Jagmeet Singh remains defiant despite NDP's slump in the polls

Courtney Dickson · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 08, 2025 5:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

On a cold, bedewed Tuesday greeting successful Vancouver, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and a fistful of NDP candidates stood down a podium to marque a argumentation announcement astir gathering homes. 

But the absorption rapidly shifted to the party's viability arsenic its enactment has taken a superior nosedive up of the 2025 national election.

The NDP won 25 seats successful the 2021 election, much than fractional of which were successful British Columbia, wherever the enactment tin usually number connected beardown support. 

On April 8, 2025, the CBC Poll Tracker was projecting the NDP would triumph astatine astir 4 seats — crossed the state — successful the upcoming election. While that sounds dire, it's really up from a projected azygous spot the week prior. 

A governmental enactment needs astatine slightest 12 elected members successful the House of Commons to beryllium a recognized enactment oregon person authoritative enactment status.

When asked by reporters whether helium could triumph his ain riding of Burnaby Central, wherever polls are showing a apt triumph for Liberal campaigner Wade Chang, Singh dodged the question, alternatively taking the accidental to stock regular run messaging astir the value of this predetermination and the flaws successful different parties. 

When asked a 2nd time, the NDP person said, "Absolutely."

"I'm assured that I'll beryllium capable to service the radical of Burnaby Central."

Support for the Liberals

Singh himself has stopped saying he's moving to go Canada's premier minister and alternatively is present focusing his run connected asking Canadians to elite much MPs. 

Murray Rankin, erstwhile NDP MP and a B.C. NDP MLA, has voiced enactment for incumbent Liberal campaigner Taleeb Noormohamed successful Vancouver Granville. 

In an op-ed for BNN Bloomberg, erstwhile NDP person Tom Mulcair acknowledged the 2025 predetermination is simply a two-horse race, arsenic Canadians ballot for a authorities they anticipation tin situation U.S. President Donald Trump, his commercialized warfare and his threats connected Canadian sovereignty. 

"When I was NDP leader, I utilized to bristle erstwhile I heard Liberals pass astir not 'splitting the vote.' It seemed truthful entitled, arsenic if 'the vote' belonged to them," Mulcair wrote. "But present I'm proceeding adjacent from diehard, lifelong 'Dippers' (as we jokingly called ourselves), that the risks to Canada are truthful large that successful this election, they're going to beryllium helping and voting for the Liberals."

NDP downfall

Simon Fraser University governmental idiosyncratic Sanjay Jeram said 3 factors person led to the adjacent illness of the NDP: tariffs, the public's tendency for their votes to substance and the information that Singh is the longest-serving person of the 3 large parties. 

Singh has been the person of the NDP since 2017, whereas Pierre Poilievre took implicit the Conservative Party successful 2022, and Mark Carney became Liberal person past month. 

In those seven-and-a-half years, Singh's NDP has yet to signifier government, and adjacent though it has surely influenced important changes successful the House of Commons, the enactment doesn't person its ain grounds to tally on, Jeram said. 

The tariffs, successful particular, person benignant of unopen the NDP out, Jeram said. 

"Many radical are voting simply arsenic who they deliberation volition negociate that contented best," helium said — thing it whitethorn beryllium hard for Singh to claim, fixed the strengths of the different parties. 

Vancouver elector Al Henry said he'd see voting for the NDP if helium thought it stood a accidental of winning the election, but worries his ballot wouldn't number for much. Instead he's voting strategically, helium said.

"I conscionable anticipation Poilievre does not get in," helium said. 

Jeram said this isn't an unusual concern. 

"There tends to beryllium this, erstwhile it comes down to it, radical recognizing that this is however the strategy works," helium said. "They privation their ballot to matter. They're choosing based connected however tin my ballot substance best."