What a truckload of Hooey. I notice that not one mention of when the NDP was reduced to 9 seats under Audrey M...and returned as opposition under Layton. Also Fred, you conveniently forgot to mention when the Conservatives were routed down to two seats, ...and they came back. I will never trust a Conservative and their wishful thinking and musings of the Death of the NDP. Also if you look over your shoulder, the NDP provincially owns EVERY major city in Western Canada and lets not forget Olivia is running Toronto. News of the NDP's premature death is bogus and the last person on the Hill we'd ever ask for insights is Tory Fred Delorey. !
Appreciate the passion, but let’s get a few things straight.
Yes, the NDP was reduced to 9 seats under Audrey McLaughlin, but the party didn’t face today’s compliance environment. Back then, parties could still accept unlimited corporate and union donations, and campaign finance rules were far more forgiving. Audrey didn’t need to worry about violating contribution laws if a loan wasn’t repaid. Today’s NDP does.
Also, no one’s disputing that political parties can come back from the brink. The PCs did it (well, kinda, sorta). So did the NDP. But those were political challenges. What we’re talking about here is a legal and structural crisis - millions in potential compliance violations and no clear path to repayment. That’s not "wishful thinking," it’s what the Canada Elections Act lays out plainly.
And yes, the NDP governs in places like Manitoba and B.C., Official Opposition in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. That’s all true. But federal and provincial dynamics aren’t interchangeable, and if anything, that grassroots strength makes the situation even more tragic. A national party with real local talent, now possibly crippled by serious financial issues.
You don’t have to like the messenger... but ignoring the message won’t make this crisis go away.
Surprise, a conservative who thinks Cash is King and the sole determinant of victory. If politics is only about who's got the cash...then we'd have corporations and Conservatives running and winning every time . The NDP's ideology is what attracts voters , not fat war chest bank accounts. (See the last 4 federal elections, Cons had more money than any other parties) To say the regulatory rules of Elections Canada are so strict the NDP will collapse is farcical. I can guarantee you that the Millions of Canadians who voted and have voted for the NDP, will not stand by under a new NDP leader and allow it to collapse from lack of funds . Besides its not up to a conservative to read us Our Last Rights...it's the Canadian people and they are not prepared for us to slip into an American Style 2 party divisive system. Did the Conservatives collapse after Kim Campbell ? ...No So a reasoned debate would also allow your opponents the same grace. Tommy said it all " I am hurt, but I am not slain. I'll lie me down and bleed awhile, but then I'll rise, and fight again."
The problem with NDP and supporters is how completely oblivious most of you are to the importance of good economic management. Somehow you believe concerning yourself with money is beneath you. That you can skip right over that and move straight into what you can give people. Because you’re the good guys right? And the rich are going to pay anyway. Yet that never EVER works and cannot work the way u imagine. And it’s always the least fortunate who pay the highest price for bad management. But don’t let failure stop you! It’s not at all surprising the NDP ended up in this mess. The socialist types have a tendency to leave wreckage in their wake.
The wealthiest need to be taxed a lot more. Sadly that won't happen in our life time here in North America. Yes it does work.. one only has to look to Northern Europe to see that work. Robust social programs that are the envy of the world, a superior education system, deemed the happiest people on earth.
When economy is doing well yes it’s possible but it’s not possible when you’re printing money and racking up debt while economy is shrinking. None of those who most needed dental care or free prescriptions will be better off in years to come. It’s guaranteed they will have less despite the added government services. Or because of them. You can take that to the bank!
Yeah that doesn’t work either. Look up the Laffer curve. Even so heavy taxation within a country doesn’t begin to reach anyone with real wealth anyway. Those with real wealth have access to complex tax strategies and off shore accounts, set up foundations etc. It’s a massive problem today because their wealth is accumulating to such a degree that they control most governments. The entire fiat currency system is a problem. It was rigged from the start to ensure power remained in few hands.
More fiction pedalled as fact. The NDP has never been in power federally, but still managed to implement Medicare and Dental Care and prescription aid with tough negotiating skills. Provincially in Sask Blakeney and the NDP introduced 10 out of eleven balanced budgets. Minimal debt ( 4.5 billion in crown investments debt). Romanow and Calvert introduced 11 out of 13 balanced budgets and reduced the provincial debt left by Devine down from 14 billion to 9 . The NDP are superior to either the Libs or Cons delivering fiscally sound management. So your mantras are based on rhetoric rather than facts .
And guess who is paying for it? What good is more social programs if you are pushing more and more of the country into poverty to pay for those programs? That is always how it goes. Those with assets are the beneficiaries of money printing those who get some crumbs back in social programs are the ones who pay the most. That’s why more and more people in Canada are using food banks. The government massively expanded yet GDP is shrinking and inflation eats far more than paying out of pocket. Until u can magically change the physics of money you ideas will always fail. But don’t let failure stop you! The moral superiority is enough.
i honestly hope you do not use the universal health care system, or send your kids to public schools or the new federal dental program.
You're absolutely wrong about why food bank usage is up in CAnada. Thank greedy corporate landlords for hiking up rents exponentially. Also thank greedy CEO's like Galen Weston for the higher food prices. Not a word about them though...
Denial is not going to help your party's financial and potential legal issues. Instead of being in denial how's about trying to find solutions to their problems if you want to help rebuild your party? Volunteer for your local riding association, donate money if you can, etc.
