Jagmeet Singh steps down as NDP leader after crushing loss in Canada elections
Indo-Canadian leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Jagmeet Singh, announced his intent to resign from his post on a night that also saw him lose his own riding of Burnaby Central in British Columbia.
It was a terrible outcome for Singh personally, as he finished third in the constituency with less than 19 percent of the vote share, trailing both the Liberal Party's Wade Chang and the Conservative Party's James Yan, each of whom were thousands of ballots ahead of him.
He also led his party to a devastating defeat, with the NDP on track to win just seven seats—losing 18 compared to the results of the 2021 federal election. It wasn't just a bruising night for the NDP; it also meant the party was likely to lose its official party status in the House of Commons. The NDP's support dropped by 12 percentage points, down to just six percent in this federal election.
Singh said he would resign as soon as an interim party leader was chosen. That would bring an end to his tenure, which began in October 2017 when he won the leadership race on the first ballot.
The NDP's disastrous night could, in part, be attributed to Singh's decision to enter into a supply and confidence agreement with the minority government of then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in March 2022. Although Trudeau stepped down in January, Singh couldn't shake off the association with having kept that unpopular government in power for so long.
Singh was first elected to the House of Commons in a February 2019 by-election from Burnaby South with about 39 percent of the vote. He retained the seat in the subsequent federal elections in 2019 and 2021.
Speaking to NDP supporters in Burnaby late Monday night, Singh said, 'Obviously, this night is a disappointing night for New Democrats.'
Flanked by his wife, Gurkiran, he asserted that the party was 'not going anywhere.'
He also referred to the Sikh principle of chardi kala, which he described as 'fundamental' to him: the idea that 'in the fight for justice, the fight for fairness, we want to have defiant optimism in the face of struggle.'
Singh entered politics in 2011, when he was elected to the Ontario provincial parliament, using that as a springboard to the national stage.
The Indian government, then led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, denied him a visa in 2013. Singh often attracted criticism after he became NDP leader.
In March 2018, facing sustained criticism over his appearance at a rally featuring posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale—who spearheaded the Khalistan movement—and his participation in an event organized by a separatist outfit, Singh unequivocally acknowledged for the first time that Babbar Khalsa International founder Talwinder Singh Parmar was responsible for the 1985 terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka.
In a series of interviews, Singh accepted that reality. He told the national broadcaster CBC: 'There was an inquiry that was conducted into this horrible terrorist act. The inquiry identified specifically Talwinder Singh Parmar, and I accept the findings of the investigation, of the inquiry. I accept them, and I condemn all those responsible.'
Nearly six months after he had evaded questions about posters of Parmar being displayed in some gurdwaras in Canada during an interview with CBC's Terry Milewski, Singh finally took a firm stand on the matter. He said, 'Personally, I think the displaying of a picture of Mr. Parmar is something that re-traumatizes and hurts and injures people who are suffering so much from that loss in their lives.' He added that he did not believe such glorification was 'appropriate.' Singh concluded, 'I don't think it should be done. It doesn't help us move forward with peace and reconciliation.'
Singh had also come under tremendous pressure following a report in the Canadian daily The Globe and Mail that he attended a 'sovereignty' rally in San Francisco in 2015 and, in February 2016, participated in a panel in London hosted by a hardline group supporting Khalistan.
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