A letter circulated to members of Young New Democrats encourages members to support “a new direction, and a new style of leadership.”Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair appears poised to lose the support of the youth wing of his party whose members are being urged to vote for "a new style of leadership."
Stefan Avlijas, secretary and acting policy director of the Young New Democrats, told The Globe and Mail he will be voting in favour of a leadership review at the party's convention in Edmonton this weekend.
"I don't have faith that Tom is able to carry out the sort of renewal that we actually need in order to be a viable, credible left-wing alternative going into 2019," Mr. Avlijas said in an interview.
"I'm just not hearing it from our membership and from the youth that I talk to, there's no one fired up."
The youth wing, which includes NDP members 25 and under, will have about 50 delegates in Edmonton, Mr. Avlijas said. The organization will decide at its own convention on Thursday whether its members will vote in favour of a leadership review as a group.
In a letter circulated to members of Young New Democrats, the organization decries the party's "uninspired" and "problematic" platform.
"None of us were consulted, or even brought into the discussion when it came to platform development, or for that matter, the out-of-touch materials that we were asked to distribute on campuses," it says.
The letter also suggests the younger members were ignored by a post-campaign review prepared by NDP party president Rebecca Blaikie.
"We were surprised to see a final report, which although honest and open about the shortcomings of the campaign, failed to acknowledge the concerns of our peers," it says.
It goes on to say the party must strengthen and grow from defeat.
"That starts in Edmonton at our convention, where we will be attending and encouraging all Young New Democrats from across the country to support a new direction, and a new style of leadership."
The Alberta youth section, expected to make up the largest youth delegation in Edmonton, has also put out a letter saying by voting yes to a leadership review "we will see the best and brightest of our party come forward to lead us into 2019."
About 1,500 delegates are set to vote Sunday on whether the NDP should hold a leadership race. Mr. Mulcair has thus far refused to provide a specific number for how much support he'd need to receive to stay on as leader, saying only he's heard the same "type" of number as 70-per-cent support and is looking for a "strong endorsement" from party members.
The membership will also be debating dozens resolutions at the three-day convention, although not all of them will make it to the floor.
This includes a popular push from those who'd like to see a more left-wing stand to debate the Leap manifesto, a broad-ranging "transitional" document that advocates for a non-polluting economy through bold policies.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail this week, Mr. Mulcair said he's "really looking forward to having the debate" about the manifesto at convention.
"There are elements of that proposal that are the way forward for the country, to the extent that it says it's time we take climate change seriously and we start acting to reduce our greenhouse-gas emissions," he said.
"That's why you have conventions, is to put big ideas like that on the table, and to discuss them, and to look at what's feasible and what is more challenging. And I'm going to let the members have that debate."
Documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis, one of the document's originators, said he hopes a resolution to debate the implementation of the manifesto makes it to the floor of the convention.
"It's good news that Tom is publicly committing to a debate about the Leap manifesto at the convention because the ideas are big and bold and the NDP is in a moment of renewal," Mr. Lewis, who will be attending the convention, wrote in an e-mail.
Laura Stone