Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the NDP's federal leadership campaign following Jagmeet Singh's impressive first-ballot victory.

- Paul Wells discusses how Singh's youth and optimism fit with the NDP's history and self-image. Jeremy Nuttall interviews Brian Topp about some lessons Singh can take from Jack Layton - including his apparent plan to engage first and foremost in party-building in the lead up to the next election. Bill Tieleman suggests that Singh is Justin Trudeau's worst nightmare as a magnet for young and suburban voters (with Alex Ballingall also exploring the prospect), while John Doyle theorizes as to how Singh communicates with the public.

- Tim Harper discusses how Singh will be the first leader of a major federal party to be able to speak from experience about racial profiling. Drew Brown looks at Terry Milewski's appalling first interview of Singh as a prime example of how the media will need to learn to cover a non-white leader. And Susan Delacourt looks to the history of woman leaders at the federal level to warn against taking a single precedent as a sign that equality is at hand. 

- Christo Aivalis points out how Niki Ashton changed the campaign by pressing all of the candidates to talk about progressive principles and policies. And Dylan Robertson interviews Ashton about her view of the campaign.

- Nora Loreto examines a few policy areas where the NDP should focus in the lead up to the 2019 election. And Kristy Kirkup reports on Singh's appointment of Guy Caron to lead the NDP in Parliament in the interim.

- Finally, Althia Raj talks to several key figures in the campaign as to how Singh emerged with his first-ballot win.

Leadership 2017 Reference Page (Now Unpinned)

A one-stop source for general links on the 2017 NDP leadership campaign, to be updated as the race progresses. Please feel free to add additional suggestions in comments. (And note that new posts will appear below this one.)

General Information
NDP Constitution (PDF)
Leadership Rules (PDF) - Voting Process
NDP Leadership 2017
Leadership Debates: Ottawa (March 12) - Montreal (March 26) - Sudbury (May 28) - St. John's (June 11) - Saskatoon (July 11) - Victoria (August 2) - Montreal (August 27) - Vancouver (September 10)
Leadership Showcase: Hamilton (September 17)

Candidate Information

Candidate	Website	Twitter	Profile	Platform	Ranking
Charlie Angus	CharlieAngusNDP.ca	@CharlieAngusNDP	Profile	Analysis	2
Niki Ashton	NikiAshton2017.ca	@NikiAshton	Profile	Analysis	4
Guy Caron	GuyCaron.ca	@GuyCaronNPD	Profile	Analysis	3
Jagmeet Singh	JagmeetSingh.ca	@theJagmeetSingh	Profile	Analysis	1

Other Resources
Wikipedia
National Post Leadership Tracker
CPAC In Focus
IPolitics Inside the NDP Leadership Race
Chatelaine Cheat Sheet
NDP McGill Blog
NDPLeaderVote
Karl Nerenberg Candidate Profiles
Ishmael Daro Candidate Interviews
National Observer Candidate Interviews 
Toronto Star Profiles (Alex Ballingall)
CTV Meet the Candidates 

Posts
All Posts By Label
Candidate Rankings - August 6 - August 13 - August 27 - September 3 - September 10

Discussion
Babble threads: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
Peter Julian Forum
Twitter: #ndp - #ndpldr

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as we reach the last day of the first round of voting.

- B.J. Siekierski reports on the latest Mainstreet poll showing Jagmeet Singh with a lead, but significant room for movement at each step in the campaign. And the Huffington Post hosted the last (unofficial) all-candidates' debate of the campaign.

- Not surprisingly, the candidates have been making the rounds with late-campaign activity, including Niki Ashton's Q&A with Rabble and interview with Dylan Robertson; Guy Caron's interview with Maura Forrest and John Ivison; Singh's interviews with Justin Ling and Am Johal; and Buzzfeed's interviews with all four candidates. 

- The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group reviews the responses received from Ashton and Charlie Angus on security and human rights issues. And Courage offers its evaluation of the candidates.

