The NDP has chosen Thomas Mulcair as the leader of the Official Opposition.
Mulcair was official named the leader of the federal NDP at the leadership convention in Toronto on Saturday. Mulcair took an earlier lead and kept ahead of other candidates throughout the rounds. Near the end, Mulcair had 43.8 per cent of the vote followed by Brian Topp with 31.6 per cent and then Nathan Cullen with 24.6 per cent.
The fourth and final round was a head-to-head battle between but in the end, Mulcair took home the crown with 57.2 per cent of the vote.
Mulcair follows in the footsteps of the late Jack Layton who led the NDP to Official Opposition for the first time in the party’s history in the 2011 federal election.
MP Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay – Superior) had put his hat in Cullen’s corner and had spent much of the night with him. But when he was dropped in the third round, Hyer shifted his support to his other choice.
Hyer said Mulcair was always on his shortlist and hoped that he would name Cullen as his deputy leader.
“Mulcair is going to be Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s nightmare,” Hyer said in a phone interview from the convention.
“Mulcair is smart, beyond fluent in English and French, very knowledgeable and an old pro. Sure Harper is going to do what Harper does and attack. I wish he would get down and manage the government instead of attacking everyone else in sight.”
He said it’s about managing the party and getting the policies ready for when the next election happens in 2015.
During the end of the second round, the convention was delayed by about 45 minutes. National media reported that the delay was because of hacking.
Hyer said he wasn’t concerned that someone attempted to hack into the online polling because the security was able to catch it before it caused any damage.
Fellow MP John Rafferty (Thunder Bay – Rainy River) shared Hyer’s opinions and said it was just someone trying to have a little fun.
Rafferty backed Mulcair from the beginning and he said he knew he could be a strong leader when he first met him in 2008. He said Mulcair realized it was important to reach out to those who are natural supporters especially those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“One of the things I’m going to suggest to Mulcair is that I work with him as an advisor for mid Canada affairs and make sure we can reach out to everybody,” Rafferty said. “We want to make sure people realize they don’t have to vote Conservative there’s an alternative.
“From my experience with Mulcair and talking to him, you have to have your eye on the prize and the prize is government. I felt and still feel that he’s the only candidate that can do that.”
Earlier in the year, both Rafferty and Hyer received sanctions for voting against party wishes on the Long-Gun Registry. Rafferty said those sanctions are now gone and hopes to take a more active role in the caucus.
