Singh says won’t seek federal Commons seat until 2019 if chosen as NDP leader
OTTAWA — New Democrat MPs in the House of Commons could be without a permanent leader on Parliament Hill until after the federal election in 2019 if Ontario legislator Jagmeet Singh takes over at the party’s helm.
Should he win the leadership in October, Singh told The Canadian Press he would prefer to forego seeking a Commons seat until the next election two years hence, opting instead to spend time reaching out to Canadians and visiting different parts of the country.
Singh has spent much of his leadership campaign billing himself as a “growth candidate” whose fresh approach and lack of federal experience would ultimately attract a host of new supporters to the New Democrat fold.
“I would be happy to spend the time while I am not a sitting member to campaign across the country, to get to know the issues, to get know the different ridings … spending that time speaking with people, reaching out to them,” he said.