OTTAWA - The federal NDP is trying to find a path through political weeds to the fall sitting of Parliament, with plans to focus on issues including climate change and health-accord negotiations.
The bruised party, still licking its wounds nearly a year after the last election, is struggling with internal issues including dwindling fundraising, slumping poll numbers and questions about leadership ahead of its caucus meetings Tuesday and Wednesday in Montreal.
There is a concerted push underway by some caucus members who want Mulcair removed as leader immediately, said multiple sources who spoke to The Canadian Press on condition of anonymity for fear of being seen as openly critical of their chief.
For his part, Mulcair insists he will remain at the helm until a new leader takes over in fall 2017.
Charlie Angus, caucus chair and the party's indigenous affairs critic, said he is hopeful the NDP can find a way beyond internal differences so it can instead focus on the Liberal government.
"I have been speaking with MPs who are concerned about the lack of direction in the party over the last six months, but there is a real desire to work through these issues and ensure that this interim period with an interim leader keeps us focused and unified," he said.
The NDP has endured challenging times before, Angus noted. "We went through a traumatic period after the death of Jack [Layton] and people remember the role [former interim leader] Nycole Turmel played in keeping us unified -- I am hoping that the meeting in Montreal will set us on that track."
The Mulcair matter has certainly divided current and former caucus members, according to former New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer.
Stoffer, who was defeated in the last federal election, said he is saddened by what happened to Mulcair.
'Punched him in the gut'
In April, rank-and-file New Democrats flatly rejected Mulcair as a long-term leader for the party at a convention held in Edmonton.
"The party really punched him in the gut as far as I am concerned," Stoffer said. "I supported him without reservation."
Stoffer said he would advise Mulcair to walk away as leader at this time.
"He doesn't have to put up with this crap," Stoffer said. "He's a proud man, he's done a lot of good for the party ... maybe him and his wife will get a good night's sleep and enjoy each other's company."
Quebec NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau, who has not ruled out running for leader, said Monday she believes Mulcair has enough support to stay on.
"He's still leader and I think it is going to stay that way," Brosseau said. "I've always supported Tom."
Some of the NDP's current woes are post-election challenges that will take time to resolve, says McMaster University political science professor Peter Graefe.
Even if a change was made at the top, it might not make a noticeable difference, he added.
"On this date last year, many of them would have been thinking they were heading for government," Graefe said.
"I think what might be more effective is if they thought of some kind of strategy to engage their members who presumably are likewise a bit depressed in terms of what happened last year and find some way to give them a sense of hope or participation in the process of selecting a new leader."
So far, there are no candidates in the NDP leadership race.
Here's a look at the party by the numbers:
- The NDP holds 44 seats, down from 95 when Parliament was dissolved for last October's federal election.
- The party, which was polling around 32 per cent support in the run-up to the election, captured only 19.7 per cent of the vote at the polls, dropping to third place in the seat standings. In recent months, poll support has been running well below that mark.
- In the second quarter of 2015, the NDP raised almost $4.5 million from more than 48,000 donors, its best quarterly showing ever, both in terms of money and the number of donations.
- In the second quarter of this year, the NDP collected $1.08 million from 15,906 donors. In the same period, the Conservatives brought in $5.07 million from 37,223 donors and the Liberals, meanwhile, received $4.9 million from 36,080 contributors.
- NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, who went into the last election as a potential contender for the prime minister's job, has been reduced to a placeholder. The NDP convention last April voted 52 per cent in favour of a leadership contest, with Mulcair promising to stay on as interim leader until a replacement is chosen in 2017.
- When the new boss comes on board, the party will have gone 18 months under a lame-duck leader.
