The NDP does NOT need a Short Leadership Race

The Party needs time to organize for Victory

The Federal NDP leadership race approaches, but before the race itself begins, there are many debates on how the contest should even be structured to ensure the best result for the party. And while there are many such questions being asked, one above all is how long the race should be.

While many people in the party—including folks I have deep respect for—want to see a shorter leadership race timeframe to get the new person up and running, I think time is needed to put forward a vision, welcome new voices, energize the base, raise money, and account for past errors. All of this is harder, I feel, if the race is too rushed.

Let’s break down how taking our time, even if only for a moderate amount, can help move forward

We Need Time to Talk

Obviously the party achieved an awful result in the 2025 election, both in seat count and popular vote share. There are many reasons this is the case, but it’s not a fully simplistic answer. Some will suggest the party veered to close to the centre; others will suggest the party became too ‘woke’ (whatever the hell that means); some will suggest that the former leader needed to exit before the election to get a fresh face. Further still, many will argue that the Trump factor made this a unique election, from which pulling lessons could be difficult.

How we debate and discuss these matters will drive the contest, but these talks being accelerated could lead up to reactive choices that have us running toward the LAST election, rather than the NEXT one.

NDP MP Heather McPherson, who many expect will be running for leader, is having some of those discussions right now. Jumping into a leadership vote right away would cut them short.

We Need a Proven Organizer

One limitation of a short race is that it doesn’t allow emerging candidates to prove their mettle, whereas with time a newer candidate can demonstrate their competency and prospect for winning. A very short timeframe won’t entail picking a great organizer, but rather someone who already has an audience. If we want a comprehensive contest where say—an exciting candidate can burst through—that can only happen with some time to percolate.

And this isn’t to say that we should outright reject perceived frontrunners: what better way to prove you belong at the top then by building a national movement of passionate New Democrats?

This will also help us going into the next election, because the time taken to organize leadership contest votes will carry over if we do it right.

We Need a Proven Fundraiser

Talk about money is often uncomfortable in NDP circles. Many recoil at the idea that our leader must be able to raise money, and that members should have this as a priority in who they decide to choose. One place where I disagree with many fellow leftists in the NDP is that I support a fairly high leadership entry fee. While some see that as limiting accessibility, I feel it’s actually proving the ability to run a modern, high-cost campaign to compete with the capitalist parties.

Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Zohran Mamdani have repeatedly demonstrated you can raise large sums of money based off ‘27 dollar average donations’, and if we’re looking to build a movement to transform Canada, the next leader must rival them in fundraising prowess

But much like with the above point, you can’t actually determine who the best fundraiser is with a short timeframe. A longer race will allow outsider candidates the time to raise money, and not have it be just who has the most well-off friends at the start of the contest.

We Need to Introduce Candidates to Canadians

Name recognition in politics isn’t everything, of course, but it does have some inherent value. Right now, however, even the expected frontrunners for leader aren’t especially well-known by Canadians. Reporting by The Canadian Press indicates this:

A majority of respondents to the Research Co. poll said they “don’t know who the person is” when asked about possible candidates like current New Democrat MPs Leah Gazan, Gord Johns, Jenny Kwan and Heather McPherson.

The same goes for other high-profile New Democrats like former House leader Ruth Ellen Brosseau, former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart and filmmaker Avi Lewis.

This means that some of the biggest names in the race are unknowns, to say nothing of emerging voices. A leadership race will be a rare point in time where the NDP gets sustained media coverage: time where Canadians can meet the candidates and engage with them. This can’t be done if the process is rushed.

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While I respect the position that the party would benefit from a new leader in Parliament ASAP, there are bigger pitfalls to rushing into a mistake. Besides, I feel like Don Davies has been doing an admirable job as interim leader.

Let’s use this time to build and invest in the party’s future