NDP losing the plot

Iqbal Singh Sidhu

When Jagmeet Singh was elected the leader of the New Democratic Party on October 1, 2017, many enthusiastic supporters of the NDP declared a new era was on the horizon of Canadian politics. Now that a person from a visible minority had been elected the leader of a federal political party for the first time in Canadian history of 151 years, things had truly changed.

A new age had begun. Yet, after only a year, it seems as if this new age has already ended. The NDP is no more popular today than it was over a year ago. Of the 42 MPs the party has in the House of Commons of 338, seven are not running in the next federal elections. The NDP has government in two provinces, and both are at loggerheads with each other. Jagmeet has not been able to address any of these problems, but he still inspires hope and has a charisma unmatched by anyone else in the party.

Canada has a strong history of labour rights struggle. As the economy is still dominated by labour intensive fields, issues of labour rights still hold sway. Unions play a large part in many organised sectors. Therefore, the slogan of working class welfare can pull important votes, and, yet the NDP is struggling. The Liberal Party has done remarkably well at filling the space which should theoretically belong to the NDP.

Jagmeet still does not have a seat in Parliament, which is unusual for a federal leader since the 42 MPs (now 41) do not have the party leader as their leader in Parliament. One MP was kicked out of the party after allegations of sexual harassment. 

Some voters have allegedly taken exception to Jagmeet’s dressing, as he wears a tall round turban as an ostentatious article of his faith, something deeply unpopular with rural voters, especially in French Canada (Quebec) and the midwest (the Prairies). Even though neutral voters agree with the principles of the NDP, they are not so sure about voting for a person who wears his faith in a secular society. These apprehensions may be unfounded, or may even be deemed racist, but are genuine nevertheless. 

In Canada’s history, it has only happened twice that a party with majority government hasn’t been given a second term by the voters. And on both the occasions, there was a full blown economic crisis, a far cry from the relative economic calm of today. The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is being renegotiated and there is immense pressure on the Trudeau government to work out a deal with an increasingly protectionist US. If things are not taken care of, there are apprehensions that it might lead to an economic meltdown which could spell disaster for the Liberals come October 2019 elections. Yet, the NDP’s chances appear slim, close to none.

The South Asian diaspora has traditionally favoured the Liberal Party. There are currently three Punjabi ministers in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet. The appeal for the Liberal Party is still there, and one only needs to take a small tour of  Brampton or Missisauga to verify this. 

Nothing in democratic politics is eternal, except an idea and a constituency that votes for it. The NDP’s ideas are clear, but the constituency is absent. This is the fate of almost every populist party around the world, which gets votes riding a wave of popular discontent or a general maniacal episode of fantasy and then it dies down, dissolving into the echoes from where it had once emerged.