Welcome to North American politics, man where cash is unfortunately king.
NDP has been broke for many years now and particularly under Singh. Didn't they have to sell one of their buildings in Ottawa to finance their 2019 election campaign? They haven't been able to raise funds as they had under Jack Layton or even Tom Mulcair for that matter. They have not been able to sell memberships.
"I can guarantee you that the Millions of Canadians who voted and have voted for the NDP, will not stand by under a new NDP leader and allow it to collapse from lack of funds ." I hope you're right but to help, is some massive fundraising to pay back those loans in time to be able to close those bank accounts and be ready to open a new one when the next election comes around. We are, after all, in a minority situation, so 4 years of the CArney gov't is far from guaranteed. Carney's honeymoon will likely end this fall when the Carney hyper partisans and voters realize he is getting us closer and closer to be the 51st state by signing us to what is no doubt a terrible "deal" which the orange sociopath in the white house will likely not honour anyway because of some tantrum he has. All this to say that the NDP really don't have that much time to get their affairs in order. Again, the only way to save the NDP is some financial miracle. Good if millions vote for them but it doesn't help financially - not anymore since Harper scrapped the per vote subsidy way back when.
True Fred is a conservative pundit but he's not wrong and as mentioned, he's one of the more fair Conservative candidates I've listened to and he does know his stuff. Blaming him for sounding alarm bells on the NDP does not make their problems go away.
"Besides its not up to a conservative to read us Our Last Rights...it's the Canadian people and they are not prepared for us to slip into an American Style 2 party divisive system." Well, the last election results seem to say otherwise.
I don't think Fred was reading the last rights... he is merely stating his opinion based on facts and the Elections CAnada party financing regs.
Unless a new party for the center left is formed and properly registered with Elections Canada and such or the NDP has some miraculous reversal in fortunes, it looks like it could well be more or less a two party system. Again, denial does not help.
Again, using Kim Campbell and the collapse of the Progressive Conservative vote as a point of reference here is comparing apples and oranges. The party did collapse. They no longer exist after they merged with Canadian Alliance to become the Conservative Party of Canada which is quite different from the old Progressive Conservatives.
Back in 1993 union and corporate donations were allowed; the NDP could rely on the unions to continue to fund them - they can't this time. The rebates were their only source of cash that didn't rely on individual donations and they've lost probably 80-90% of whatever they got in 2021 (not only a smaller number of rebates, but ridings probably spent a lot less than they did last time, meaning the rebates they'll get are smaller). The PCs in 1993 still had a majority in the Senate; PC senators gave up some of their parliamentary funding to support the party in the House of Commons. The NDP has neither the union funding or a large Senate contingent to make up for its funding shortfalls.
Every major city in western Canada is a Capital G government town, laden with major healthcare infrastructure including research facilities, university and college campuses and Provincial capitals and all the government workers that support the effort. Add in the public education system and municipal workforce. These cities directly employ large numbers of unionized public servants who are doing quite nicely while regular people fall farther behind. They know which side bread is buttered and which political party can be relied upon to keep the gravy train flowing.
If the NDP can’t operate in this environment, there is little chance of success anywhere else.
Unionized workers, many considered essential, are “regular people” too. More regular people should get paid what their labour is worth. Their labour and their higher tax rates contribute to vibrant cities and communities, which would be even better off if we’d tax the rich!
Fred might be a Conservative but I've watched his commentary with Peter Mansbridge on Tuesdays as well as his commentary on CBC's P &P and he's actually one of the most fair of the Conservative commentators on political talk shows, at least I think so anyway. I don't necessarily agree with him all the time - I'm not a conservative ideologically speaking but he is fair and gets it right much of the time.
Comparing Audrey McLaughlin's misfortunes to those of Jagmeet Singh and now Don Davies inheriting these problems is comparing apples and oranges. Back in the 90s, rules were different. It was much easier for political parties to raise money than it is today.
You also cannot compare provincial NDP parties with the federal. In fact, I think some provincial NDPers like Alberta's for example have detached themselves from the federal party.
As we have now two right wingers running the show in Parliament - Cave - in Carney & Petey Polyester, we have no viable left party in the HoC and that is a problem for people like us and is very disconcerting to say the least. They can't really hold the gov't to account in Question Period even because as sitting independents, they're not affording places in committees and are limited in how many questions they can ask.
Living in denial is not helpful to those who are to the left of Cave-in Carney and Pierre Polyester.
I agree about Delorey’s fairness. It’s a relief to have found a Conservative that is fair and reasonable so that I can get that POV for a balanced understanding of issues.
One can always tell a Conservative die hard as they refer to the NDP as the NDP Party....hello in there? The P in NDP stands for Party ,so your language is redundant. ... much like Pierre P. .....you wont catch me calling The CPC The Conservative Party of Canada Party .
The base DNA of the NDP is to spend everyone else’s money.
Well, if the NDP is mired in debt and if the grassroots want a left leaning voice in Parliament then they better get their wallets out. The public funding of the small caucus in Ottawa is gone. The Election Canada rebates have evaporated after a terrible election campaign, and worst of all is the moribund fundraising track record in recent years. It has been eons since Harper cut off the government tithe to political parties based on voter support in elections and while the Liberal Party and Conservatives have adapted in order to compete, the NDP moan about the loss of public funding.
