EDMONTON — Tom Mulcair delivered what could turn out to be the speech of his political life Sunday, making one last pitch to the New Democrat faithful to allow him to stay on as leader.
Just before delegates took his fate into their hands and began casting ballots to determine whether or not to review the party's leadership, Mulcair urged rank-and-file members to stand with him, saying there is too much work ahead for the party to remain divided.
"No pressure," he quipped nervously as he took the podium.
Mulcair said he has accepted the blame for the mistakes of last year's disappointing election campaign, but insisted he is re-energized, reinspired and re-engaged after six months of meeting grassroots supporters.
"We made mistakes that cost us a victory in October, and for that I take responsibility," Mulcair said.
"I share your deep disappointment in the election results. That’s why we’ve held unvarnished debrief sessions across the country — to understand what went wrong, what mistakes were made, and how we can apply those lessons going forward."
It was a largely familiar speech, one that included echoes of many of Mulcair's public comments in the months since the election, and steered largely clear of some of the sore spots that have endangered his status as leader.
In particular, Mulcair made no mention of the so-called "Leap Manifesto," a proposed policy pivot from the left-most factions of the party who want to see the NDP embrace some more drastic measures to combat climate change and aboriginal issues, among others.
Prior to Mulcair's speech, delegates voted to adopt a motion to debate the manifesto's ideas and proposals, which include:
— Moving away from fossil fuels so that Canada gets 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable resources within 20 years and is entirely weaned off fossil fuels by 2050;
— No new infrastructure projects aimed at increasing extraction of non-renewable resources, including pipelines;
— An end to all trade deals "that interfere with our attempts to rebuild local economies, regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects";
— Expand low-carbon sectors of the economy, such as caregiving, teaching, social work, the arts and public-interest media;
— Ending fossil fuel subsidies, imposing financial transaction taxes, increasing resource royalties, hiking taxes on corporations and the wealthy, introducing a progressive carbon tax, and cutting military spending.
Billing himself as a hard-nosed political fighter, he said only New Democrats will continue to battle against income inequality, because the Liberals and the Conservatives are too loyal to their corporate backers and the status quo.
Last year alone, Canada’s big banks made a record $35 billion in profits, and handed out $12 billion in bonuses to their executives, all while cutting thousands of Canadian jobs, he said.
"We don’t accept that," Mulcair said. "Liberals and Conservatives will tell you that this is just the way things are. They will say this is the inevitable outcome of market forces, that nothing can be done."
"Well, allow me to be blunt: This is complete and utter BS."
The rift within the NDP over Mulcair’s leadership was evident during his speech, as some supporters jumped to their feet to applaud and express their support, while others on the convention floor stayed stone-faced and seated.
By the end, however, he appeared to have at least earned an earnest standing ovation for his efforts.
"If you keep standing with me, then together, we will never stop fighting," Mulcair said as his speech built to a crescendo, the applause building around him.
"So – stand with me.... Stand if you want to fight to grow our party and strengthen our movement.... Stand if you want to unite progressives in Quebec with those in the rest of the country.... Stand if you want to fight to build a country that generations of New Democrats, young and old, have dreamed of and organized for."
"A Canada that is loving, hopeful and optimistic. Where everyone belongs, everyone matters, and no one is left behind."
When it was over, Mulcair was swarmed by supporters, and appeared close to tears as he moved into the crowd.
Over the 24 hours leading up to the speech, the efforts among those who want to see Mulcair ousted for failing to effectively communicate the NDP’s vision to voters intensified. The embattled leader is also facing muted but undeniable criticism from within his own caucus.
Mulcair said the federal Liberal budget proves that when it comes to child care and health care, the principle of universality — the cherished legacy of party founder Tommy Douglas — is in peril.
"Tommy’s vision is under threat like never before," he said. Creeping privatization and a Liberal budget that doubles down on Stephen Harper’s health care cuts threaten the quality of health services in Canada. Let there be no doubt: Together, we will fight like hell to protect universal health care, because there is nothing more universal to New Democrats."
And he renewed a push for electoral reform, saying that the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau has already started to back away from its promise to end the current first-past-the-post system, which he says effectively discounted some nine million votes in October.
"Of course, Conservatives believe the unfair status quo is just fine. Liberals, on the other hand, promised change, but they are already starting to backtrack on that as well," he said.
"My friends, the next few months will be critical in the fight for proportional representation. We have to stay strong and united to lead this fight together."
Today's vote, which is to determine whether the party should hold a leadership review, comes less than six months after an election in which the party was outflanked by the Liberals and dropped back to third place in the House of Commons.
The party started the campaign as the official Opposition and led the polls at the beginning, only to suffer a catastrophic campaign that cost it more than half of its Commons seats on Oct. 19.
An internal political post-mortem of the election results blamed the disaster on a decision to offer cautious change instead of the sharp change promised by the Liberals and a failure to prepare for campaign challenges.
A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE LEAP MANIFESTO
The Leap Manifesto is a document that calls for a radical restructuring of the economy as Canada swiftly moves toward ending the use of fossil fuels. It was crafted by best-selling author Naomi Klein and her husband, documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis, and released last September in the midst of the federal election campaign.
During that campaign, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair touted his party as a moderate, pragmatic alternative to the Conservatives, promising to balance the federal budget, to hike no taxes other than a "slight and graduated" increase in the corporate tax rate, to sustainably develop Alberta's oil sands and to be open to free trade deals. That cautious agenda was soundly rejected on Oct. 19, with the NDP finishing a distant third.
As New Democrats gathered in Edmonton mull the future of the party and prepare to review Mulcair's leadership this afternoon, a joint resolution from the ridings of Toronto-Danforth and Vancouver East is calling for a future debate on the policies contained within in the manifesto.
Here's what the manifesto calls for:
— Shift swiftly away from fossil fuels so that Canada gets 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable resources within 20 years and is entirely weaned off fossil fuels by 2050.
— No new infrastructure projects aimed at increasing extraction of non-renewable resources, including pipelines.
— "Energy democracy," in which energy sources are collectively controlled by communities instead of "profit-gouging" private companies.
— An end to all trade deals "that interfere with our attempts to rebuild local economies, regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects."
— Expand low-carbon sectors of the economy, such as caregiving, teaching, social work, the arts and public-interest media.
— Vigorous debate on the idea of introducing a universal guaranteed minimum income.
— Declare that "austerity — which has systematically attacked low-carbon sectors like education and health care while starving public transit and forcing reckless energy privatizations — is a fossilized form of thinking that has become a threat to life on earth."
— Pay for it all by ending fossil fuel subsidies, imposing financial transaction taxes, increasing resource royalties, hiking taxes on corporations and the wealthy, introducing a progressive carbon tax, and cutting military spending.
