NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, centre, speaks with NDP candidate Dr. Samantha Green, right, and Toronto resident Erin Filby at a book store during a campaign stop in Toronto on March 25.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh acknowledged Tuesday that his party is grappling with significant hurdles in this federal election campaign but insisted he is not going to back down.
This is essentially a do-or-die political moment for the NDP Leader, who assumed his position in 2017.
Mr. Singh is the most experienced federal leader on the election trail but public opinion polls show the party is lagging far behind the Liberals and Conservatives ahead of the April 28 vote. The election is seen as a pivotal moment for the country amid concerns about the impact of tariffs and sovereignty threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Let’s be clear, there’s massive challenges,” Mr. Singh said when asked Tuesday about his party. “I’ve got no illusions about that. There are some serious challenges that we’re up against, and working people are up against massive challenges.”
The question is how Mr. Singh can overcome the hurdles he faces. Since the campaign began on Sunday, the NDP Leader has fielded several questions about the fate of his party while political observers wonder whether it will maintain official party status, which requires 12 seats in the House of Commons.
“You can ask me this question 100 times,” Mr. Singh said. “I’m never going to back down, I’m never going to give up.”
One high-profile observer who is skeptical about the party’s fortunes is former NDP leader Thomas Mulcair.
In a piece published Monday by CTV News, Mr. Mulcair said this election is “shaping up to be a race between the ruling Liberals and the opposition Conservatives, with little room to spare for the others.”
Mr. Mulcair, who was ousted as leader at the party’s 2016 leadership convention and later replaced by Mr. Singh, said the other parties each have their own vision but in a time of existential crisis for Canada “they’re an afterthought.”
Mr. Singh has pushed back against the idea that this campaign is a two-way race. He also said this is a question put to New Democrats in every election and he will always be there to fight for people.
“I think this election is a really important election,” he said. “I’m going to campaign really, really aggressively to let people know the choice.”
In the campaign, Mr. Singh is framing that choice around the idea that he will fight for everyday people more than Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Mr. Singh has also received the endorsements of three major unions. On Tuesday, the NDP gained support from the Canadian Union of Public Employees. It represents 750,000 members including individuals who work in health care, emergency services, education, early learning and child care, municipalities and transportation.
“Millionaires and billionaires have their champions: Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre,” Mr. Singh said in a Tuesday statement about the endorsement. “Workers have made it clear who they can count on: New Democrats.”
The federal NDP has also been endorsed by the United Steel Workers, which represents 225,000 members. It is a founding member of the NDP.
The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents 35,000 transit and allied workers in the U.S. and Canada, also announced it was backing the NDP on Tuesday. The NDP said this is the first time the union is offering an endorsement.