It didn’t have to be this way. Jagmeet Singh had the Trudeau Liberals cornered in the summer and fall of 2024 and supporting a non confidence vote would have delivered an election day drubbing to the Liberals that was richly deserved. Singh dithered, made himself and the party look foolish in the process and guess who ended up with the humiliating election day loss?
The base "Mythology of Conservatives" is to Blame the NDP for debt. This is pure hypocrisy and narcissistic projection. Just look at the debt Harper ran up, Mulroney or in Sask. the Cons have ballooned our debt to over 33 Billion in 18 years of mismanagement. Devine in the eighties did the same, nearly bankrupted the province. Get another song sheet as this song you are singing "Blame the NDP " is old and out of tune and not on the hit parade anymore.
They have become a party of jew haters - and have lost their way . The results of the last election proved that they are not relavent . I say this as a former ndp voter . Never EVER again.
I’m not sure I understand the gravity. If the worst case scenario is they sell the Jack Layton building, pay off their debts and just rent office space (like the used to for decades), then the only thing lost is some pride and an asset, but certainly not the overall party’s financial viability. Am I missing something?
Yes, you are missing a few critical things. This isn’t just about selling a building to balance the books.
If the loan isn't repaid within three years, Elections Canada can deem the unpaid amount a political contribution. That’s a problem because banks aren’t allowed to donate to political parties — and no individual can legally contribute millions. That would trigger serious compliance violations, potential criminal charges against the party’s chief agent, and an order to repay the full amount from party funds immediately.
If they can’t? The party could face asset seizures, loss of creditworthiness, and a long-term inability to secure campaign financing. So no, it’s not just about pride or office space. It’s about whether the party can legally, structurally, and financially operate at a national level in future elections.
A fully funded campaign caps out at $30 million. The party knew it was heading into a challenging scenario… there would have been financial projections made into exactly this situation. You’re painting the worst case scenario based on an assumption that the NDP borrowed what, $10 million? $15 million? This is an outrageous level of leverage; it’s impossible to imagine the NDP financing that much. Not to mention we went into this election in the best financial situation in many years. Will the financial rebuild be a challenge? Yes. Is there any evidence - based on the actual financial data of the party - that this legal quagmire you describe is based in reality? No. And if I’m wrong, please confirm the amount of that loan for me that this nightmare scenario hinges on.
First, you’re absolutely right that a national campaign is capped around $30–35 million. But that’s exactly why this matters: a party’s ability to spend close to that cap usually depends on borrowing, and in recent elections, parties have routinely taken out multi-million-dollar loans to bridge the gap between spending plans and fundraising cash-on-hand.
Now, has the NDP publicly disclosed the exact size of the 2025 campaign loan? No...and that’s part of the concern. But insiders close to the campaign have told me the party was going to spend the max - and based on their own fundraising, that means they needed a multi-million dollar loan. And every time the NDP takes a loan they partially secure it with reimbursements from local campaigns.
That model collapses when fewer than 50 of 343 candidates qualify for reimbursements. That’s where the risk kicks in.
If the party truly only borrowed a few million and has a viable plan to pay it back, great - and they should say so. But until we see hard numbers, this isn’t fearmongering. It’s asking legitimate questions about accountability, risk, and whether the party’s central campaign was financially responsible.
If I’m wrong, I’d welcome transparency - publish the loan amount and repayment plan. But silence doesn’t inspire confidence.
Thanks for the response. I can also confirm, as a 2025 candidate, that the plan was to spend the max. And it did appear from conversations with National that they felt well prepared to do so.
You said they have three years to pay back those loans or they could be in serious legal trouble. My quesiton is what happens if we're called to an election sooner than three years from now? As you know, minority governments can be disolved at any time.
Great question. Yes, the party has three years from the date the loan was incurred to repay it, regardless of when the next election is called. So if another election happens sooner, that repayment deadline from 2025 still stands.
Now, in theory, they could take out a new loan to fund the next campaign - but that’s a big “if.” Financial institutions aren’t exactly lining up to lend to a party that’s already struggling to repay a previous loan, has no official party status in the House, and saw a massive drop in riding-level reimbursements. That’s a serious credit risk.
So while another election wouldn’t necessarily accelerate the repayment deadline, it could expose just how financially constrained the party has become, and potentially lock them out of running a competitive national campaign altogether.
The legacy of Jagmeet Singh in full view. He was a disaster from the moment he became Leader; and sealed his fate with the obnoxious cooperation agreement with the Liberals. And then refusing to support a non-confidence vote so he could hang on to claim pension eligibility. Wow - what a sordid tale.
I am not a Jagmeeet Singh fan, but the suggestion that securing a pension was a major motivating factor in his political decisions is baseless partisan drivel. He supported the Liberals because the Conservative Prime Ministerial alternative was an insufferable rage-farmer twit who had insulted Singh personally.
It would be more the case that Singh was a disaster because he watered down the differences between the NDP and the Liberals even more than Layton and Mulcair did, and he had no distinct policies of his own to offer once the Liberals were successfully forced into adopting the NDP pharmacare and dental care plans.
