THUNDER BAY – The two local NDP candidates who ran in last fall’s federal election want the party to stay the course in leadership.
Both John Rafferty and Andrew Foulds, who were reached on Monday, said they are hopeful NDP leader Tom Mulcair will survive his leadership review at the party’s convention taking place this weekend in Edmonton.
“I am a strong supporter of Mr. Mulcair. For me, he displays many of the characteristics I look for in a leader. He is strong, he’s intellectual and he’s honest,” said Foulds, who finished runner-up in Thunder Bay-Superior North to Liberal Patty Hajdu.
“He has shown a commitment towards the north. As someone from the north, I know he will continue to fight for the north.”
The future of Mulcair as the party’s leader has been in question since the night of the election, when the NDP slipped from Official Opposition to third-party status in dropping from 95 seats before the vote to only 44.
The NDP led many national polls during the early stages of the marathon campaign before being eclipsed by the red tide of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
Rafferty, who was defeated in Thunder Bay-Rainy River by Liberal newcomer Don Rusnak, supported Mulcair during his initial leadership campaign in 2012.
The NDP conducts a leadership review every two years, meaning another review would be conducted in 2018 in advance of the next federal election, regardless of what happens this weekend.
“I’m quite content to see Tom in the leader’s chair for another two years. We’ll see how things are going, and certainly in another two years Tom might not even want the job going into the next election,” Rafferty said.
“There are certainly some unknowns going into the next federal election so I think for stability it would be good to see Tom remain as leader.”
According to party policy, Mulcair technically only needs 50 per cent plus one vote to remain as leader. However, earlier this week he said he viewed 70 per cent as the threshold for him to retain the position.