- Christo Aivalis rightly criticizes the message that members signed up within minority communities are somehow less legitimate than other voters, while Kashif Pasta compares that insinuation to the acceptance that white male voters may leave a party then return without being seen as outsiders. And Nora Loreto discusses the sexism that Niki Ashton has faced in the course of the campaign.

- David Blocker has offered some lessons from past NDP leadership campaigns. Jessica Murphy, Marco Vigliotti and Kristy Kirkup provide overviews of the campaign. And Charlie Smith examines the prospect that Singh could be the NDP's first prime minister.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as the first voting window closes.

- Robin Sears frames the choice of members as being between a comfortable fit with Charlie Angus and a more ambitious option in Jagmeet Singh, while the Toronto Star's editorial board offers its endorsement to Singh based on its preference for the latter. And Adam Radwanski sees Singh as offering more swagger than the NDP generally exudes.

- Tom Parkin argues that the Bloc's attacks on Singh may both unite the NDP around the need to confront exclusionary identity politics, and win Quebec voters over to the cause. Stephen Tweedale examines Singh's social democratic credentials. And Janice Dickson reports on Singh's interest in running in Brampton East.

- Carl Meyer reports on Niki Ashton's plan to move beyond the Libs' patchwork funding for a green transition. And Maura Forrest and John Ivison interview Angus about his campaign based on authentic concern for the little guy, while Forrest interviews Niki Ashton about her plan for a bold progressive policy vision. 

- Finally, Eric Grenier examines the latest fund-raising numbers - which show Singh maintaining a lead, but not quite the same advantage he held in his first reporting period. And Drew Brown wonders whether the campaign is all but finished in Singh's favour, or whether the other candidates may all still be in the race. 

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as the first voting window remains open.

- Power & Politics and the Toronto Star have each posted new summaries of the candidates and their plans. Gloria Galloway reports on Charlie Angus' campaign as focusing on taking the NDP back to its roots. And Maura Forrest interviews Niki Ashton about her efforts to pull the NDP to the left.

- Stephen Tweedale examines how Jagmeet Singh's platform addresses both poverty and inequality - including both direct redistribution and protections for vulnerable workers. Dan Donovan offers his endorsement to Angus based in substantial part on his view that Angus is speaking more to a business audience - which makes for a noteworthy contrast with John Ibbitson's argument that Singh would be the candidate to fundamentally change the NDP's orientation toward pursuing immigrant and suburban voters while reducing the relative role of organized labour. And Thomas Walkom argues that Angus may be the perfect candidate for the traditional NDP - but may not be what members are looking for after coming close to winning power. 

- Chantal Hebert points out that conventional wisdom about Quebec voters has been proven wrong repeatedly in recent elections - suggesting that the assumption that Singh's religion will actually be an issue may be similarly flawed. Supriya Dwivedi questions whether a potential coalition which specifically embraces voters motivated by religious discrimination is worth pursuing based on both its unreliability in Quebec, and its message to voters across Canada. And the Globe and Mail calls out the intellectual dishonesty behind Quebec's Bill 62.

- Finally, Christo Aivalis offers his take on what the NDP should learn from the successes of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn - with particular emphasis on the need to inspire supporters with bold and clear social democratic policies.

New column day

Here, on how Jagmeet Singh looks to be a strong favourite as the NDP's leadership campaign reaches its first voting window - and how concerns about Quebec secularism may have been laid to rest by the challenger who previously gained the most by emphasizing them.

For further reading...
- I've previously written about Singh's prospects in Quebec among other campaign issues here, here and here.
- As I posted earlier, Guy Caron's apt response to Martine Ouellet is here:

- For further commentary on Singh's prospects, see Karl Nerenberg's take that Ouellet is ultimately complaining about nothing more than how Singh dresses, and Aaron Wherry's discussion comparing Singh to the NDP's most-beloved past leaders.
- Finally, my own leadership ballot ranking is here.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- CBC reports on Nathan Cullen's endorsement of Jagmeet Singh - which may make for one of the few shows of support capable of influencing members at this stage of the campaign.

