Singh rallies NDP amid bleak polling

New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh returned to Winnipeg to call on supporters to “dig deep” in Elmwood-Transcona, one of the few ridings where the party remains a strong contender in the province, Wednesday evening.

Singh, joined by the riding’s NDP candidate Leila Dance, labour leaders and other New Democrat candidates including Leah Gazan and Niki Ashton, encouraged orange voters to stay the course in a rousing rally outside of Dance’s campaign office in Transcona.

“I know there’s a lot of folks who would want us to just be quiet, not complain, stay on the side, give up. But that’s never going to happen,” he said to cheers from several hundred supporters.

“We’re never going to back down, we’re never going to give up, we’re always going to fight for people.”

Singh warned of a possible Liberal majority as public opinion polls suggest the NDP could lose official party status.

“(When) the Liberals have the power, we’ve seen this story before, they forget people, they forget everyday folks, and they only serve the interests of the very top,” he said.

While polling may seem bleak elsewhere, the hopeful energy from the crowd may have some merit in Manitoba. A Probe Research survey released Wednesday suggests that, despite NDP polling numbers plummeting across Canada, support for the party in Manitoba has actually gained some momentum in the past few weeks.

The survey asked Manitobans who they would vote for if a federal election were held immediately, and in March, just nine per cent said they would vote NDP, while in April, that number jumped to 15 per cent.

The party remains far behind the Liberals and Conservatives — and those numbers are still below the 26 per cent support the same survey found in March of 2024 — but they suggest the NDP may be better able to defend its three seats in Manitoba: Elmwood-Transcona, Winnipeg Centre, and Churchill-Keewatinook-Aski.

An emotional Dance told reporters that at this point in the race, she’s taking the race day by day.

“I’m not really worried. I’m focused in on day to day,” she said.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’m door knocking six hours a day, I’ve got so much going on every day, I’m worried about getting enough sleep at night.”

Through it all, the Elmwood-Transcona riding still appears to remain up in the air, said Kelly Saunders, an associate professor in political science at Brandon University.

“I almost feel bad for Leila Dance. She was just voted in last September, and now she is in the fight of her life,” she said, noting the difference between Dance’s victory and Tory candidate Colin Reynolds — who is running again this election — was only about 1,000 votes.

Meanwhile, fellow New Democrat Gazan said she’s less focused on polling and more focused on reaching as many people in Winnipeg Centre as possible and maintaining a “positive, joyful campaign” in the race’s final days.

“The only poll that matters is on election day,” she said.

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“I’m keeping up my reputation, I’m running door to door, literally, talking to as many neighbours as I can.”

It was Singh’s second time in Winnipeg since the campaign period began. Prime Minister and Liberal leader Mark Carney is expected to be in Winnipeg for a second visit Thursday.

— With files from Kevin Rollason

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.