Justin Trudeau was very, very good at alienating people and converting former friends into enemies and giving more and more people good reasons to hate him and making himself very unpopular. He was also a gravy-train for both the NDP and the CPC with the very self-serving Jagmeet Singh exploiting Trudeau's political weakness by supporting Trudeau well past his best-by date for a big price while PP exploited public antipathy to Trudeau with his incessant rage-farming and incessant demands for political donations. JS and the NDP are now paying the price for Singh's incompetence and selfishness and PP will soon also pay a price in the by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot by self-servingly bumping off a popular young MP, Damien Kurek, to make room for himself and many local voters might just vote with their feet and stay home and ignore PP. PP could have simply asked Cheryl Gallant to finally retire after 25+ years and take over her very safe riding where even a muskrat nominated by the CPC would win. His "office-wife", Jenni Byrne, is also extremely unpopular with CPC MPs and all that unhappiness will soon catch up with PP and shorten his political career. Meanwhile the Libs have elected an actual "progressive conservative" as their leader who not only can sweet-talk Trump but he can even please Danielle Smith and keep her smiling:- Mark Carney is the "energizer bunny" of Canadian politics!:- who cares what happens to the NDP or the CPC:- they had their big chance and they blew it so good riddance to them!
Which former friends did Trudeau convert into enemies, besides Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott?
By all accounts Damien Kurek volunteered to give up his seat of his own accord. Despite how powerful Canadian party leaders tend to be, Poilievre had no leverage to compel the resignation of any particular MP, and no ability nor capacity to compel Cheryl Gallant to give up her seat. As critical as I myself am of Poilievre, here he was really at the mercy of whoever was personally loyal enough to do him a favour.
Well I must say exaggeration does not prove your point. There are 2 million Canadians using food banks and guess what...50 % are children. They are not there by choice but necessity . They are not there because we have Medicare or sound social programs, they are there because of corporate give aways. for instance The Fossil Fuel industry received from the Canadian federal government at least $29.6 billion in 2024 If you wish to receive pay as you go Medicare...you are welcome in any state in the US to book your appointment and meet their fees.
Sadly, the NDP rump holds the balance of power in our minority government. None of these socialists have any marketable skills that would earn them more than the $209,800 annual salary they will be paid as MPs. We are stuck with them, and the Carney Liberals, for the next four years.
My wife, smart lady, claimed that Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh were in cahoots to destroy the NDP party forever. Not being a fan of conspiracy theories, I took this with a grain of salt. Events have shown that, once again, she may be right.
Justin Trudeau was a perfect example of Parkinson's Law at work as someone with a telegenic face and a good pedigree but not much IQ being promoted well beyond his level of competence by the Liberals and eventually imposing a state of injelititis on the whole country., C Northcote Parkinson recommended burning down the building in such cases but Canadian taxpayers might take a dim view of burning down the Parliament Building so perhaps instead we should have a "bonfire of the vanities" on Parliament Hill and burn Trudeau, Singh, and Poilievre at the stake while us ordinary folks dance and "shake our bogies" and drink socialist pink lemonade:- sounds like it could be a lot of fun, no?
In 2005, Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to rescue Paul Martin's Liberal government. Her campaign as a Conservative spent $70,000 over her legal limit on a victory party in Newmarket-Aurora. When Elections Canada came after her for the illegal $70,000 in spending, she contacted the Conservative EDA, which told her to pound sand and go raise the money from her new Liberal friends; she never did, and should not have been allowed to run again in 2006, except that Elections Canada Director Jean-Pierre Kingsley granted her an exemption.
I FOI'd Elections Canada some years later to try to find out under what authority Kingsley had granted Stronach an exemption; I was told the files were already archived and not available through FOI.
The moral of the story is, don't count on Elections Canada to follow its own rules.
Golly maybe they'll take a page from the private sector. Declare bankruptcy walk away from the debt and open their doors as the National Democratic Party. Save on havei g to get new letterhead.
I suspect the NDP will somehow muddle through despite all the very real difficulties it faces and I would be very surprised if laws are actually enforced as predicted but I suppose it's possible. In any case, regardless of whether it survives, the NDP has become, and will likely remain, truly irrelevant for the foreseeable future.
So what we have now is a liberal government so far acting a wee bit conservative but if Jagmmet had the cojones at many opportunities he right now would be leader of the official opposition in a rejuvenated party and the liberals would be potentially on the ropes…
Actually the best solution would be to adopt a ranked-balloting system like the one each major party uses for their own internal leadership elections and like they use in Australia. The NDP could have pressured Trudeau to adopt ranked-balloting but Jagmeet Singh was such a super-selfish self-serving twit who looked only to feather his own nest by trafficking the NDP to Trudeau and now the NDP is in dire straits:- honestly who cares anyway? Mark Carney seems to be decently competent and perhaps organized labour will finally organize a proper Labour Party in Canada to replace the witless NDP while hopefully the CPC will keep the Liberals a bit more honest. Most of us have better things to do than to worry about than the compulsively-suicidal NDP dying from self-inflicted wounds.
A very good analysis from someone who knows his stuff. This should be a national new story.
Thanks for the kind words, and agree this should be a national story - and I suspect it eventually will be.
Yes I do hope your post finds its' way in one of the more known newspapers / internet pages.
What a truckload of Hooey. I notice that not one mention of when the NDP was reduced to 9 seats under Audrey M...and returned as opposition under Layton. Also Fred, you conveniently forgot to mention when the Conservatives were routed down to two seats, ...and they came back. I will never trust a Conservative and their wishful thinking and musings of the Death of the NDP. Also if you look over your shoulder, the NDP provincially owns EVERY major city in Western Canada and lets not forget Olivia is running Toronto. News of the NDP's premature death is bogus and the last person on the Hill we'd ever ask for insights is Tory Fred Delorey. !
