Quebec New Democrats, gathered in congress, court Bloc voters

Photo: Justin Tang The Canadian Press New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh poses outside the West Block of Parliament, his office on Parliament Hill.

Émilie Bergeron – The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Published at 11:50 a.m.

• Canada

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh argues that voting for a Bloc member is tantamount to trying to elect a “token MP” as he seeks to convince Bloc Québécois voters to switch to his party.

Singh addresses Quebec New Democratic Party (NDP) activists gathered for the weekend in Gatineau on Saturday. The Bloc, which is leading Quebec in voting intentions, was the primary target of his attacks during his speech.

“If (voters) really want to see changes to improve people's lives, to help workers, we have shown that it is us. And a Bloc MP is more or less a symbolic MP,” the NDP leader told The Canadian Press in an interview in his office on Parliament Hill.

According to Mr. Singh, the Bloc members have brought “not much” or “almost nothing” to Quebecers under Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government, while his party has made gains to help them make ends meet.

In his speech Saturday, the NDP leader mentioned that the NDP respects “the right to self-determination” of Quebecers, who have the choice to remain within the Canadian federation or not.

“So we’re going to try to convince people. We respect your right, you have a choice, but to change people's lives, the Bloc does not want to and will never form the government. That is not their goal.”

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A recent Abacus poll shows that the NDP has overtaken the Liberals in national support outside Quebec (21% versus 19%), while the Conservatives maintain their strong lead (43%). However, in Quebec, the picture is quite different, with the NDP in fourth place and garnering only 10% support.

“That means there is work to be done in Quebec. […] We need to inject more energy, we need to show that yes, we can defeat the Conservatives,” commented Mr. Singh.

At his side, his only Quebec MP, Alexandre Boulerice, believes that the NDP has greater “growth potential” in the province than Pierre Poilievre’s troops.

“In the latest polls that I’ve seen, we’re also first in people’s second choice,” maintained the man who is also deputy leader of the NDP.

MM. Singh and Boulerice say they are encouraged by the results of the recent by-election in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, even though their candidate Craig Sauvé bit the dust.

“It was a statistical tie, actually, and I think it can serve as a springboard for many other ridings in Quebec,” Boulerice believes.

The race in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun was very close, with Bloc Québécois Louis-Philippe Sauvé winning with 28% support, warmed by the Liberals (27.2%) and the NDP (26.1%).

“I think this experience has shown that there is momentum in Montreal and […] that we can win,” Mr. Singh added.

He sees the Quebec NDP convention as “another step” in this “momentum.”

“People don't necessarily remember it, but the orange wave with Jack Layton was his fourth election as leader. So, sometimes we plant seeds like that in people's minds, we have proposals that resonate and it doesn't always move the needles in the polls right away, right away,” said Mr. Boulerice.

Could an orange wave happen again one day, according to the New Democrats? ? “It's always possible, it's extremely possible,” replied the Quebec MP immediately. From there to going as far as to say when this much-desired meteoric rise of the New Democrats would take place, Mr. Boulerice does not risk taking out a crystal ball.

According to Mr. Singh, Quebec is unique compared to the rest of Canada. “If you look at the other provinces and territories, Quebec is the province where anything can go wrong. It's the province where people are open to changing their position,” he believes.

It remains to be seen when the next federal election will be. To bring down the government, the three main opposition parties will have to join forces by challenging the Liberal minority government with a motion of non-confidence. So far, such motions submitted by the Conservatives have been defeated, with the NDP and the Bloc opposing them.