- Althia Raj highlights Charlie Angus' rebel yell, while Alex Ballingall writes about the Star editorial board's meeting with him (which includes somewhat more direct talk about potentially approving pipelines than we've heard through much of the campaign). Rob Rousseau is the latest to write about Niki Ashton as a Canadian counterpart to Bernie Sanders. And Guy Caron's reply to Martine Ouellet's attack on Singh offers a prime example as to how the NDP can and should respond to any attempt to use religious bigotry to silence minority voices.

- Eric Grenier offers a look at some of the policies on offer from the leadership candidates. And John Geddes interviews Avi Lewis about the policy discussion within the leadership campaign - and Lewis' hope to expand what's seen as possible. 

- Finally, Tom Parkin offers his reasoning for placing Caron and Singh at the top of his ballot. Alice Funke makes a case for Singh as a step toward greater diversity and energy within the NDP, while Tim Harper discusses Singh's ability to get noticed beyond party lines as a key advantage. And Chantal Hebert analyzes the campaign while viewing Singh as the likely victor.

Leadership 2017: The Ballot

Despite the federal NDP's candidate showcase there hasn't been much change since last week's rankings - and so I won't update those for this week. Rather than ranking the candidates based on their perceived likelihood of winning, I'll instead take the opportunity to offer my own endorsement and ballot ranking, along with some explanation as to how I've made my own choice among four strong candidates. (For further reading, Alice Funke offers a must-read summary as to the array of expectations and responsibilities for the NDP's leader.)

1. Guy Caron

The key for Caron has been to establish that he could demonstrate the capacity to grow in a campaign with relatively limited resources. And in the end, he's done just that - offering strong and popular individual policies within an effective philosophical framework, and managing to win over a far larger number of supporters on sheer personal appeal than I'd have anticipated.

The most important sticking point for me with Caron is then his tendency to put process and jurisdiction ahead of underlying values at times. That's been most obvious in his take on Quebec's Bill 62, where I'll note that he may be best served taking a lesson from Thomas Mulcair's response focusing on fundamental values rather than political calculations. And it's also been notable at other times when he's demurred on ambitious social policy proposals by pointing to jurisdictional questions.

But on the balance, Caron looks to have the best prospect of winning Canadians over to a progressive vision - just as he's won over supporters throughout the leadership campaign.

2. Jagmeet Singh

Singh too has done a highly effective job of situating worthwhile policy proposals within a framework of well-defined values. The primary factor placing him behind Caron is that those values don't overlap with the ones I'd like to see promoted to quite the same extent: on one set of key economic issues in particular, Singh has gone out of his way to express principles which are both contrary to NDP policy, and problematic from the standpoint of winning voters over to a coherent progressive philosophy.

That said, Singh's showcase today suggests that he's both tightening up his economic message, and making strides in tying it to his personal experience. And the areas of concern within the leadership race should be ones where he'll have reason to be on the proper side of any debate across party lines.  

Moreover, Singh has lived up to his own "love and courage" theme with strongly principled stances in other areas where I'd have expected him to play it safer. And that offers me enough comfort on policy to place him second in light of his success in building an organization and appealing to the public.

3. Niki Ashton

Ashton's deeply progressive platform and strategy based on the successful movement-building exemplified by Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders hold a great deal of appeal to me. And today's presentation was likely her strongest in putting those together. But Ashton ranks below the top of my ballot because of some uncertainty about her ability to execute that strategy.

While Corbyn was eventually able to build up his UK Labour party despite a combination of internal grumbling and a dismissive press, he's done so based in large part on the demonstrable strength and breadth of the movement behind him. Corbyn only won the opportunity to face the general electorate by twice winning the support of a strong majority of his party's members - and it's the endurance of his personal support among members that's allowed him to withstand storms both internal and external.

Based on how the media has treated her throughout the leadership campaign, Ashton stands to match Corbyn's status as a lightning rod for press attacks. But she hasn't yet shown much of a movement behind her to answer issues as they've arisen. And so Ashton's most plausible path to victory looks to represent a potentially dangerous outcome for the NDP as a whole: the most difficult road for the party may involve a multi-ballot vote in which Ashton narrowly noses ahead despite modest enthusiasm, then has to face an onslaught of media criticism with relatively little internal support.