Appreciate the passion, but let’s get a few things straight.
Yes, the NDP was reduced to 9 seats under Audrey McLaughlin, but the party didn’t face today’s compliance environment. Back then, parties could still accept unlimited corporate and union donations, and campaign finance rules were far more forgiving. Audrey didn’t need to worry about violating contribution laws if a loan wasn’t repaid. Today’s NDP does.
Also, no one’s disputing that political parties can come back from the brink. The PCs did it (well, kinda, sorta). So did the NDP. But those were political challenges. What we’re talking about here is a legal and structural crisis - millions in potential compliance violations and no clear path to repayment. That’s not "wishful thinking," it’s what the Canada Elections Act lays out plainly.
And yes, the NDP governs in places like Manitoba and B.C., Official Opposition in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. That’s all true. But federal and provincial dynamics aren’t interchangeable, and if anything, that grassroots strength makes the situation even more tragic. A national party with real local talent, now possibly crippled by serious financial issues.
You don’t have to like the messenger... but ignoring the message won’t make this crisis go away.
Surprise, a conservative who thinks Cash is King and the sole determinant of victory. If politics is only about who's got the cash...then we'd have corporations and Conservatives running and winning every time . The NDP's ideology is what attracts voters , not fat war chest bank accounts. (See the last 4 federal elections, Cons had more money than any other parties) To say the regulatory rules of Elections Canada are so strict the NDP will collapse is farcical. I can guarantee you that the Millions of Canadians who voted and have voted for the NDP, will not stand by under a new NDP leader and allow it to collapse from lack of funds . Besides its not up to a conservative to read us Our Last Rights...it's the Canadian people and they are not prepared for us to slip into an American Style 2 party divisive system. Did the Conservatives collapse after Kim Campbell ? ...No So a reasoned debate would also allow your opponents the same grace. Tommy said it all " I am hurt, but I am not slain. I'll lie me down and bleed awhile, but then I'll rise, and fight again."
You're right, nothing to worry about at all. Carry on!
The problem with NDP and supporters is how completely oblivious most of you are to the importance of good economic management. Somehow you believe concerning yourself with money is beneath you. That you can skip right over that and move straight into what you can give people. Because you’re the good guys right? And the rich are going to pay anyway. Yet that never EVER works and cannot work the way u imagine. And it’s always the least fortunate who pay the highest price for bad management. But don’t let failure stop you! It’s not at all surprising the NDP ended up in this mess. The socialist types have a tendency to leave wreckage in their wake.
The wealthiest need to be taxed a lot more. Sadly that won't happen in our life time here in North America. Yes it does work.. one only has to look to Northern Europe to see that work. Robust social programs that are the envy of the world, a superior education system, deemed the happiest people on earth.
When economy is doing well yes it’s possible but it’s not possible when you’re printing money and racking up debt while economy is shrinking. None of those who most needed dental care or free prescriptions will be better off in years to come. It’s guaranteed they will have less despite the added government services. Or because of them. You can take that to the bank!
Yeah that doesn’t work either. Look up the Laffer curve. Even so heavy taxation within a country doesn’t begin to reach anyone with real wealth anyway. Those with real wealth have access to complex tax strategies and off shore accounts, set up foundations etc. It’s a massive problem today because their wealth is accumulating to such a degree that they control most governments. The entire fiat currency system is a problem. It was rigged from the start to ensure power remained in few hands.
More fiction pedalled as fact. The NDP has never been in power federally, but still managed to implement Medicare and Dental Care and prescription aid with tough negotiating skills. Provincially in Sask Blakeney and the NDP introduced 10 out of eleven balanced budgets. Minimal debt ( 4.5 billion in crown investments debt). Romanow and Calvert introduced 11 out of 13 balanced budgets and reduced the provincial debt left by Devine down from 14 billion to 9 . The NDP are superior to either the Libs or Cons delivering fiscally sound management. So your mantras are based on rhetoric rather than facts .
And guess who is paying for it? What good is more social programs if you are pushing more and more of the country into poverty to pay for those programs? That is always how it goes. Those with assets are the beneficiaries of money printing those who get some crumbs back in social programs are the ones who pay the most. That’s why more and more people in Canada are using food banks. The government massively expanded yet GDP is shrinking and inflation eats far more than paying out of pocket. Until u can magically change the physics of money you ideas will always fail. But don’t let failure stop you! The moral superiority is enough.
i honestly hope you do not use the universal health care system, or send your kids to public schools or the new federal dental program.
You're absolutely wrong about why food bank usage is up in CAnada. Thank greedy corporate landlords for hiking up rents exponentially. Also thank greedy CEO's like Galen Weston for the higher food prices. Not a word about them though...
Denial is not going to help your party's financial and potential legal issues. Instead of being in denial how's about trying to find solutions to their problems if you want to help rebuild your party? Volunteer for your local riding association, donate money if you can, etc.
Welcome to North American politics, man where cash is unfortunately king.
NDP has been broke for many years now and particularly under Singh. Didn't they have to sell one of their buildings in Ottawa to finance their 2019 election campaign? They haven't been able to raise funds as they had under Jack Layton or even Tom Mulcair for that matter. They have not been able to sell memberships.
