In the early days of 2016 and still in the wake of the last election, commentators are already eagerly making predictions about what Canada can expect from Tom Mulcair and the NDP this year and in the future. Though Mulcair plans to stay on as party leader, it has yet to be seen whether he can manage to retain his spot after his party lost 59 seats in the last election, causing a downgrade in their status from the official opposition to third-party.
Mulcair claimed in November that he plans to stay on as party leader and believes he will have the backing of his party at the leadership review scheduled for April in Edmonton, according to Macleans.
"The party membership has always been there for me and I expect them to be there in April," said Mulcair.
A more recent response by Mulcair when questioned about his plans to remain on as leader of the NDP was more coy. "We're the New Democratic Party and in the end it's up to the members," said Mulcair, in an interview with Macleans in late December. "I continue to work hard and tirelessly across Canada."
When questioned about his party's relevance to Canadians given the Liberal's socially progressive agenda in an interview conducted with Mulcair for the National Post, Mulcair responded that his party has the important job of keeping pressure on the Liberals to ensure that they follow through with their ambitious promises.
During a segment on Global's "The West Block," a panel of experts discussed the fate of Mulcair in 2016 and predicted that his days as party leader are numbered.
"You know, 2019 is a long time from now. He will be older. He will be in his mid-60's," said Mark Kennedy, Parliamentary Bureau Chief for the Ottawa Citizen, on the Global segment. "He will have been seen as a loser in the previous campaign and people are going to be at his throat."
On the other hand, Michael Den Tandt from The Observer predicts that the NDP will stick with Mulcair, regardless of the party's poor showing in the 2015 election. "New Democrats have a tradition of sticking with leaders through several election cycles," claims Den Tandt, in his comment piece for The Observer. "They are also, to state the obvious, accustomed to not winning."