4. Charlie Angus

Finally, Angus finishes fourth on my ballot based on a leadership campaign which hasn't lived up to either Angus' potential or his competitors' choices in terms of either policy development or progressive values.

To be sure, Angus has been able to secure the endorsement of plenty of prominent voices who are willing to trust him. But I have to wonder whether the relatively unfocused populism he's relied on during the leadership race will be ameliorated - or produce better results - against the NDP's competition. And if not, then Angus poses the risk of losing ground in terms of both party results and issue advocacy.

Again, that's not to say Angus wouldn't have a strong opportunity to succeed as the NDP's next leader. But it does mean he falls behind his fellow candidates on that score - and thus to the bottom of my ballot.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign as tomorrow's showcases approach - and as members begin to fill out their ballots.

- The Star's editorial board has been meeting with the candidates, resulting in articles about Niki Ashton's determination that the NDP not be outflanked by Liberal rhetoric on the left and Guy Caron's pitch as the candidate who can win in Quebec, as well as Martin Regg Cohn's column arguing that Jagmeet Singh stands above his fellow candidates. Canadaland is interviewing the candidates, beginning with Guy Caron. Andrew Autio reports on Charlie Angus' take on the campaign so far and his position as voting begins. And Joanna Smith discusses Jagmeet Singh's familiarity with racism (and the need to respond with grace and purpose).

- Caron has released his nation-to-nation platform for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. And the Star's editorial board offers its support for decriminalizing drug possession as mentioned by Singh - though it neglects to note that both Ashton and Caron also expressed interest in the idea.

- Eric Grenier follows up on the significance of the endorsements made so far, while Campbell Clark picks up on Angus' surprising lack of support within the current caucus. Angus did add a potentially significant endorsement from Libby Davies as one of the NDP's most-admired voices from the left.  And Joel-Denis Bellavance reports on Alexandre Boulerice's decision to stay neutral - which is particularly interesting based on the view of one of the NDP's most prominent Quebec MPs that any of the candidates can succeed in his home province.

- Maura Forrest reports on a glitch which saw some members receive more than one ballot.

- Christo Aivalis offers his review of all of the candidates, while Alex Ballingall offers profiles from the Star.

- Finally, Ballingall discusses how the leadership candidates fit into the NDP's overarching goals as a party, while Jeremy Appel offers his take as to the impact of each candidate on the 2019 campaign. And Dennis Gruending highlights how the leadership campaign will affect Canada's broader political scene.

New column day

Here, on how the Libs' weakness in closing even modest loopholes is allowing tax entitlement to win out over tax fairness.

For further reading...
- Justin Ling offers a useful look at the minor moves to rein in the abuse of private corporations in this year's budget. Konrad Yakabuski rightly argues that the entire fight is primarily over politics rather than revenue. And Susan Delacourt speculates that such a minor change affecting a small number of incorporated businesses will result in as much controversy as the GST.
- James Laxer discusses how the reaction to the Libs' proposed changes represents class warfare by the wealthy. And Don Pittis writes about the clash between the public's desire for a fair tax system, and entrenched interests looking to preserve their perks.
- For a reminder, David MacDonald studied Canada's unfair tax expenditures, including the billion-dollar stock option loophole. And Dennis Howlett lamented the Libs' decision to leave that wide open for exploitation.
- Finally, for examples of the type of revenue options on the table in the NDP's leadership campaign, Niki Ashton, Guy Caron and Jagmeet Singh have each proposed substantial revenue increases to fund needed social spending, while Charlie Angus' plan includes targeting corporate tax havens.

Leadership 2017 Candidate Rankings - September 10

No, there isn't any change in this week's rankings compare to last week's positioning. But I'll post nonetheless to discuss how the candidates performed in today's debate, and how that looks to set up the balance of the campaign.