"I can guarantee you that the Millions of Canadians who voted and have voted for the NDP, will not stand by under a new NDP leader and allow it to collapse from lack of funds ." I hope you're right but to help, is some massive fundraising to pay back those loans in time to be able to close those bank accounts and be ready to open a new one when the next election comes around. We are, after all, in a minority situation, so 4 years of the CArney gov't is far from guaranteed. Carney's honeymoon will likely end this fall when the Carney hyper partisans and voters realize he is getting us closer and closer to be the 51st state by signing us to what is no doubt a terrible "deal" which the orange sociopath in the white house will likely not honour anyway because of some tantrum he has. All this to say that the NDP really don't have that much time to get their affairs in order. Again, the only way to save the NDP is some financial miracle. Good if millions vote for them but it doesn't help financially - not anymore since Harper scrapped the per vote subsidy way back when.
True Fred is a conservative pundit but he's not wrong and as mentioned, he's one of the more fair Conservative candidates I've listened to and he does know his stuff. Blaming him for sounding alarm bells on the NDP does not make their problems go away.
"Besides its not up to a conservative to read us Our Last Rights...it's the Canadian people and they are not prepared for us to slip into an American Style 2 party divisive system." Well, the last election results seem to say otherwise.
I don't think Fred was reading the last rights... he is merely stating his opinion based on facts and the Elections CAnada party financing regs.
Unless a new party for the center left is formed and properly registered with Elections Canada and such or the NDP has some miraculous reversal in fortunes, it looks like it could well be more or less a two party system. Again, denial does not help.
Again, using Kim Campbell and the collapse of the Progressive Conservative vote as a point of reference here is comparing apples and oranges. The party did collapse. They no longer exist after they merged with Canadian Alliance to become the Conservative Party of Canada which is quite different from the old Progressive Conservatives.
If politics is only about who's got the cash...then we'd have corporations and Liberals running and winning every time.
...which may not be the case you meant to make.
You seem to be responding to an entirely different post.
Back in 1993 union and corporate donations were allowed; the NDP could rely on the unions to continue to fund them - they can't this time. The rebates were their only source of cash that didn't rely on individual donations and they've lost probably 80-90% of whatever they got in 2021 (not only a smaller number of rebates, but ridings probably spent a lot less than they did last time, meaning the rebates they'll get are smaller). The PCs in 1993 still had a majority in the Senate; PC senators gave up some of their parliamentary funding to support the party in the House of Commons. The NDP has neither the union funding or a large Senate contingent to make up for its funding shortfalls.
Get out your wallet.
Every major city in western Canada is a Capital G government town, laden with major healthcare infrastructure including research facilities, university and college campuses and Provincial capitals and all the government workers that support the effort. Add in the public education system and municipal workforce. These cities directly employ large numbers of unionized public servants who are doing quite nicely while regular people fall farther behind. They know which side bread is buttered and which political party can be relied upon to keep the gravy train flowing.
If the NDP can’t operate in this environment, there is little chance of success anywhere else.
Well Vancouver is not a capital filled with civil servants, Nor is Calgary, Nor is Saskatoon or Toronto so that BLOWS your theory.
Calgary is most definitely not a "union town." To think that just highlights the lack of familiarity with Calgary.
Have you seen the last two mayors of Calgary?
Unionized workers, many considered essential, are “regular people” too. More regular people should get paid what their labour is worth. Their labour and their higher tax rates contribute to vibrant cities and communities, which would be even better off if we’d tax the rich!
Actually, no. Not "hooey" as you put it.
Fred might be a Conservative but I've watched his commentary with Peter Mansbridge on Tuesdays as well as his commentary on CBC's P &P and he's actually one of the most fair of the Conservative commentators on political talk shows, at least I think so anyway. I don't necessarily agree with him all the time - I'm not a conservative ideologically speaking but he is fair and gets it right much of the time.
Comparing Audrey McLaughlin's misfortunes to those of Jagmeet Singh and now Don Davies inheriting these problems is comparing apples and oranges. Back in the 90s, rules were different. It was much easier for political parties to raise money than it is today.
You also cannot compare provincial NDP parties with the federal. In fact, I think some provincial NDPers like Alberta's for example have detached themselves from the federal party.
As we have now two right wingers running the show in Parliament - Cave - in Carney & Petey Polyester, we have no viable left party in the HoC and that is a problem for people like us and is very disconcerting to say the least. They can't really hold the gov't to account in Question Period even because as sitting independents, they're not affording places in committees and are limited in how many questions they can ask.
Living in denial is not helpful to those who are to the left of Cave-in Carney and Pierre Polyester.
I agree about Delorey’s fairness. It’s a relief to have found a Conservative that is fair and reasonable so that I can get that POV for a balanced understanding of issues.
One can always tell a Conservative die hard as they refer to the NDP as the NDP Party....hello in there? The P in NDP stands for Party ,so your language is redundant. ... much like Pierre P. .....you wont catch me calling The CPC The Conservative Party of Canada Party .
is that all you got? Semantics?
The base DNA of the NDP is to spend everyone else’s money.
Well, if the NDP is mired in debt and if the grassroots want a left leaning voice in Parliament then they better get their wallets out. The public funding of the small caucus in Ottawa is gone. The Election Canada rebates have evaporated after a terrible election campaign, and worst of all is the moribund fundraising track record in recent years. It has been eons since Harper cut off the government tithe to political parties based on voter support in elections and while the Liberal Party and Conservatives have adapted in order to compete, the NDP moan about the loss of public funding.
