Provincial leaders distance themselves
Federally, things have never been worse for the NDP.
On the day Notley addressed New Democrats in Edmonton, the NDP occupied 44 seats in the House of Commons, having won 19.7 per cent of the vote in the previous election. Ten years later, the NDP occupies six seats, having won 6.3 per cent of the vote last year.
Provincially, things actually look OK for the NDP.
The party is in power in British Columbia and Manitoba (where Wab Kinew is the highest-rated premier in Canada). And it forms the Official Opposition in four other provinces and one territory: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia and the Yukon.
Soon after the federal NDP named Avi Lewis as its new leader on Sunday, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck voiced disagreements with Lewis, mainly over his position against new pipeline development. ‘We don’t have to agree on every little thing in order to do big things together,’ Lewis said on Monday.
The Leap Manifesto wasn’t single-handedly responsible for limiting Notley’s government to a single term in office. But it probably didn’t help. And New Democrats in Western Canada at least seem unwilling to take any chances this time around.
Lewis remains opposed to new fossil fuel development and in December he condemned a proposal to dredge Burrard Inlet in B.C. to make it possible for oil tankers to carry heavier loads — a proposal that is supported by not only the Alberta government, but also the NDP government in B.C.