Latest news with #officialStatus
National Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Interim NDP leader pushing for resources after party loses status in Parliament
OTTAWA — The interim leader of the federal NDP says that while the door may be shut to the party being granted official status in the House of Commons, he hopes other parties will grant it resources. Article content Article content Don Davies says that while he has not spoken to Prime Minister Mark Carney, federal New Democrats are having 'fruitful discussions' and looking to see what is possible through the Board of Internal Economy, which manages the House of Commons' resources. Article content Article content 'We've already made some progress,' Davies told reporters on Monday. Article content Article content These 'little privileges,' as Davies puts it, are what the federal party now considers as wins after a general election, where the party was reduced to a mere seven seats, down from its previous 24. Article content It was the worst showing the federal party has had in a Canadian election. The last time it lost official party status was in 1993, when the NDP came away with only nine seats. Article content Besides reeling from the political blow that voters dealt the party, which saw Jagmeet Singh, its former leader, resign after placing third in his riding, the fact that New Democrats are returning to Parliament with only seven seats means it has lost many of the resources afforded to parties based on the size of their caucus. Article content Losing official party status means NDP MPs will be limited in how often they can ask the governing Liberals a question in the House of Commons, and will not automatically be reserved a place on parliamentary committees, where legislation flows before it is passed in the House of Commons. Article content Article content While Davies said on Monday that it was 'possible' for the governing Liberals to relax some of the rules around what constitutes official party status, as has been done at the provincial level across different legislatures, House Leader Steven McKinnon appeared cold to the idea. Article content Davies said the NDP is now looking to see what may be decided by the Board of Internal Economy, which has not yet been struck. Article content 'One of the arguments I've made is we're a national party.' Article content 'We had 1.2 million Canadians vote for us, and it's important that we have the tools we need to function and discharge that responsibility.'
National Post
09-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
NDP talking to the Carney government about getting official party status: Davies
Article content Interim NDP leader Don Davies says his party is in 'very early' discussions with the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney about being granted official party status in the House of Commons. Article content Article content The NDP was reduced to seven seats in the election, below the 12-seat threshold for official party status in the Commons. Article content Article content Parties that lack official status lose out on financial resources provided by Parliament, get to ask fewer questions during question period and don't have guaranteed spots on standing committees. Article content Article content Davies says parties at the provincial level have been granted official status in the past after failing to meet the threshold. Article content Article content As the recently appointed interim leader, Davies says his 'primary goal' is to ensure the 1.2 million Canadians who voted for the NDP are well represented in the House. Article content
