Toronto: The New Democratic Party (NDP) is facing a tough situation in the upcoming federal election, but their leader, Jagmeet Singh, believes he can win his seat. Singh was first elected to the House of Commons as the representative for Burnaby South in British Columbia in early 2019 and won again in the 2021 election. This time, he is running in a new area called Burnaby Central because his old district has been divided into two.
Unfortunately for the NDP, their popularity is dropping across the country. According to a poll, the Liberal Party has 40% support in Burnaby Central, while the Conservatives have 32%. Singh and the NDP only have 25%, putting them far behind. This means the Liberals are expected to win easily, with a 92% chance, while the NDP has less than a 1% chance.
When asked about his challenges in the riding, Singh initially hesitated to answer but later said he was hopeful about representing Burnaby Central again. The NDP is struggling financially and doesn’t have much support, so Singh is traveling in a bus for his campaign while other leaders are flying around the country. This has led to some people on social media calling it Singh’s “farewell tour.”
Polls from Angus Reid Institute show the NDP with only 7% support, while Nanos Research showed slightly better numbers at 8%. Nanos’ chief data scientist, Nik Nanos, noted that this low level of support could lead to the party’s worst results in 25 years.
Singh has had a hard time because he was seen as supporting the former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was not popular. They worked together under an agreement that kept Trudeau’s government in power by helping it survive votes of no confidence. Even though Trudeau left office in January, people still seem to blame the NDP for supporting him. Now, with a new leader, Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberal Party is gaining more support, and some of the NDP’s followers are switching to the Liberals.
Last year, the Conservative Party accused Singh of propping up the government to ensure he could reach certain benefits for MPs by February this year. While he may have secured those benefits, doing so might hurt his party in the long run.
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