Jagmeet
Singh wins the NDP leadership race
Singh scored a solid victory in the first round of
voting for a new NDP leader, with 53.6 per cent of the
vote.
By ALEX BALLINGALL | Ottawa Bureau
Source:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/10/01/jagmeet-singh-wins-the-ndp-leadership-race.html
New
Democrats have chosen Jagmeet Singh, a criminal defence
lawyer and provincial legislator who rose to prominence
as an upbeat opponent of police carding and precarious
work, to lead their party into the next federal
election.
Singh scored a solid victory in the first round of
voting for a new NDP leader, with 53.6 per cent of
voters placing him at the top of their ranked ballot in
results that were unveiled at a waterfront hotel Sunday
afternoon.
He will now take over from outgoing leader Thomas
Mulcair, who headed a caucus of 44 members on
Parliament Hill since and helmed the party since 2012.
The 38-year-old, whose parents are from India, is the
first visible minority to lead a major federal party in
Canada.
“Today is testament to an incredible team and thousands
of volunteers and supporters who believed in us across
the country,” Singh said from the stage at the Westin
Harbour Castle, where the results were revealed Sunday
afternoon.
“This is not my victory, this is all of your victory.”
Singh’s opponents in the race were MPs Charlie Angus,
Niki Ashton and Guy Caron. Out of more than 65,000
votes, Angus got 12,505, Ashton received 11,376 and
Caron got 6,164.
Singh, who signed up 47,000 members in the race,
received more than 35,000 votes in the first round,
giving him a solid victory.
Party officials said shortly before the vote that
turnout was 52.8 per cent, representing more than 60,000
voters. That’s slightly higher than the 50.9 per cent
turnout in 2012, when Mulcair won.
Before the results were unveiled, former MP Olivia Chow
spoke of the importance of unity as the party moves on
under a new leader.
