Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), has stepped down after losing his seat in Burnaby Central. He made the announcement after early results showed him coming in third, with only 19% of the vote. The Liberal candidate Wade Chang came first, followed by Conservative James Yan.
Although Singh is stepping down, he said he will stay on temporarily until the party chooses a new leader.
During his speech at the NDP election event, Singh congratulated Liberal leader Mark Carney on his win. He also told Carney that he has a big responsibility ahead, saying Carney must help protect Canada from the influence of Donald Trump.
The NDP faced a major defeat in this election. The party is expected to win only eight seats, which is not enough to keep its official party status in Parliament. A party needs at least 12 seats for that status. In the last Parliament, the NDP held 24 seats and was the fourth-largest party. This is the party’s worst-ever election result.
