New Democrats are expecting the worst and questioning Jagmeet Singh's future
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TORONTO — Before NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh even arrived, some people were thinking about his exit.
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Several dozen NDP supporters gathered in a park on Thursday, waiting for Singh to arrive in what will be one of his last campaign stops in Toronto.
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In the heart of Canada's largest city, voters here elect progressives.
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But the group standing around tonight knows that on Monday, voters will not be choosing NDP.
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'We're all worried,' says Greg Paget, who works on a local campaign. 'I would be very disappointed if it lost its party status.' He adds he is 'not very' hopeful.
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Ryan Anderson has been voting NDP for as long as he has been able to vote. The lifelong Toronto resident stumbled on the event walking his dog, spotting lights and people gathering.
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'There's no way that Jagmeet can stay on in my opinion,' Ryan Anderson he says. 'He's had the time that he's going to have to get the party and the voters excited and it unfortunately hasn't happened … I'm sad about it.'
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With only days left in the campaign, Singh is trying to win what he can.
After arriving at the downtown Toronto park last Thursday evening to music pumping, he delivers an energetic speech, talking up the NDP's fight for universal healthcare, Tommy Douglas's legacy as well as its latest big accomplishment: Leveraging its 25 seats to push the minority Liberals to introduce a national dental care program.
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That's why, Singh told the crowd, they need to get as many New Democrats elected as possible — a message he shifted to midway through the campaign after the party felt a Liberal win was inevitable, seeing many of their own flock to Liberal Leader Mark Carney, a former two-time central banker,
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Near the end of his speech, Singh uses a slip of the tongue to nod to the fact he would rather things were different.
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'Or,' he says, pausing again, before realizing his words.
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'Or I hope they reject the Liberals more,' he says calmly, with a slight smile, as several around him let out a laugh.
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'They rejected the Conservatives and it looks like Mark Carney might be the one that's prime minister, but don't let him have all the power.'
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