1. Jagmeet Singh (1)

While some different metrics continue to point in various directions, all candidates seem to be operating based on the premise that Singh is ahead of the pack at this point. And today, he was able both to respond to other candidates' challenges when they arose, and to find some useful contrasts against Charlie Angus as the strongest apparent competitor. (Most notably, a stronger position on harm reduction and decriminalization than Angus was willing to offer may help Singh to win down-ballot support.)

The one possible misfire on Singh's part was a closing statement oriented solely toward identifying target regions - which seems unlikely to be new to anybody already leaning his way, while raising more questions than answers with voters looking for a core message based on principle rather than political calculation.

2. Charlie Angus (2)

That makes for a particularly unhelpful contrast in light of Angus' closing statement, which capped an effective overall performance with a strong message about his motivations and values.

Angus carried out an ideal strategy for a second-place contender looking to both extend the campaign by challenging the front-runner, and ensure that he doesn't get overtaken from behind. And in particular, conciliatory themes toward both Guy Caron and Niki Ashton may help to limit the prospect that they or their supporters will decide to reject both frontrunners.

3. Guy Caron (3)

Once again, the main basis for my ranking between the remaining two candidates is Caron's room for growth on later ballots. There 's at least a foreseeable path to victory based on the other candidates' apparent bases of support if Caron is perceived as the most progressive remaining option to Ashton voters choosing among the other three candidates, then the more grassroots-friendly option to Angus supporters on a final ballot against Singh.

4. Niki Ashton (4)

Finally, the key late-campaign problems for Ashton are minimal public growth at a point when all of the other candidates can claim substantially more public momentum, and the lack of a clear path to appeal for final-ballot support against either Singh or Angus. And while I'd still consider her a relative favourite to claim third place on the first ballot, it's looking more plausible that Caron may be able to pass her on that front.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign in advance of tomorrow's final official debate. (Though the Huffington Post is advertising another to come on the 27th.)

- Elizabeth McSheffrey paints Charlie Angus' purpose as being to rebuild public trust in politics as a means of giving a voice to people.

- Jagmeet Singh's response to a heckler ranting about Sharia law with a call for love and courage has received attention on an international scale. And Jeffrey Ansloos views the incident as emblematic of a test for Canada's left in responding to religious diversity.

- Peter Julian's endorsement of Singh offers one more example of a key party figure with strong Quebec ties rejecting any concern about his prospects in the province - though it's particularly worth watching whether any of Julian's own Quebec endorsers follow suit.

- Djaouida Sellah's support for Charlie Angus, Scott Duvall's backing of Guy Caron and Morgane Oger's endorsement of Niki Ashton also provide noteworthy boosts as the campaign reaches the home stretch. (Meanwhile Pat Stogran's endorsement of Angus looks like more of a double-edged sword - Stogran certainly has his followers, but any association between his poorly-thought-out attacks on the NDP and Angus' campaign may raise concerns among the core supporters Angus is relying on.)

- Finally, James Laxer argues that now is the moment for the NDP to reemphasize democratic socialist values.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- NDP McGill has prepared handy summaries of the background and policy proposals of each of the leadership candidates.

- Tim Harper writes that Charlie Angus is relying on the NDP's grassroots as the foundation for his campaign - particularly compared to the new members signed up by Jagmeet Singh.

- Althia Raj takes an extended look at Guy Caron's political background and goals within the race. And John Ibbitson and Joel-Denis Bellavance each discuss Caron's place in the campaign - including the endorsement of Brian Topp, whose role as a strategist and strong leadership contender would figure to give Caron a significant boost if he's substantially involved in the campaign.

- Ryan Maloney reports on today's Canadian Nurses Association town hall featuring all four leadership candidates.

- Finally, Chris Watson offers his take on the importance of standing up against Quebec's Bill 62 and other anti-human rights legislation.

On discriminatory treatment

Following up on this post, let's take a look at Tom Parkin's other recent post which offers plenty of food for thought. Parkin's view broadly matches Guy Caron's position on Quebec's treatment of people who wear niqabs - but seems to me to fall short of making the case for deferring to Quebec's politicians when it comes to basic principles of inclusion and nondiscrimination.

