Canada: Jagmeet Singh to step down as NDP leader after rout in elections

After a rout in Canadian elections, Jagmeet Singh has announced he would step down as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP).

Singh has led the party for around seven years. He is the first Sikh to lead a major political party in Canada.

In the 2025 Canadian elections, NDP has suffered a rout. So far, NDP has won just two seats with a vote share of 6 per cent. It is a steep fall as the party had 24 MPs in the outgoing parliament.

The NDP is set to lose its status of national party as a party needs at least 12 members of parliament to retain the status of a national party.

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For years, Singh had served as a kingmaker for former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He gave Trudeau support from outside the coalition to keep his minority Liberal Party government afloat. He withdrew the support late last year as Trudeau’s popularity plunged to new lows.

The NDP’s rout has translated into considerable gains for the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Mark Carney. In January, the polls showed the party set to lose to Conservatives in a landslide. Now, the party is set to form government for the fourth straight term.

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The Liberals have already won 133 seats with a vote share of 42.9 per cent. CBC News has called the election in favour of Liberals.

The Conservatives have won 116 seats with a vote share of 41.8 per cent.

In sharp contrast to the results, the NDP was expected to win around 19 per cent of the vote in polls in January. But then US President Donald Trump’s territorial and economic assaults on Canada, coupled with a mismanaged campaign of the Conservative Party and resignation of Trudeau, breathed new life into the Liberal Party that mounted a fierce defence of Canada in the wake of Trump’s threats.

“Blame the orange man down south. The same thing happened to the Tories, but it’s worse for the NDP,” a longtime NDP member told The Toronto Sun.