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NDP Leadership

March 25, 2012 by · Comments Off on NDP Leadership 

NDP Leadership, Canada’s New Democrats have chosen Thomas Mulcair to lead their party at a critical time in its history. The Montreal MP, who has promised to protect the NDP’s year-old political beachhead in Quebec, now has the responsibility of leading the party to further success as it tries to replace the governing Tories in the next election.

Mulcair, 57, won the leadership battle over six rivals Saturday after an unpredictable finish that went to four ballots.

By the time the final votes were cast, Mulcair had captured 57.2 per cent of the total – beating his closest rival, former party president Brian Topp, who finished with 42.8 per cent on the last ballot.

In a speech to New Democrats after his victory was announced, Mulcair promised to carry on the legacy of his predecessor, the late Jack Layton, and also encourage more Canadians to support the party.

“As Jack Layton said, our greatest accomplishment wasn’t winning seats in Parliament,” he said.

Instead, it was “giving people a reason to believe, that you can vote for change.”

Mulcair promised to put that into action.

“Democracy can’t just mean the right to vote. Democracy must also mean the knowledge that your vote matters.”

Mulcair also was highly critical of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, which he said operates by appealing to peoples’ fears and “seeking out division.”

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