At the outset, Parkin and Caron both disagree on the merits with legislation such as Bill 62 denying service to women based on what they wear. So the argument boils down to whether there's a particular reason to hold back in discussing harmful legislation - or offer artificial "respect" to a view which is both wrong in policy, and based in part on discriminatory intent - because of the nature of the body which has passed it.

And the NDP hasn't established a strict standard along similar lines before. For example, it worked on banning the mining and sale of asbestos in the face of a unanimous resolution of the National Assembly to continue the industry, and before any Quebec politician spoke out on the same side of the issue.

In addition to being on the right side of history on the merits, that action wasn't apparently seen as problematic based on the application of the Sherbrooke Declaration (PDF) - and certainly doesn't seem to have affected Jack Layton's strategy for building bridges in Quebec.

But is there something different in the combination of political and public views about the niqab? There, one has to ask whether any position is likely to hold up in the face of scrutiny. 

Needless to say, the prime example on that front is the federal Bill C-51 - which was viewed as a political slam-dunk for the Harper Cons until they ran into principled opposition from the NDP. Within months, Canadians had turned against the bill and the government which introduced it, while rewarding the party which had the backbone to speak up.

To be sure, there's no guarantee that public opinion would similarly change on Bill C-62. But it's dangerous to assume that public opinion is set in stone, particularly when one side of an issue hasn't been given a full hearing on the merits. And there's plenty of reason to doubt that the politics of exclusion in Quebec are as much a winner as they're assumed to be.

Key precedents include both the Parti Quebecois' fall from power as it tried to run on its Charter of Values, and the fact that the top two vote shares in 2015 federally (covering 62% of the popular vote) went to parties which opposed the Cons' attempt to discriminate against people who wear a niqab.

Moreover, there's an obvious opening to introduce new policies based on NDP values to Quebec's political scene.

It's undoubtedly for members of the new Quebec-based party to decide what their priorities are, and the federal party should pay close attention one way or the other. But I'd suggest some of the most important opportunities for the NPD-Quebec involve areas where it's possible to stand apart from the existing parties - and Bill 62 is one example where unanimity among current politicians may not match the public mood, particularly if there's a distinct choice on offer.

And that could lay the groundwork for what I'd hope will be the NDP's long-term plans to retake progressive terrain from the Libs.

In 2015, the difference in the effect of the niqab issue between the Libs and the NDP arose from the fact that the former was never challenged as the loudest voice on the side of opposing discrimination, while the latter hadn't yet spoken up on similar cultural issues. But that effect could be reversed if there's a link between a federal NDP and a Quebec counterpart which both take a forceful position against discrimination, while the Liberal brand is split from one level to the other. 

To conclude, there's always reason for skepticism about the political choice to stay silent in the face of false conventional wisdom. And even from the standpoint of political calculation, the NDP is likely better served confirming that voters who care about minority rights can count on it, rather than answering fundamental questions with an awkward silence or a jurisdictional dodge.

Leadership 2017 Candidate Rankings - September 3

The major development since last week has of course been the release of the NDP's national membership numbers. And as would have been expected, they lead to a change at the top - though it's worth putting their impact into perspective rather than taking every sign-up as an automatic vote.

1. Jagmeet Singh (2)

While Singh's claim to have signed up 47,000 members has given rise to some controversy, much of the issue seems to come from some confusion as to who's included in that number. In particular, it's highly likely that a substantial number of Singh's counted memberships consisted of renewals rather than first-time supporters - which couldn't necessarily be seen as separate from the pools of voters who have already been polled as known members.

But while those voters might not be as solidly in Singh's camp as people signing up for the express purpose of supporting him, it's still noteworthy that a candidate who got off to a late start seems to have managed to perform that strongly even in the renewal category where some low-hanging fruit would have been available to candidates starting early. And a campaign apparatus capable of achieving that looks to be at a huge advantage in maintaining and converting support once the voting window opens.

