Vancouver Island’s NDP MPs have thrown their support behind beleaguered leader Tom Mulcair, who is facing mounting criticism in the face of a leadership review next month.
The six Vancouver Island NDP MPs acknowledge mistakes led to the party’s disappointing third-place finish in the 2015 federal election, but implore party members to give the leader another shot — pointing to campaigns on Vancouver Island as an example of what the leader and the party did right.
“As a group, we are encouraging members to support Tom,” says an open letter posted to social media on Monday.
“Tom understands how to win a large region like ours and is invested in these results. Tom is a leader eager to learn, holds a strong passion of our beliefs and has a drive to win second to none.”
NDP candidates pushed out the Conservatives on Vancouver Island to take all but one seat — that of Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
“Where the campaign stumbled on the national level, it was buoyed here on Vancouver Island [and Powell River] by a tailored regional strategy geared to win at the grassroots,” the letter says.
The MPs debriefed with the leader in Victoria and Nanaimo during his recent visit and have sent their views to the national party in Ottawa.
They concluded that Mulcair visited the regions often and had an “intimate understanding of our communities” and its issues. As a result, local campaigns attracted media attention locally and nationally, they say.
“Our grassroots collective efforts paid off on Vancouver Island and Powell River, winning six of seven seats — now is not the time to turn our backs on what works but to rebuild based on those successes,” the letter says.
The letter is signed by Island NDP MPs Gord Johns of Courtenay-Alberni, Alistair MacGregor of Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, Randall Garrison of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, Sheila Malcolmson of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Rachel Blaney of North Island-Powell River, and Murray Rankin of Victoria.
Mulcair told the Times Colonist during his recent visit that when the party takes stock during its annual convention in Edmonton April 8-10, it will look to Vancouver Island for what it did right.
“On the Island, local issues were discussed a great deal and that’s something I’ve learned that I intend to apply next time around,” said Mulcair, who has been criticized by rank-and-file party members for digging in his heels on a campaign pledge to balance the federal budget.
Mulcair’s balanced-budget pledge was flagged as a problem in a party interim report in February.
The findings by a group led by NDP president Rebecca Blaikie suggested that the party’s approach was too cautious in the face of Canadians’ desire for a dramatic change, that there wasn’t a clear campaign message and that the party’s proposed balanced-budget pledge didn’t resonate with voters.
“The lack of a strong, simple narrative made it more difficult to present a co-ordinated national campaign despite the strengths of local campaigns in many regions,” said the interim report.
Since that time, the party has made a concerted effort to return to its leftist roots, but criticism has continued.
Last week, a group of 37 New Democrat activists from Quebec, including three defeated MPs, called for a new direction.
The NDP leader has not said what level of support would prompt him to quit, but Blaikie has suggested 70 per cent is likely the threshold.
Mulcair told the Times Colonist he wants to stay on as leader — if that is what the membership wants.
— With a file from Canadian Press
