Singh seeks to channel memories of Jack Layton with Quebec campaign launch

The NDP is fighting for its political life in Quebec and party leader Jagmeet Singh is hoping to channel memories of Jack Layton from 2011.

MONTREAL — Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is looking to capture some of the “Orange Wave” magic that led to Jack Layton’s electoral success in Quebec more than a decade ago.

Layton’s NDP dominated that province in the 2011 election, winning almost 80 per cent of the seats, which lifted the NDP into Official Opposition status for the first — and now only — time in its history.

“Jack Layton’s dream was New Democrats are not just the conscience of Parliament but we actually form government to make people’s lives better. We need to be in a position to make decisions that benefit everyday folks,” Singh told a campaign event in Montreal on Monday.

“To continue that dream, we have to win seats in Quebec. We have to win seats in Montreal.”

Pre-election polling from that 2011 campaign saw the NDP tracking in the mid-to-high teens, behind the Conservatives and the Liberals. The momentum did not began to shift toward Layton’s NDP until around the midway point of that campaign.

That momentum was supposed to carry them all the way into government in 2015 but the magic didn’t last. Layton died of cancer just three months after the 2011 vote and in 2015, the NDP were sent back to third party status losing all but 16 of their seats in Quebec.

After Singh’s first campaign in 2019, the NDP seat count in Quebec plummeted to just one, held by Alexandre Boulerice in the Montreal riding of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. That riding remains the only one the federal NDP holds in the province.

When asked if the NDP is still relevant in Quebec, Boulerice replied, “Oh my God yes.”

“More than half a million Quebecers get their dentist paid for because of the work of the NDP and Jagmeet Singh, so people know they are better off with a strong caucus of New Democrats,” Boulerice said.

Montrealers appeared to react positively to Singh during a leadership campaign stop in the city’s Laurier — Sainte-Marie riding Sunday night. Some honked their horns in support, one person followed him down the road to get a selfie and a third raced up and began chatting excitedly in French with Singh, who was toting a ladder to help hang campaign signs.

A group of men popped out of a barbershop to tell Singh they were voting for him.

Singh is presenting the NDP as the only party looking out for “regular people.”

At an announcement under a bridge in Montreal Monday morning, Singh promised that a government led by him would use suitable federal Crown land to build more than 100,000 rent-controlled homes over the next 10 years.

He is also promising $1 billion over five years to acquire more public land for rent-controlled home construction.

His pledge also includes a promise to train 100,000 people in the skilled trades, and to use project labour agreements to ensure all workers on a project get benefits.

Singh made the announcement Monday at the Peel Basin near downtown Montreal — land designated as an urban national park that he says was shovel-ready in the last election in 2021.

A NDP supporter held a poster showing Singh making the same announcement during the 2021 election. Singh said the Liberals had four years to build more affordable homes but did not.

The NDP campaign bus left Montreal midday bound for Toronto, battling a late March snowstorm for a seven-hour journey along one of the country’s busiest transportation corridors.

Singh held a short rally for around 50 supporters and volunteers in the campaign office of Bhutila Karpoche, candidate for Taiaiako’n--Parkdale--High Park.

The historically Liberal riding of Parkdale--High Park, which has been redrawn ahead of the upcoming election, is held by former Justice Minister Arif Virani. The NDP lost to the Liberals by about 2,500 votes in the 2021 election.

With the NDP trailing the Liberals and Conservatives in public opinion polls, Singh talked about the need to focus on big cities in the early days of the election.

“I want folks to know, wherever you are, whether it’s Toronto, Montreal, East Coast, West Coast, north or south, you are better off when you have a New Democrat fighting for you,” Singh said.

Singh has been saying during campaign stops that he’s campaigning to become prime minister — but when asked what “tangible success” looks like for the NDP, he said that the goal is to elect more New Democrats.

Singh will continue to campaign in Toronto Tuesday, before heading to Hamilton, Ont. in the evening.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2025

David Baxter, The Canadian Press