2. Charlie Angus (1)

Meanwhile, Angus' drop is due solely to Singh's strong showing in the membership numbers. But if Angus now looks likely to be substantially behind Singh on the first ballot, he'll have some work to do in establishing himself as the preferred final-ballot choice for supporters of the remaining candidates.

3. Guy Caron (3)

Caron holds his position thanks to another strong week in terms of both endorsements, and setting the terms of the campaign debate. But there still looks to be a long way for him to go in trying to reach a final ballot - and while Caron's position on Quebec's Bill 62 may have succeeded in attracting some positive attention, it will also offer a strong basis for contrast if he is one of the last two candidates standing.

4. Niki Ashton (4)

Finally, Ashton also stays in place in the absence of any significant change from the previous week. But as noted here, she may have an opportunity to demonstrate that her movement-building strategy has progressed further than might be obvious from the leadership campaign so far.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- Eric Grenier offers his take on the membership numbers released this week - including Jagmeet Singh's impressive signup totals. And Sarah Boesveld summarizes the state of the campaign and what's at stake.

- Kevin Taghabon's detailed interview with Guy Caron is worth a read in full, but particularly for Caron's take on when economic activity should be nationalized. 

- A few more Quebec MPs have offered their endorsements beyond those I've previously linked to - including Robert Aubin and Karine Trudel supporting Caron, and Brigitte Sansoucy endorsing Niki Ashton. And the United Steelworkers' backing of Caron makes clear that labour support is well distributed between the candidates.

- Ashton is promoting a Labour Day march in Toronto which may serve as a valuable indicator as to how far she's progressed in assembling the type of movement she wants to build.

- Finally, Michael Harris discusses Singh's potential to win over minority voters based on being able to offer perspective based on shared experience rather than Justin Trudeau's platitudes.

Leadership 2017 Platform Analysis - Guy Caron

If Niki Ashton stands out in having received relatively little attention for her policy development, Guy Caron looks to be on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Having justifiably portrayed himself as the policy wonk candidate and built his campaign largely around a basic income proposal which continues to provoke important discussion, Caron hasn't faced much attention in other policy areas. And so he's been able to avoid answering for what's otherwise been a fairly thin policy agenda.

Aside from the basic income, other points distinct to Caron include:
- specific refugee protections for climate migrants;
- a 7-hour work day for jobs within federal jurisdiction;
- a list of new revenue options including taxes on foreign e-commerce profits and limiting RRSP contributions; and
- Quebec-oriented commitments including the application of Bill 101 language requirements to federally-regulated industries in Quebec along with a bilingualism requirement for Supreme Court judges.

But Caron largely stops at his areas of specific strength: his Quebec policy is his lone effort at outreach to a specific segment of the progressive movement (in stark contrast to the range of proposals developed by Niki Ashton and Jagmeet Singh), and his strict avoidance of matters within provincial jurisdiction leaves him with little room to offer proposals on social programs aside from the basic income.

Now, one can argue that the result is that Caron's overall policy package is internally consistent and easy to judge in terms of his personal priorities. (And lest there be any doubt, Caron has expressed his personal support for additional progressive ideas during the course of the debates, while identifying the impossibility of implementing them solely at the federal level.) But it remains to be seen whether members will want to be bound by Caron's limited scope of operations.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- Althia Raj reports on the final membership numbers for the leadership campaign announced this week, showing a similar number of eligible voters to the 2012 campaign (at just over 120,000). And Eric Grenier chats with Aaron Wherry about the significance of the membership totals, while Kyle Duggan discusses Jagmeet Singh's reported contribution to the membership.

- UFCW has announced its endorsement of Singh, while Cory Collins concludes his series of interviews with the candidates with a discussion with Singh. Alex Balingall reports on Alexa McDonough's endorsement of Caron, while Clothilde Goujard discusses Caron's efforts to get voters to imagine a greener NDP economy. And Marc Pare talks to Charlie Angus about his standing as the first round of balloting approaches.

