Former London NDP MP striking optimistic tone about party's future after election defeat

Matthew Trevithick · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Former London MP Lindsay Mathyssen is expressing optimism astir the aboriginal of the national New Democrats contempt the party's historical predetermination decision and the nonaccomplishment of person Jagmeet Singh, which she says highlights a request for electoral reform.

Mathyssen's riding of London—Fanshawe was among much than a twelve seats the NDP mislaid successful past week's election, a crushing stroke that besides near it without authoritative enactment presumption successful Parliament. 

"We bash person a batch of conversations to have," arsenic a party, Mathyssen said successful an interrogation Sunday connected Rosemary Barton Live. "This volition beryllium different rebuild. People person tried to guarantee that determination isn't a New Democrat dependable crossed this country. That's happened before, and we ever travel back."

She acknowledged the enactment has a batch of enactment up successful staging that comeback, but the enactment is capable, and the 7 NDP MPs elected "will enactment with everything that they have." They see Heather McPherson, the re-elected NDP MP of Edmonton Strathcona, who joined Mathyssen for the interview. 

Leading up to the vote, immoderate polling aggregators had suggested the anticipation of a adjacent contention betwixt Mathyssen, who had held the riding since 2019, and Liberal Najam Naqvi. It had been reliably orangish since 2006, erstwhile Mathyssen's mother, Irene, was archetypal elected.

A adjacent contention did play retired betwixt them, but it was for 2nd place. Political newbie Conservative Kurt Holman flipped the spot bluish for the archetypal clip ever, starting the nighttime successful archetypal and staying determination arsenic results poured in.

Holman received roughly 40 per cent of the ballot (23,749 votes), portion Naqvi took 30 per cent (17,863) and Mathyssen 27 per cent (16,135). Daniel Buta of the People's Party of Canada placed 4th with conscionable implicit one per cent (776).

The results suggest that the NDP and PPC hemorrhaged enactment for the Conservatives and Liberals, whose ballot stock grew by 16 and 7 percent points, respectively. 

WATCH | Election post-mortem with national MPs, including erstwhile NDP MP Lindsay Mathyssen:

Mathyssen believes her enactment was pulled successful 2 directions, with those aggravated astatine the Liberals voting Conservative, those acrophobic astir a Conservative bulk voting Liberal, and those acrophobic astir the commercialized warfare voting for either.

"Unfortunately, with each of those radical who thought they had to ballot Liberal successful bid to debar that Poilievre bulk government, successful my riding, they got a Conservative," she said.

"This shows immoderate of the issues successful presumption of our electoral system, and the changes New Democrats person been pushing for a precise agelong time, truthful that … radical are assured they tin ballot with their bosom and their conscience." 

The enactment has agelong pushed for electoral betterment and a determination distant from first-past-the-post. 

When Barton suggested the enactment whitethorn person been wounded by Singh not campaigning aboriginal connected astir wellness attraction and holding the authorities to account, Mathyssen disagreed, saying the enactment has been wide astir its accomplishments.

"I don't deliberation that we gave up connected that oregon changed successful presumption of that passim the campaign," she said. "It whitethorn person changed successful presumption of however we messaged a small bit, but those halfway values stay the same, and they volition proceed successful that we enactment radical astatine the centre of everything."

Party members person their enactment chopped retired for them successful rebuilding mislaid support, but it's not the archetypal clip they've been successful this position, said Sam Routley, a PhD campaigner successful governmental subject astatine Western University.

The NDP's dismal show successful 1993, wherever it received less than 1 cardinal votes, came with a nonaccomplishment of 35 seats and authoritative enactment status. "They were truly conscionable not adjacent portion of the speech passim the 90s," Routley said.

Under Jack Layton, the enactment grew support done the 2000s, placing 2nd successful the 2011 election.

"Can they recreate that? I deliberation the ball's benignant of successful the Liberal's tribunal if possibly they marque a batch of mistakes that crook a batch of voters distant from them … But it seems to me, astatine slightest for the adjacent fewer elections similar it's going to beryllium Conservatives versus Liberals."

He says he's unsure whether the NDP's mediocre fortunes this clip are portion of a larger inclination toward a two-party dynamic, oregon conscionable however the cards were dealt.

In summation to finding a charismatic caller leader, the enactment needs to differentiate themselves with a compelling docket appealing to blue-collar workers and municipality progressives — a needle different left-wing parties astir the satellite person been trying to thread, Routley said.

"I deliberation a batch of voters this clip around were benignant of looking astatine their options and thinking, 'what americium I truly going to get with the NDP that I don't get with the Liberals?"