NDP understands the importance of leadership

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2017 (2942 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Writing about political parties in late-19th-century Canada, the great French political observer André Siegfried emphasized the special importance of party leaders in Canadian politics: “it is of the first importance to the success of a party that it should be led by someone who inspires confidence, and whose mere name is a programme in itself,” Siegfried observed. “(Canadians) vote as much for the man who symbolizes the policy as for the policy itself.”

He was writing about the Liberal and Conservative parties, which survive to this day (the Conservatives, albeit, having undergone a few alterations along the way). And while he was thinking of John A. Macdonald and Wilfrid Laurier, Siegfried might as well have been writing about Canada’s other great party leaders: Borden, King, Diefenbaker, Trudeau Sr., Mulroney, Chrétien and Harper.

Each of those leaders adapted their parties to their own priorities, concerns and even personalities. And by the time each of them departed, it had become difficult to distinguish the party from the leader.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is currently in the process of remaking the Liberal party in the same way.

But what about the NDP?

The NDP is supposed to be different. Far from a party that adapts to the aspirations and concerns of its leaders, the NDP has traditionally been a consistently ideological, left-of-centre party.

But that began to change with the party’s 2003 leadership race to replace former leader Alexa McDonough. The eventual winner of that race, Jack Layton, represented a shift in emphasis for the party. Layton was a Toronto city councillor who was known for riding his bicycle to city hall. As leader, he promised to emphasize urban issues and those affecting youth, particularly homelessness and affordable housing.

Layton and his allies set out to modernize and professionalize the NDP organization. And Layton himself developed a persona that increasingly resonated with Canadians. Throughout the 2000s, Layton consistently increased the NDP’s seat share, until the 2011 election, when he led the NDP to second place behind Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. For the first time in Canadian history, the NDP formed the Official Opposition in Parliament.

Some observers (myself included) thought we had witnessed a watershed moment in 2011, and that politics in Canada would thereafter be characterized by electoral conflict between the Conservatives and the NDP. But instead, Layton died of cancer after the election; his successor, the competent but prickly Tom Mulcair, was unable to build on Layton’s success. In the 2015 election, the NDP fell back to its traditional third-place position.

This recent history is worth reflecting on because NDP voters seem to have learned from the experience of success under Layton that the choice of leader is a crucial one. And there appears to be a realization — if not an expectation — that the new leader will seek to reshape the party in his or her own image.

Media coverage of presumed front-runner Jagmeet Singh has been particularly pronounced in this respect. Singh was the first turbaned Sikh to be elected to the Ontario Provincial Parliament. His leadership would represent a triumph for diversity in Canadian federal politics.

Furthermore, Singh is young for a prospective party leader and, like Justin Trudeau, would bring glamour to the role. He is concerned with matters of style and is known for designing his own custom-tailored suits. And as with Trudeau, Singh enjoys a reputation for charisma despite his not being particularly charismatic on the stump.

All this has led commentators to think about what a Singh-led NDP would look like.

The consensus is that Singh might eat Trudeau’s lunch among left-of-centre Canadians who were captivated by both Trudeau’s many promises and his fluttering eyelashes in the last election campaign. The solution to a popular, attention-grabbing Liberal leader, according to many in the NDP, is a popular, attention-grabbing NDP leader.

But Singh would also give the NDP new appeal among ethnic minorities and immigrant voters. Much ink has been spilled about the electoral power of these constituencies, as well as the Conservative party’s limited success in attracting support within them. Singh would likely attract new support among minorities and immigrants.

Relatedly, Singh could possibly give the NDP new credibility in Canada’s suburbs. Born in Scarborough and a provincial representative from Brampton, Singh is very much a suburban politician. He would bring both confidence and authenticity to campaigning in these areas of Canada which are, increasingly, very important in determining federal election outcomes.

The importance and prominence of party leaders in Canadian politics gives leadership selection a special importance.

For perhaps the first time, NDP members may vote in their leadership contest with Siegfried’s words from a century ago ringing in their ears. And polls suggest that they are comfortable with a party focused on a charismatic leader who will take them to new places to find support.

Royce Koop is an associate professor and head of the department of political studies at the University of Manitoba.