‘Incredibly excited’: Singh gives celebratory speech despite NDP drop in seats

It was a jovial scene at NDP headquarters early Tuesday morning, despite NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh failing in his attempt to gain seats for the party.

Singh was met with chants of “Jagmeet, Jagmeet!” as he took the stage to deliver his concession speech alongside wife Gurkiran Kaur.

1:01 Federal Election 2019: Singh says he congratulated Trudeau on a hard fought campaign

Singh thanked his family, volunteers and supporters, adding that he was proud of the diverse team he led and the campaign the party ran this election.

“This team was one of the most caring and diverse teams that we’ve been able to run,” he said, “and I’m so honoured to lead that team.”

Singh said his party will now be “working hard” to deliver on the “priorities that Canadians have.”

“When we get back to Ottawa,” he said, “every single day we are in parliament, New Democrats are going to be working to make sure Canadians’ lives are better.”

Singh said his party’s elected officials will now head to Ottawa to tackle a number of issues, including taking “real and urgent action” on climate change, making life more affordable for Canadians and making sure the “super wealthy pay their fair share.”

0:37 Federal Election 2019: Jagmeet Singh calls for more respect for First Nations

In a tweet, Singh thanked Canadians, saying the campaign had been an “unforgettable journey.”

“With our new NDP caucus in Ottawa, I’m incredibly excited to continue our critical work to achieve the priorities that we’ve heard from across this country,” he wrote.

Global News declared Singh the winner in his riding of Burnaby South. With 160 of 192 ridings reporting, he had captured 37.5 per cent of the votes.

Singh, the incumbent, won the riding for the NDP during a by-election in February, when he collected 38.9 per cent of the vote.

1:02 Federal Election 2019: ‘Tax the rich!’ chant erupts at NDP headquarters

For the first four weeks after the writ dropped, the NDP remained in third, with polling numbers suggesting the party would capture around 15 per cent of the popular vote.

However, a week before Canadians cast their ballots, the NDP saw a surge in support.

An Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News between Oct. 11 and 13 saw NDP support increase five per cent over the previous week, while the Liberals and Conservatives remained in a statistical tie.

That poll suggested the NDP would capture 20 per cent of the popular vote.

By Sunday, however, the NDP had dropped two percentage points and Ipsos polling projected the party winning 18 per cent of the vote.

During the last federal election, under the leadership of Thomas Mulcair, the NDP garnered 19.7 per cent of the vote.

By 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, the NDP had won 23 seats and were leading in one more, but were in fourth place, trailing behind the Liberals, Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois.

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