The observers: hooked on politics, Tories, Grits, and Greens keep an eye on NDP leadership convention from Metro Toronto Convention floor
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE—When feisty Quebec Liberal MP Denis Coderre, who incidentally declared on Friday evening that he may take a run at the federal Liberal leadership, was asked by New Democrats over the weekend if he was at the NDP leadership convention to become an NDP member, he'd tell them, “No, I’m recruiting.” […]
Nash, Topp, Dewar party at the Sheraton with beer and pretzels, and free pizza at Cullen’s Front Street shindig
TORONTO—While many New Democrats were hitting the ballots, Party Central was hitting the bar for the second night of parties in the leadership convention. The teams of Peggy Nash, Brian Topp and Paul Dewar stuck close to home March 23, throwing bashes on the same floor of the Sheraton Hotel, across from Toronto City Hall […]
NDP leadership camps to target ‘live’ voters after first ballot, crucial to creating upward momentum
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE—For the next 48 hours Pierre Poutine and Anonymous will be taking a back seat to the latest shadowy figure in Canadian politics— the distributed and networked New Democratic Party voter. Make no mistake about it there is still a convention hall, rows and rows of seats, and an impressive stage […]
Inside the NDP leadership campaigns: Hundreds of volunteers on convention floor, call centres and hotel rooms keep machines churning
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE—Hundreds of volunteers on the floor, in call centres and hotel rooms are making the NDP’s largest leadership convention in the party’s history hum and keeping campaign machines churning. NDP Leadership candidate Brian Topp’s supporters are decked in black and orange T-shirts, buttons, and scarves. Jim Rutkowski, director of communications for Mr. […]
Front-runner Mulcair has fight in store to win NDP bid as voting by thousands of New Democrats shows a fierce battle
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE—New Democrats say the suddenly nail-biting tension of what could be their party’s most crucial leadership race since its founding will continue through several ballots on Saturday, after leading candidate and NDP MP Thomas Mulcair ignited a warm-up crowd of several thousand party convention delegates with a declaration he can “hardly wait” […]
NDP MP Davies suggests Layton would have wanted Topp to win leadership, ‘connect the dots’
PARLIAMENT HILL—One of NDP leadership candidate Brian Topp’s most influential caucus supporters says New Democrats need only to “connect the dots” to see whether late party leader Jack Layton, perhaps in his final days, wanted Mr. Topp to succeed him at the party helm. NPD MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.) made the comment […]
No one can predict NDP leadership outcome with certainty, and it’s getting interesting
OTTAWA—The biggest casualty in the New Democratic Party leadership contest is former elder statesman Ed Broadbent. His decision to wade so publicly into the choice of a successor for the late Jack Layton was obviously not taken lightly. Broadbent understood exactly how his withering criticism could impact the NDP leadership vote. A major media […]
‘No reason to believe’ Topp losing ground or support in NDP leadership race, says former MP Wasylycia-Leis
PARLIAMENT HILL—A high-profile Manitoba New Democrat backing NDP leadership candidate Brian Topp since the race for the party helm began is defending what opponents are calling desperate last-minute attempts to shore up his campaign—including a letter from former leader Jack Layton’s mother likening him to her late charismatic son. Former NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis, the […]
NDP want to define new leader before Conservatives do
The race to define the next leader of the official opposition is well underway, even before a victor is crowned this weekend. For New Democrats and Conservatives, the stakes are huge in the continuous election cycle that has been a hallmark of the Stephen Harper era. The NDP, at its federal council meeting in […]
Topp’s NDP leadership campaign ‘not nearly as well organized’ as Mulcair’s, says NDP insider
PARLIAMENT HILL—New Democrat insiders are “almost shocked” at the state of NDP leadership Brian Topp’s campaign as the party heads into its leadership vote this weekend with Montreal NDP and candidate Thomas Mulcair unquestionably the frontrunner in terms of his endorsements from more than 200 high-profile supporters and his surge ahead of Mr. Topp in […]