- Helene Buzzetti's coverage of Sunday's debate includes some discussion as to how the most recent dispute over Quebec's Bill 62 its into broader questions about the intersection between religion and politics. And Caron has written about his take on the significance of secularism in Quebec. 

- Finally, Chantal Hebert offers a reminder that there are no guarantees in voting patterns (particularly in Quebec).

Leadership 2017 Candidate Rankings - August 27

We'll have to wait until next week to learn about the final membership count for the federal NDP's leadership campaign. But today's Montreal debate and other developments result in one shift in the rankings - while an opportunity for another one has been lost for now.

1. Charlie Angus (1)

While the other three candidates spent a substantial amount of time on Guy Caron's Quebec strategy (including a brief media flare-up over Bill 62 and religious freedom), Angus's response in both the debate and the media was to provide the most succinct answer possible while two of his competitors struggled to find their footing.

That success in navigating a tricky issue, combined with a fairly strong showing in the final French-language debate, helps to keep him at the front of the pack for now. But again, the relative position of Angus and Singh by this time next week will be determined in no small part by the membership numbers.

2. Jagmeet Singh (2)

In contrast to Angus, Singh took some time to respond to Caron - making for the second time Singh has been conspicuously slow to address a key issue. But once he spoke out publicly, his initial position seemed to offer a distinct and powerful alternative: while Caron's positioning ultimately focuses on jurisdictional deference over (or at least parallel to) correctness in principle, Singh offered a strong stand as to the importance of not disproportionately attacking minorities.

But if his debate message on the same issue didn't specifically backtrack on his public statement, it also failed to highlight what could have been an important contrast not only for him, but for the party's overall debate. And that represents a missed opportunity for Singh to turn the tables on Caron and Ashton in putting principle ahead of political calculation on a hot-button issue.

3. Guy Caron (4)

Caron made some progress in a crucial week for his campaign - both in again setting the agenda with his own proposals, and in outdebating his competitors on his home turf. But while he was the most comfortable candidate in today's debate by far, I'm not sure he was quite convincing enough to start the type of shift he needs in member support.

The end result is that Caron moves ahead of Ashton for now - based less on their likely first-choice support than on his growth potential if he lasts past the first ballot.

4. Niki Ashton (3)

Finally, Ashton drops to the bottom of the rankings due to two unforced errors: one involving her questionably wading into Manitoba's provincial leadership campaign, the other her muddled response to religious accommodation and Quebec's culture.

Those new problems only seem to echo a few earlier faux pas which similarly created negative impressions of Ashton - whether based on disagreement on the merits, or simply matters of political judgment. And I'd expect that growing narrative be a significant hurdle as she tries to win support beyond her initial base.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- Evidence for Democracy has released the candidates' responses to its questions about science in Canada. And Canadian Dimension offers replies on key issues facing Canada's left, while Drew Brown suggests that the leadership campaign should be focusing on bringing the NDP closer toward the successes of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.

- Guy Caron has released his blueprint for success in Quebec - which has served to focus on one of Caron's obvious strengths as a candidate, but also raised questions as to whether the NDP should defer to provincial judgment as to whether to include people who wear religious symbols. And Chris Selley follows up on Ashton's move to largely echo Caron's position, while Chantal Hebert wonders whether the question of religious rights will dominate the rest of the leadership campaign.

- Jagmeet Singh has released his LGBTQI2S+ policy, with particular attention to ensuring services are available to youth. And Charlie Angus has offered up his urban agenda, including making housing a right and facilitating access to nutritious food.

- Meanwhile, Daniel Leblanc reports on a new Leger poll showing relatively little public awareness the leadership campaign in Quebec, but also a strong showing for Caron among those who are paying attention.

- Erin Weir argues that a strong corporate tax plan will be a crucial point for the NDP's new leader, while noting that all of the candidates except Angus have already presented one.

- Finally, Tom Parkin reminds us that the NDP's new leader will benefit from a far stronger party than the one Jack Layton first led - together with some valuable political opportunities.