As NDP delegates gather in Edmonton to discuss their third-place finish in the last federal election, the fate of current leader Tom Mulcair is the major topic of conversation for all those in attendance.
Mulcair needs 50 per cent plus one support in the leadership vote on Sunday, if he is to stay on as the party's leader. However, party brass has suggested they'd like Mulcair to have a stronger mandate of about 70 per cent.
Mulcair is coming off a disappointing first election as party leader, in which the NDP surrendered more than 50 seats in the House and lost their Official Opposition status. The party now holds just 44 seats in the House, and is down to third-party status.
Heading into the conference, Mulcair has the public support of six major unions, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the United Steelworkers and the United Food and Commercial Workers. He's also secured the support of several prominent members of the party, including NDP House Leader Peter Julian.
On Friday, Julian praised Mulcair's four years as Opposition Leader, for his ability to hold the government's feet to the fire on policy.
"There's a strong appreciation for his ability to do that," Julian told CTV News Channel on Friday. "For a lot of New Democrats, we feel very strongly that we need Tom in the House of Commons, pressing the new Liberal government to keep the commitments that they made."
Julian also suggested that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives might have won the last federal election "if Tom Mulcair as Official Opposition Leader hadn't… exposed the lack of transparency, and the various mistakes that the Stephen Harper government was doing."
However, New Democrats have been privately saying they are concerned with Mulcair's apparent inability to reach Canadians with the NDP's platform, which could spark change on Sunday.
When asked about the leadership vote, several delegates told CTV's Richard Madan that they are waiting to see how the weekend plays out before they decide how they'll vote.
"I've been on the fence for a long time," one delegate said. "Right now, he hasn't done anything to convince me yet that he should stay, but I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt."
"I think the majority of people will go for Tom," another woman said. "I mean, who the hell is there that's any better right now?"
Julian says Mulcair has been travelling across the country since his election defeat, consulting with party members and activists to figure out what went wrong, and how the party can retool for its next test in four years.
"There's a lot that we need to improve," Julian acknowledged.
Julian said he expects Mulcair to use the speech to "trace the path going forward -- what we've learned from the last campaign and what we need to do going forward."
What went wrong
The party has been analyzing the fallout of its failed election bid, in an effort to identify what went wrong and what needs to be changed.
NDP President Rebecca Blaikie, who is part of the review, said Mulcair has been receptive to the review's suggestions. She told CTV's Power Play that the NDP didn't communicate its message effectively, among other things. "We lacked an overarching narrative that connected with Canadians on the ground," Blaikie said on Friday.
She also rejected the frequent campaign criticism that the NDP moved too far toward the middle of the political spectrum, abandoning some of its core left-leaning ideals. She said that perception came because the party didn't communicate effectively, and because some got hung up on its promise to match the Conservatives in balancing the budget.
"The balanced budget thing was a problem for us," she said, adding that it "took over" the campaign and overshadowed other issues.
In a speech to the convention, Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff said the party needs to "face up to some hard truths."
"We are profoundly disappointed about the performance of our party in the last campaign," he said. "When the campaign started we had more resources, more activists and more support than ever before. But rather than celebrating our victories, we instead find ourselves at a crossroads at this convention.
Former leader backs Mulcair
Former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, who is not at the convention, said she would be "unreserved" in supporting him if she were there to vote. "I'd be voting for him to say," she told Power Play, adding that she believes there is "widespread approval" for his leadership.
McDonough said she'd be "surprised" if Mulcair doesn't garner support in the high 60-per cent range, if not higher.
No NDP leader has been removed through a vote.
