OTTAWA -- As federal election signs begin to dot lawns in the 338 ridings across the country, the NDP has yet to announce its party candidates in nearly half of those constituencies.
By night’s end, the New Democrats will have 179 contenders covering 52 per cent of the ridings -- lower than the other major parties. The most recently confirmed NDP nominee is the party’s leader.
Jagmeet Singh was officially nominated Friday evening as the candidate in the Burnaby South riding that he’s represented in the House of Commons for six months.
Meanwhile, in just one day this week, the party lost two Ontario candidates, both citing delays in the vetting process.
In Oshawa, Ont., long-time labour leader and past NDP candidate Sid Ryan dropped out of the nomination race on Thursday, saying the amount of time it has taken to be confirmed has hurt his ability to run a successful campaign. Ryan said his local riding association was “in disarray,” and that he felt “disrespected.”
In Simcoe North, Janet-Lynne Durnford took herself out of the running the same day, saying “the party’s delay in conducting and approving my vetting has made it impossible to run an effective campaign.”
She said that since submitting her nomination paperwork in May, her vetting did not begin until mid-July. Meanwhile, she was on a leave of absence from work, attended party events and reached out to constituents. With just days before the election could be called, Durnford said that she didn’t think there would be enough time to raise money or organize a campaign.
“I cannot, and will not, run a half-hearted campaign that does both the party and myself a disservice,” she said in a Facebook post.
“The buck stops at Jagmeet Singh’s desk. He’s is now aware of this problem and he ought to fix it,” Ryan said on Friday.
According to its party website, the NDP have yet to name candidates in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, or Newfoundland and Labrador. They also have not named the sole candidates that will be running in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
There are also big gaps to fill in Quebec, which was home to the 2011 ‘orange wave,’ vote-rich Ontario, and British Columbia, which is home to the second-largest current contingent of NDP MPs.
NDP strategist Anne McGrath, who has been involved in a number of past NDP federal campaigns, including as national campaign director in 2015, said finding a full roster of candidates is always a challenge.
“It’s actually increasingly very, very complicated. Primarily I think because of social media. The vetting process takes a long time, particularly when the candidates have a history,” McGrath said. She said the NDP policy is that whether an incumbent or high-profile candidate or not, all contenders are vetted.
“Were very committed making sure we have a slate of candidates that will represent their constituents well, that will be able to articulate the issues and the priorities of the people in their riding, and of the party,” she said.
Don Davies, the incumbent NDP MP and candidate for Vancouver Kingsway, B.C. told CTV News that while the party may be “a bit behind,” he said the party either already has, or will soon have candidates in the key ridings.
“You show me a good, strong, winnable NDP seat in the country that doesn't have a good candidate right now,” he said.
McGrath said that even when candidates are nominated late, depending on the political tides, “people can get elected whether they’re well-known or considered to be in a winnable riding or not.”
Erin Weir -- who was removed from the party in 2018 after what Singh said was an unsuccessful attempt at mediation following an investigation into harassment allegations -- sought to run again, but was denied.
He said as a lifetime New Democrat it is “really concerning” to see the party “struggling so badly.” He speculated that with the focus being on Singh’s riding to ensure he won the February byelection, that not enough resources have been spread across the country.
In 2015 the NDP won 44 seats, but nearly a dozen incumbents decided not to run again, denying their decision to leave federal politics was related to Singh taking the helm of the party.
As of Friday the Liberals have 275 nominated candidates, the Conservatives have 333, the Green Party have 284 candidates, and the People’s Party have 315.
The NDP say they are confident that they will have a full roster by election day.
Election Canada’s deadline to register candidates to appear on ballots is 2 p.m. local time, 21 days before election day.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call the election anytime between this weekend and Sept. 15, with voters heading to the polls on Oct. 21.
With a report from CTV News’ Annie Bergeron Oliver
