Federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair brushed off his party’s unprecedented low results in last week’s byelection, chalking it up to the fact his party is “in a state of flux right now.”
The NDP pulled in barely more than one per cent of the votes in Medicine Hat, Alta., a drop of almost nine per cent compared to the 2015 general election – a drop that saw a fringe party, Christian Heritage, finish ahead of them last week.
READ MORE: Conservatives hold on to seat in Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner byelection
“You can be sure that once things get settled for us, that we’ll be back into a territory that reflects that,” Mulcair told The West Block’s Tom Clark on Sunday.
“We’re in a building process. We’re not hiding from that, but you know what? There are 44 strong NDP MPs in the House of Commons, 16 of whom are new MPs. That shows there’s still a lot of vitality.”
In April, Mulcair faced NDP faithful in Edmonton and received a resounding message that he should step away as the permanent chief of the party — a move that was unprecedented in Canadian political history.
The NDP caucus held a vote following the convention and all but two agreed Mulcair should stay on in the interim to lead the team of 44 MPs.
Liberal deficits aren’t working, Mulcair says
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The Liberal finance minister this week is set to provide an economic update on the state of the country’s coffers. The report is expected to include a growing deficit – one which Mulcair says the government has nothing to show for.
During the 2015 election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told voters he would run “modest” deficits in an effort to stimulate the economy and improve infrastructure.
The anticipated $10 billion deficits, however, ballooned to $30 billion when his government introduced its maiden budget. And Mulcair said he expects that number to creep even higher.
“We’re starting to decode some of the answers we get in the house, that Mr. Trudeau is very worried about the state of the deficit that he’s already announced,” Mulcair said on Sunday. “I don’t think he’s going to be able to hold to the $30 billion. I think we’re heading for something closer to $40 billion right now.”
Mulcair’s next move after the NDP
Last month, Mulcair doubled down on his commitment to stay on as interim leader despite mounting pressure for him to step aside ahead of a recent caucus retreat. In the end, enough MPs emerged to show continued support for their outgoing leader.
READ MORE: Tom Mulcair doubles down on interim leadership amid pressure to step aside
A number of party members — including current and former members of the federal caucus — have for months been whispering that it’s time for Mulcair to quit as leader as the party attempts to rebuild in wake of its stinging 2015 election defeat that saw the party fall from official Opposition back down to third party.
The party is planning its leadership convention for October 2017.
So what’s next for Mulcair? He says he’s got lots of option.
“As you know, I’m an attorney with a lot of experience. I was also someone who taught in university and I’ve got a very long track record as a public administrator,” he said. “I’m going to look at all those options, but in the meantime, I’m going to take great pleasure and it’s going to be an honour for me to lead those 44 MPs every day.”
With files from The Canadian Press
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