It didn’t have to be this way. Jagmeet Singh had the Trudeau Liberals cornered in the summer and fall of 2024 and supporting a non confidence vote would have delivered an election day drubbing to the Liberals that was richly deserved. Singh dithered, made himself and the party look foolish in the process and guess who ended up with the humiliating election day loss?
The base "Mythology of Conservatives" is to Blame the NDP for debt. This is pure hypocrisy and narcissistic projection. Just look at the debt Harper ran up, Mulroney or in Sask. the Cons have ballooned our debt to over 33 Billion in 18 years of mismanagement. Devine in the eighties did the same, nearly bankrupted the province. Get another song sheet as this song you are singing "Blame the NDP " is old and out of tune and not on the hit parade anymore.
They have become a party of jew haters - and have lost their way . The results of the last election proved that they are not relavent . I say this as a former ndp voter . Never EVER again.
I’m not sure I understand the gravity. If the worst case scenario is they sell the Jack Layton building, pay off their debts and just rent office space (like the used to for decades), then the only thing lost is some pride and an asset, but certainly not the overall party’s financial viability. Am I missing something?
Yes, you are missing a few critical things. This isn’t just about selling a building to balance the books.
If the loan isn't repaid within three years, Elections Canada can deem the unpaid amount a political contribution. That’s a problem because banks aren’t allowed to donate to political parties — and no individual can legally contribute millions. That would trigger serious compliance violations, potential criminal charges against the party’s chief agent, and an order to repay the full amount from party funds immediately.
If they can’t? The party could face asset seizures, loss of creditworthiness, and a long-term inability to secure campaign financing. So no, it’s not just about pride or office space. It’s about whether the party can legally, structurally, and financially operate at a national level in future elections.
A fully funded campaign caps out at $30 million. The party knew it was heading into a challenging scenario… there would have been financial projections made into exactly this situation. You’re painting the worst case scenario based on an assumption that the NDP borrowed what, $10 million? $15 million? This is an outrageous level of leverage; it’s impossible to imagine the NDP financing that much. Not to mention we went into this election in the best financial situation in many years. Will the financial rebuild be a challenge? Yes. Is there any evidence - based on the actual financial data of the party - that this legal quagmire you describe is based in reality? No. And if I’m wrong, please confirm the amount of that loan for me that this nightmare scenario hinges on.
Fair question, but let’s clear up a few things.
First, you’re absolutely right that a national campaign is capped around $30–35 million. But that’s exactly why this matters: a party’s ability to spend close to that cap usually depends on borrowing, and in recent elections, parties have routinely taken out multi-million-dollar loans to bridge the gap between spending plans and fundraising cash-on-hand.
Now, has the NDP publicly disclosed the exact size of the 2025 campaign loan? No...and that’s part of the concern. But insiders close to the campaign have told me the party was going to spend the max - and based on their own fundraising, that means they needed a multi-million dollar loan. And every time the NDP takes a loan they partially secure it with reimbursements from local campaigns.
That model collapses when fewer than 50 of 343 candidates qualify for reimbursements. That’s where the risk kicks in.
If the party truly only borrowed a few million and has a viable plan to pay it back, great - and they should say so. But until we see hard numbers, this isn’t fearmongering. It’s asking legitimate questions about accountability, risk, and whether the party’s central campaign was financially responsible.
If I’m wrong, I’d welcome transparency - publish the loan amount and repayment plan. But silence doesn’t inspire confidence.
Thanks for the response. I can also confirm, as a 2025 candidate, that the plan was to spend the max. And it did appear from conversations with National that they felt well prepared to do so.
You said they have three years to pay back those loans or they could be in serious legal trouble. My quesiton is what happens if we're called to an election sooner than three years from now? As you know, minority governments can be disolved at any time.
Great question. Yes, the party has three years from the date the loan was incurred to repay it, regardless of when the next election is called. So if another election happens sooner, that repayment deadline from 2025 still stands.
Now, in theory, they could take out a new loan to fund the next campaign - but that’s a big “if.” Financial institutions aren’t exactly lining up to lend to a party that’s already struggling to repay a previous loan, has no official party status in the House, and saw a massive drop in riding-level reimbursements. That’s a serious credit risk.
So while another election wouldn’t necessarily accelerate the repayment deadline, it could expose just how financially constrained the party has become, and potentially lock them out of running a competitive national campaign altogether.
The legacy of Jagmeet Singh in full view. He was a disaster from the moment he became Leader; and sealed his fate with the obnoxious cooperation agreement with the Liberals. And then refusing to support a non-confidence vote so he could hang on to claim pension eligibility. Wow - what a sordid tale.
I am not a Jagmeeet Singh fan, but the suggestion that securing a pension was a major motivating factor in his political decisions is baseless partisan drivel. He supported the Liberals because the Conservative Prime Ministerial alternative was an insufferable rage-farmer twit who had insulted Singh personally.
It would be more the case that Singh was a disaster because he watered down the differences between the NDP and the Liberals even more than Layton and Mulcair did, and he had no distinct policies of his own to offer once the Liberals were successfully forced into adopting the NDP pharmacare and dental care plans.
