Singh of New Democrats seeks to dance his way to the role of King of Canada

WINNIPEG / VANCOUVER, Sept. 15 (Reuters) – Sports dance moves to TikTok videos in neon turban signs, left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) leader of Canada is ready to recover from a stumbling block in the 2019 elections his position as king in the country’s next government.

Singh, the first member of a visible minority to lead a major Canadian federal party, helped defend the Liberal minority government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for two years and was able to resume that role. A narrow race means the Liberals or Conservatives may end up with another minority after the September 20 election.

Singh, 42, a criminal defense attorney who became the leader of the NDP in 2017, surpasses Trudeau and Conservative leader Erin O’Toole in personal popularity, according to polls and polls. But the NDP lags behind in both polls, with 20% support among undecided voters, compared to 32% for both Liberals and Conservatives, according to a Leger poll on Tuesday.

The NDP campaign has been offensive, with Singh visiting almost exclusively districts where the party has no seats, a party official said.

The party, which currently has 24 seats in Parliament, says it has more troops than in 2019, when it finished third, and is trying to actively take advantage of Singh’s popularity and knowledge on social media.

Singh’s TikTok videos regularly reach over a million views and he rushes to jump on Instagram and Snapchat with campaign updates. Last year he faced American Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the popular video game Among Us, in a live fundraiser.

In the last days of the campaign, the NDP plans to appear in the Nintendo Animal Crossing video game and is planning to project its image on the sides of buildings.

It is unclear whether this will translate into more votes. The NDP could also see its traditional youth base affected by the absence of university-based polling stations this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Still, the party tends to poll higher than this time around in 2019.

“People didn’t really know Jagmeet Singh in the last election,” said Nikki Hill, who previously helped lead federal PND campaigns and is now an Earnscliffe political strategist. “What they’ve seen in the last two years is someone they really identify with.”

For the past two years, Singh has been pushing for more social spending by the Liberal government and resisted previous government gambits to provoke an election, saying it was unnecessary in a pandemic.

Another minority government would result in Liberals or Conservatives relying on Singh to support the next government, giving the NDP the opportunity to make concessions on its priority issues, such as government-paid medicines or dental care, higher taxes. on the rich, hiking minimum wage and cancellation of student debt.

“People are fed up with the Liberals taking it for granted,” Singh told Reuters. “Things haven’t improved, they’ve gotten worse, so expect something different.”

Asked about common areas where the NPD could work with the Liberals or the Conservatives, he said: “I’m less interested in committing to a party (to work for it.) I commit to working on things that improve the people’s lives “.

“If anyone wants to work with me to record the super-rich, I welcome people,” Singh added.

Trudeau has warned that progressive votes for the NDP, rather than the Liberals, can help elect conservatives and has criticized Singh’s climate plan for lack of details.

The NDP has pledged C $ 200 billion ($ 158.2 billion) in new spending over five years and promises to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 from 2005 levels. But in a recent debate by leaders, Singh dodged questions on whether it would cancel the expansion of the government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline.

The NDP must gain victories in British Columbia and the urban city of Toronto to consolidate significant gains, benefiting in part from a dysfunctional Green Party, according to pollsters. The NPD could win six seats in Canada’s largest city, Toronto, according to a senior Conservative.

The NPD may have more leverage in the next government because polls indicate it may be the only losing party, apart from the Conservatives or Liberals, with enough constituency seats to pass laws, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at the CIBC.

Winning it all can be a step too far for the NPD, which has never had federal power. At his best display, he got a second-place clash in 2011 and became the official opposition for a few years.

At a campaign stop in late August in Winnipeg, Indigenous leaders appeared with Singh at a press conference before unexpectedly supporting a Liberal in a Manitoba parliamentary constituency.

Singh looked uncomfortable.

“All campaigns experience difficulties at some point,” said Alex Marland, a political science professor at Memorial University in Newfoundland.

Additional reports by Julie Gordon and David Ljunggren in Ottawa Edited by Alistair Bell

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