Singh Survives Leadership Review, Calls ‘Forcing’ Dental Care a Success for NDP at Convention

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to the media after receiving a vote of support from 81 percent of the delegates present at the NDP Convention in Hamilton on Oct. 14, 2023. The Canadian Press/Peter Power

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh celebrated his party having “forced” the Liberals to pay for dental care for low-income Canadian families during his keynote address at the party convention taking place in Hamilton Oct. 13–15. He also survived a leadership review, receiving 81 percent of the votes from delegates.

“Hundreds of thousands of families are able to take their kids to the dentist now because we forced the government to fund it,” Mr. Singh said to the crowded room awash with orange signs on Oct. 14.

Mr. Singh said that was just the beginning of expanding government-funded health care in the country.

“Reality is Liberals only act when New Democrats force them. That’s how we got Medicare, and that’s how we are going to win PharmaCare as well.”

He said Canadians pay “some of the highest prescription drug costs in the world.”

“We are going to force this government to finally bring in legislation to lay the groundwork for PharmaCare, to bring down the cost of medication for everyone, and to deliver a universal public Medicare that includes medication coverage for all.”

Two resolutions that party delegates are voting on include making mental health care and substance use health services a part of the public health care system, and the creation of a crown corporation to manufacture vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

The convention began on Oct. 13 with speeches by B.C. Premier David Eby, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, and a video speech from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

Other speakers at the convention will include Ontario’s Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles, president of the Canadian Labour Congress Bea Bruske, German politician Thorsten Klute, and a video message from newly elected Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

Leadership Review

Following his keynote speech, Mr. Singh survived a leadership review with 81 percent of support from the voting delegates.

This marked a decline in support for the NDP leader, who received 87 percent of the votes in 2021, and 91 percent in 2018.

An Ipsos online survey shows that support for the NDP is on the rise, seemingly at the expense of falling support for the Liberals. The Sept. 21 survey found 17 percent of Canadians supported the party, while 39 percent supported the Conservatives and 30 percent backed the governing Liberals.

Calls for More Housing, Higher Wages

Mr. Singh said in his speech that the NDP is committed to creating more housing and higher wages.

“People are angry and discouraged. They’re doing everything they can and they still can’t make ends meet,” he said, adding that the country needs the NDP to help.

“Most young people right now believe that they will never own a home. We know that if you’re a renter, you live with a constant fear that the landlord could just throw you out just to make more money. And if you have a mortgage, you watch every month as interest rates go up, knowing someday you just won’t be able to pay the bills.”

He said the federal government had the power and needed to use that power to jump-start the building of affordable housing.

“We have to build more homes that people can actually afford, and we have to do it faster. We can save affordable homes from being sold off to rich developers. We can use the federal power we have, the money and the land to build homes that are affordable. We can get Canada building again.”

Another resolution being voted on at the convention looks at a plan that would see 3.5 million new “high-quality, affordable housing units over the next decade.”

Mr. Singh also said that working Canadians need to be paid more.

“I’ve been on picket lines all over Canada and I can tell you the way you get a powerful paycheck is with a powerful union fighting for a bigger share of the profits that workers create,” he said.

NDP delegates will be voting on their support to increase the federal minimum wage to $20, and bring more transparency to CEO-to-median-worker pay.

‘Climate Crisis’

During his speech, Mr. Singh also touched on renewable energy plans for the country.

“This summer I met with people in the Northwest Territories who have lost everything,“ he said. ”They know the climate crisis is real. It’s here. They’re living it. When fires and floods hit communities, it’s regular people who lose the most. They lose their homes, their jobs, and the lives that they built.”

He said his party was committed to bringing “clean and affordable electricity” to the country.

“We build this future with more, not less, renewable energy,” he said. “This means we have to find better ways to support Canadians to heat their homes, to get where they need to go, and to live their lives. It also means creating good jobs, good union jobs, that support families and fight the climate crisis at the same time. We can do both.”

Delegates will be voting on whether they support an interprovincial power grid that would run from east to west, to help reach 100 percent non-emitting electricity.

World Violence

Mr. Singh also spoke to the party faithful about the violence in different parts of the world, including Ukraine and Israel.

“Children especially pay the price for war,” he said. “In the last weeks, I’ve heard from many who shared their personal pain. Jewish Canadians, descendants of Holocaust survivors who grew up hearing the stories of their families being dragged out of their homes and killed.”

He said those he spoke to from the Jewish community feel that “the world’s promise of ‘never again’ has been broken.”

Mr. Singh said he’s also spoken to Palestinian Canadians watching what is happening in their homeland.

“I’ve heard Palestinian Canadians who grieve for those killed by bombs and rockets, and live in fear of what tomorrow will bring. Their families are caught in a never-ending cycle of death and destruction.”

He said Canada needs to call for an end to the violence.

“We can never forget that we share a collective humanity and a collective responsibility to protect all people from violence and terror.”

He said there was no justification for the torture, murder, and sexual violence done by Hamas, but that there needed to be a “call for the immediate end of the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza.”

Hamas terrorists attacked Israel in the early morning of Oct. 7. The attacks involved thousands of rockets, and terrorists targeting civilians on the ground in Israeli cities by the Gaza border. The terrorists also took members of the Israeli military and civilians, including children, as hostages to Gaza.

In response, Israel declared a state of war and conducted air raids on targets in Gaza. Israel has asked civilians in Gaza to evacuate. Hamas in some cases has blocked the evacuation of civilians.

Mr. Singh also talked about the issue raised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House on Sept. 18 that there were “credible allegations” that agents working for New Delhi had a hand in the gun slaying of Sikh secessionist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in Surrey.

“The shocking revelation implicating the Indian government in the murder of a Canadian on Canadian soil makes so many in our country worry for their own safety and doubt the promise that this is a country where freedom of expression is guaranteed,” he said.

So far, Ottawa has not produced proof of the claims, and the issue has created a deep diplomatic row between the two governments, with India asking Canada to reduce its diplomatic representation in New Delhi. Ottawa has since moderated its rhetoric on India, with allies also not getting in the middle of the dispute, signalling their stance that they see India as a significant partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

Future Generations

Mr. Singh also spoke to the crowd about the importance of reconciliation, indigenous women and children’s safety, clean water for all Canadians, and his hope for his daughter, and all children.

“I want [her] to be able to choose how to live her life without fear. I want her to always know that she'll have enough—enough money to meet her needs and enough time to spend with the people she loves,” he said.

“Let’s breed more compassion. New Democrats, we have a lot of work to do. Are you ready to take our vision to Canadians? Are you ready to work hard? Are you ready to win?”

He told the crowd, who were chanting “N-D-P,” that together, they could “build the Canada of our dreams.”

“My parents came to Canada so that we could live a better life. I also want [my daughter] to be able to dream a future without limits.”

Noé Chartier and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.