singh has brought his caucus of 23 MPs to the prime minister’s hometown, to prepare for the fall sitting of Parliament, and make a final push to claim a Liberal seat in a local byelection.

Between Tuesday and Thursday, the federal New Democrats will convene largely behind closed doors to plot the party’s political strategy for the months ahead.

Singh’s decision to pull his party out of the supply-and-confidence deal last week — giving the minority Liberals minimal advance notice in the process — has significantly altered the political landscape.

The Conservatives are already hot on the NDP’s heels about bringing down the government, while the Bloc Québécois have signalled an intent to capitalize on holding the balance of power when confidence votes come up. 

At 12:30 p.m. ET, Singh is holding a press conference where he is expected to discuss the objectives of the caucus “planning session” and speak more about the NDP’s priorities.

There will be two focuses of this week’s caucus retreat, according to a senior NDP source speaking on background. The first is the gains they want to make in the House of Commons and how they plan to handle votes now on a case-by-case basis.

The NDP pulled out of the supply-and-confidence pact before ensuring a few key pieces of legislation cross the finish line, but the party stays they’ll still be pushing the Liberals to make good on their promises.

Among the bills the party will press the government to pass is the Pharmacare Act, which outlines the “foundational principles” of a national universal drug coverage plan, and offers initial diabetes and contraceptive coverage. It was left before the Senate when Parliament adjourned for the summer.

The senior NDP source said healthcare is set to be a central focus for MPs this fall. They will be watching for the in-the-works Safe Long-Term Care Act to be tabled, and will be looking to ensure the expanding rollout of the national dental-care plan — which the government just launched new ads about — stays on track. 

There’s also voting accessibility reforms to the Canada Elections Act that the New Democrats still want to see advanced, but those changes are currently wrapped up in a bill that proposes to push back the next fixed election date. 

That change would potentially protect pensions for MPs first elected in 2019, and the NDP have led the charge to see that provision scrapped despite some recent Conservative rhetoric.

The second area set to dominate discussions among NDP MPs and senior staffers this week, is how they plan to pitch themselves to voters as a viable progressive alternative to the surging Pierre Poilievre-led Conservatives.

Now that the next federal election call is likely less than a year away — a Singh-admitted side effect of his supply deal retreat — the party says it will be focusing on telling Canadians what’s at stake in the next vote. 

The senior source said that while holding the government to account on the Hill remains a priority, as long as an embattled Trudeau stays on, New Democrats think the Liberals could be nearly out of the electoral picture come the next campaign.

This has Singh and his team feeling as if they are what stands between Canada and a Conservative government, and they are determined to paint a scene for voters of what that could mean for social supports they value.

Faced with accusations that Conservatives would cut programs such as dental-, pharma- and child-care, the Official Opposition says it will not be sharing their spending or policy plans until closer to the election.

The first early tests of whether Singh cutting ties with Trudeau and focusing on Poilievre is to his political advantage, are a pair of byelections taking place in less than a week.

One is in Elmwood-Transcona, Man. to replace an NDP MP who resigned his seat in the House to work with Premier Wab Kinew, and where the New Democrats are now fighting the Conservatives to hold the seat. 

The other is in a Montreal riding once held by former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin whose government fell on a non-confidence vote nearly a decade ago, making the symbolism behind the NDP’s choice of location for this week’s meetings hard to miss.

Projections have the Liberal stronghold of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Que. shaping up to be a three-way race between the Liberals, Bloc, and the NDP. Singh’s got his sights set on picking up the seat through the extra time spent in the city.

While he’s already hit the hustings in this byelection more than a handful of times, Singh and members of his caucus will be canvassing with candidate Craig Sauve Tuesday night.

According to those in Singh’s inner circle, he’s heading into the meetings feeling good about how the roll-out of his political breakup with Trudeau went and isn’t anticipating the same types of leadership questions his Liberal counterpart is facing from his caucus in Nanaimo, B.C. 

He is also keen to talk to his MPs about what they’ve heard at doorsteps over the summer and their electoral-readiness. The party has so far nominated nearly 60 candidates, and, for the first time in a long time, are heading into the next campaign debt-free.

On that front, just as the Liberals start their search for a new national campaign director, Singh announced Monday that he’s tapped his chief-of-staff Jennifer Howard to take on the key role for the New Democrats ahead of the next national vote. 

As a past NDP national campaign director and cabinet minister in Manitoba, Howard is being hailed as having “the experience necessary to take on Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative cuts and turn the page on Justin Trudeau’s delays and disappointment.”

Moving in as Singh’s new chief is long-time party strategist and former deputy chief of staff Jo Gauvin.

“He is smart, committed and an incredibly hard worker. I know he will be an effective leader for our staff team and a trusted adviser to me,” Singh said in a release announcing the staffing shuffle on Monday.

Stepping into the deputy chief of staff role is Erin Morrison, who previously held senior positions with the Ontario and Saskatchewan NDP.

Set to focus on communications, Morrison will help Singh “deliver the message to Canadians that New Democrats are ready to bring down the cost of living and deliver hope for the future.”

The trio of appointments are effective Sept. 16, the day Parliament resumes and voters go to the polls in the pair of byelections.