TORONTO - Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath admits she has important lessons to learn from the June election, when the party lost three seats in Toronto.
Horwath has been taking heat from some New Democrats for moving to the political centre to try to win votes, alienating members who felt she abandoned core party values.
In a speech to the NDP's governing provincial council, Horwath vowed to do a better job of communicating the goals of the next campaign and the steps that will be taken to achieve them.
The New Democrats increased their vote count to 1.1 million in June, returned with 21 seats _ the same number going into the campaign but four more than the 2011 election, and came second in another 21 ridings.
Horwath said she seeks the making of an NDP majority government in those numbers, especially if they campaign on issues such as protecting public health care and what she calls "a living minimum wage."
She will face an automatic leadership review at the NDP's annual meeting in November, but dismissed critics who want her to resign by saying the party always engages in open, democratic debates.
The NDP's Socialist Caucus is circulating a petition saying Horwath had no mandate to "turn the party to the right" with a campaign it claimed alienated social justice advocates and labour unions.
Veteran New Democrat MPP Cheri DiNovo says she didn't know the socialist caucus was going to be talking about demanding Horwath's leadership when she attended a meeting of the group last weekend.