Justin Trudeau was very, very good at alienating people and converting former friends into enemies and giving more and more people good reasons to hate him and making himself very unpopular. He was also a gravy-train for both the NDP and the CPC with the very self-serving Jagmeet Singh exploiting Trudeau's political weakness by supporting Trudeau well past his best-by date for a big price while PP exploited public antipathy to Trudeau with his incessant rage-farming and incessant demands for political donations. JS and the NDP are now paying the price for Singh's incompetence and selfishness and PP will soon also pay a price in the by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot by self-servingly bumping off a popular young MP, Damien Kurek, to make room for himself and many local voters might just vote with their feet and stay home and ignore PP. PP could have simply asked Cheryl Gallant to finally retire after 25+ years and take over her very safe riding where even a muskrat nominated by the CPC would win. His "office-wife", Jenni Byrne, is also extremely unpopular with CPC MPs and all that unhappiness will soon catch up with PP and shorten his political career. Meanwhile the Libs have elected an actual "progressive conservative" as their leader who not only can sweet-talk Trump but he can even please Danielle Smith and keep her smiling:- Mark Carney is the "energizer bunny" of Canadian politics!:- who cares what happens to the NDP or the CPC:- they had their big chance and they blew it so good riddance to them!
Carney sweet talking Trump? lol
Haven’t you ever noticed the body language between the two of them? Carney looks like he’s waiting for Trump to tell him to shake a paw for a treat.
Which former friends did Trudeau convert into enemies, besides Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott?
By all accounts Damien Kurek volunteered to give up his seat of his own accord. Despite how powerful Canadian party leaders tend to be, Poilievre had no leverage to compel the resignation of any particular MP, and no ability nor capacity to compel Cheryl Gallant to give up her seat. As critical as I myself am of Poilievre, here he was really at the mercy of whoever was personally loyal enough to do him a favour.
So, the party that swore schools were a death trap for two years over a hyped-up “virus,” costing me my job, is now flat broke?
Pfft, cry me a river—anyway, moving on!
Well I must say exaggeration does not prove your point. There are 2 million Canadians using food banks and guess what...50 % are children. They are not there by choice but necessity . They are not there because we have Medicare or sound social programs, they are there because of corporate give aways. for instance The Fossil Fuel industry received from the Canadian federal government at least $29.6 billion in 2024 If you wish to receive pay as you go Medicare...you are welcome in any state in the US to book your appointment and meet their fees.
Ultimately the eventual NDP return has two things in its favour, and they are called the Liberal and Conservative Parties.
Sadly, the NDP rump holds the balance of power in our minority government. None of these socialists have any marketable skills that would earn them more than the $209,800 annual salary they will be paid as MPs. We are stuck with them, and the Carney Liberals, for the next four years.
My wife, smart lady, claimed that Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh were in cahoots to destroy the NDP party forever. Not being a fan of conspiracy theories, I took this with a grain of salt. Events have shown that, once again, she may be right.
Justin Trudeau was a perfect example of Parkinson's Law at work as someone with a telegenic face and a good pedigree but not much IQ being promoted well beyond his level of competence by the Liberals and eventually imposing a state of injelititis on the whole country., C Northcote Parkinson recommended burning down the building in such cases but Canadian taxpayers might take a dim view of burning down the Parliament Building so perhaps instead we should have a "bonfire of the vanities" on Parliament Hill and burn Trudeau, Singh, and Poilievre at the stake while us ordinary folks dance and "shake our bogies" and drink socialist pink lemonade:- sounds like it could be a lot of fun, no?
another one butchering the definition of "socialism". Another example as to why civics classes in high school need to be mandatory again.
In 2005, Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to rescue Paul Martin's Liberal government. Her campaign as a Conservative spent $70,000 over her legal limit on a victory party in Newmarket-Aurora. When Elections Canada came after her for the illegal $70,000 in spending, she contacted the Conservative EDA, which told her to pound sand and go raise the money from her new Liberal friends; she never did, and should not have been allowed to run again in 2006, except that Elections Canada Director Jean-Pierre Kingsley granted her an exemption.
I FOI'd Elections Canada some years later to try to find out under what authority Kingsley had granted Stronach an exemption; I was told the files were already archived and not available through FOI.
The moral of the story is, don't count on Elections Canada to follow its own rules.
Golly maybe they'll take a page from the private sector. Declare bankruptcy walk away from the debt and open their doors as the National Democratic Party. Save on havei g to get new letterhead.
I suspect the NDP will somehow muddle through despite all the very real difficulties it faces and I would be very surprised if laws are actually enforced as predicted but I suppose it's possible. In any case, regardless of whether it survives, the NDP has become, and will likely remain, truly irrelevant for the foreseeable future.
So what we have now is a liberal government so far acting a wee bit conservative but if Jagmmet had the cojones at many opportunities he right now would be leader of the official opposition in a rejuvenated party and the liberals would be potentially on the ropes…
Actually the best solution would be to adopt a ranked-balloting system like the one each major party uses for their own internal leadership elections and like they use in Australia. The NDP could have pressured Trudeau to adopt ranked-balloting but Jagmeet Singh was such a super-selfish self-serving twit who looked only to feather his own nest by trafficking the NDP to Trudeau and now the NDP is in dire straits:- honestly who cares anyway? Mark Carney seems to be decently competent and perhaps organized labour will finally organize a proper Labour Party in Canada to replace the witless NDP while hopefully the CPC will keep the Liberals a bit more honest. Most of us have better things to do than to worry about than the compulsively-suicidal NDP dying from self-inflicted wounds.
Ranked ballot is a dreadfully anti democratic system. Rep by pop!