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I’m back from my meeting with Thomas Mulcair, NDP leadership hopeful. The impression of Mulcair that I received was one of a very well spoken, determined and charismatic politician.

Thomas Mulcair

I asked Mulcair whether the NDP success in Quebec was a result of the voters tiring of the Bloc or if it was an actual embracing of the NDP. Mulcair told me that it was a combination of the two.

He talked about the years of him and Jack Layton traveling and working in Quebec in order to take the NDP message to the people of Quebec who had been voting Bloc.

He jokingly added that they, “Have a got to find a way to make the NDP as popular to the rest of Canada as it is in Quebec.”

When he was asked what it will take for the NDP to form government, he said that the party needs to embrace change, involve youth and to “Do what we did in Quebec.”

He added that the NDP needs to demonstrate to the people of Canada that they are able to provide competent, and capable administration and that the only “special interest group” that the NDP will answer to are the people of Canada.

He also said that the NDP need to work hard in places like New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland-Labrador and PEI. He lamented the fact that the NDP had dropped seats in Manitoba and that there are at least six more seats in BC for the NDP. Mulcair promised to work harder than anyone else in the NDP to form government.

Finally, when asked about Peggy Nash, his leadership rival, Mulcair said that it is not enough to be able to speak a few words of French, the party leader must be able to convince people, in French, to vote for the NDP.

Next NDP leadership candidate for me to meet is Nathan Cullen.

Later today I will be meeting with Thomas Mulcair, federal NDP leadership hopeful. There are a couple of questions I have ready to ask, if I get the opportunity.

The first question I have for Mulcair is, did the recent NDP election success in Quebec have more to do with the collapse of the Bloc or was it an actual embracing of the NDP by the people of Quebec?

The second question I have for Mulcair is, recognizing that politics is a fickle enterprise, to the best of your ability, do you believe that the people of Quebec will continue to support the NDP, or, was the recent election success a one-time success?

And, if I have time for a third question I will ask Mulcair for his prediction for the future of the Liberal Party of Canada.

More later this evening, if I can get my questions to Mulcair.

On Thursday evening I had a very brief meeting with Paul Dewar, federal NDP leadership candidate. Although there were many substantive issues that were discussed during our meeting, the one thing that I can say right now is that Dewar understands the power of social media.

One of the blogs that he is a regular reader of is Dawg’s Blawg. Have a look yourself.

From Jack Layton…

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

The following letter is from our frequent contributor, William Perry. I have to say that more often than not I disagree with Perry, however, today he has expressed some of my thoughts very well.

Jack Layton and Stacey

Jack Layton demonstrated his political skill in taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the Liberals and Bloc. He developed his party into a mass movement and used a combination of his popular support and behind-the-scenes intrigue to propel himself into the official opposition. Furthermore, he raised the profile of national socialism, showed how a modern “civilized” country could behave, and created a virtual certainty that he would be misjudged by opponents. His shoes will not be easily filled.

Rest in Peace Mr Layton. You will be missed.

Letter from ou frequent contributor, William Perry.

EMOTION ASIDE, This is where I am coming from:

The NDP is a party made of varied and arguably strange components, but in essence can be broken down to two major factions, the radicals and the pragmatists. These factions are personified by Layton’s two deputy leaders, Libby Davies and Thomas Mulcair.

At the heart of it all, has always been a reluctance by the New Democrats to look hard at it’s direction and how the party defines itself, specifically the Branding around one personality – Jack’s. With Jack Layton’s health challenges, it highlights the need to expand that leadership base.

You may not agree with me on 99.96 percent of the issues, however as a long time NDPer (42 years and counting), I think it’s a case of the power struggles going on in the party, and an opportunity to “fix it”. I just think that there are a few folks who have been in politics a long time, who want the power and will likely not care how reckless they will become to get it.

In this regard, the New Democratic Party is vulnerable.

Ignatieff and Sukh Dhaliwal

Remember when Sheila Copps said she would resign if the GST was not repealed? It will be interesting to see if Sukh Dhaliwal will follow Copps example and live up to his promise to resign.

At a candidates’ debate yesterday morning, Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal pledged to resign if New Democrat Jinny Sims could confirm her statement that Dhaliwal has the 13th worst attendance record in the House of Commons.

The fact is that Sukh Dhaliwal missed 69 votes – the 13th worst attendance record of all MPs.

It is also interesting to note that the record for the worst attendance goes to Michaeil Ignatieff who missed 135 votes. Not far behind Ignatieff was PM Stephen Harper who missed 82 votes.

The information on how many votes that individual members of parliament missed comes from the website How’d They Vote.

No sooner had Jack Layton unveiled the NDP election platform than the Liberals were responding to it. There was a media opportunity put together where former NDP premier of BC and now federal Liberal, Ujjal Dosanjh spoke about the need for the “progressive voters” to unite under the big red tent of the Liberal Party of Canada.

In the press conference Dosanjh doggedly stuck to his message; progressive voters must unite to stop Harper; “The only realistic alternative to a Harper Conservative government is the Liberal big red tent.”

At the same time Dosanjh admitted that the NDP platform is a good platform but he was not interested in getting into “an NDP-bashing tirade” (been there, done that, learned that lesson). He came back to his core message; progressive voters must unite in the big red tent. And, if progressives do not unite under the big red tent then the Layton promise of 100 days of action will become a period of missed action.

Interesting that Harper held up the specter of a “reckless coalition” as the ultimate frightening bogeyman that Canadians need to fear and now the Ignatieff Liberals are holding up their own bogeyman; the Harper Conservatives with a majority government.

Today I am posing a couple of theoretical questions out there for people to think about and comment on, if you so wish. Here it is; if you lived in a federal riding that had a strong NDP MP who is seeking re-election, a less strong Conservative candidate challenging and a total chump for a Liberal candidate and you were traditionally a Liberal voter, what would you do?

Or change it around a little; you are a lifelong New Democrat who has moved into a riding that is held by strong Liberal MP who is seeking re-election. There is a strong Conservative candidate challenging the Liberal but there really is only a snowball’s chance in hell that the NDP is going to elected. What do you do in this situation, short of moving.

Anyone care to comment?

A follow-up from the William Perry files on why he is no longer voting NDP in federal elections;

Dear Editor: NDP Strategic Voting

NDP has done a Fair job representing us. Good, I say, but this time I’m voting Liberal. Why? Glad you asked. Vote Splitting.

Liberal and NDP are closer than most want to believe. Every time we vote NDP we split the vote and put the Conservatives in power. It is a nice fantasy to have a NDP government, but in reality, it will never happen.

Liberals will bring down the deficit, cut the spending on needless initiatives like more prisons, and on wasteful projects like the F35s.

I have voted NDP for over almost 42 years. But now is time to vote beyond my party and think of what is really achievable and what the end result would be, and after the election, push for a uniting of the centre to left creating on ‘People’s Party’. I dare say we would likely never see a Conservative government again.

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