Sunday, March 22, 2026
ADVT 
National

Voting begins in NDP leadership race, Singh's successor to be named March 29

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Mar, 2026 11:00 AM
  • Voting begins in NDP leadership race, Singh's successor to be named March 29

Voting began Monday in the federal NDP leadership race, with a March 28 deadline for party members to cast their votes.

A party official says 100,000 members are eligible to vote in the election.

In the 2017 leadership race, which was won by Jagmeet Singh on the first ballot, the party had just under 125,000 members eligible to vote.

During the 2012 leadership contest, won by Tom Mulcair, the party had more than 128,000 members eligible to vote.

There are five candidates in the current race: union leader Rob Ashton, social worker Tanille Johnston, filmmaker Avi Lewis, Alberta MP Heather McPherson and farmer Tony McQuail.

Lewis is far and away the fundraising leader in this race. Interim financial returns filed to Elections Canada show his campaign has collected more than $1.2 million from more than 10,000 contributors.

McPherson saw the second largest share of donations — about $560,000 from 3,800 contributors, based on her interim returns.

Ashton has raised just shy of $357,000 from about 2,000 donors. Returns for the Johnston and McQuail campaigns are not yet publicly available.

McQuail told The Canadian Press Monday that his campaign has raised about $150,000 from about 1,000 donors. He described the support as "incredibly generous."

The Liberal party said nearly 400,000 members were eligible to vote in the two-month-long 2025 leadership contest that made Mark Carney prime minister.

The Conservatives had 675,000 eligible voting members in the 2022 contest that ended with Pierre Poilievre as leader.

The results of the NDP leadership contest will be announced on March 29 during the party's annual convention in Winnipeg.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

MORE National ARTICLES

Progressive Conservatives win majority government in Newfoundland and Labrador

Progressive Conservatives win majority government in Newfoundland and Labrador
Voters in Newfoundland and Labrador showed they were in the mood for a big change on Tuesday by ousting the governing Liberals after ten years in power and handing a slim majority win to the Progressive Conservatives.

Progressive Conservatives win majority government in Newfoundland and Labrador

University students face cancelled practicums as Alberta teachers strike drags

University students face cancelled practicums as Alberta teachers strike drags
The strike, which is into its second week, has kept some 740,000 students out of classrooms. Finance Minister Nate Horner said last week the province had received a new proposal from the Alberta Teachers' Association.

University students face cancelled practicums as Alberta teachers strike drags

Fact File: No evidence Canadian schools banning pork from lunches

Fact File: No evidence Canadian schools banning pork from lunches
A TikTok video from October asked viewers to "imagine" receiving an email from a teacher asking parents' not to pack pork in their children's school lunches lest it offend religious students. 

Fact File: No evidence Canadian schools banning pork from lunches

Conservatives pitch training reform to address high youth unemployment

Conservatives pitch training reform to address high youth unemployment
Unemployment rose to 14.7 per cent for youth aged 15 to 24 in September, hitting a 15-year high outside the pandemic years.

Conservatives pitch training reform to address high youth unemployment

CBC's five-year plan leans on young people, new Canadians to build audience

CBC's five-year plan leans on young people, new Canadians to build audience
CBC/Radio-Canada says it wants to expand its audience by pitching itself to Canadians who "under-value" its services — or don’t watch, listen to or read its offerings at all.

CBC's five-year plan leans on young people, new Canadians to build audience

B.C. set to open Western Canada's first new medical school in decades

B.C. set to open Western Canada's first new medical school in decades
Applications are being accepted for those wanting to become doctors through Simon Fraser University, in what the British Columbia government says is the first new medical school in Western Canada in decades.

B.C. set to open Western Canada's first new medical school in decades