Leader of the New Democratic Party

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Leader of the New Democratic Party
Chef du Nouveau Parti démocratique
since May 5, 2025
StatusParty leader
Member ofNew Democratic Party
AppointerElected by members of the party
Inaugural holderJ. S. Woodsworth (CCF)
Tommy Douglas (NDP)
FormationAugust 1, 1932 (CCF)
August 3, 1961 (NDP)
DeputyDeputy leader of the New Democratic Party

The leader of the New Democratic Party (French: chef du Nouveau Parti démocratique) is the highest position within Canada's federal New Democratic Party (NDP). The current leader is Don Davies, the member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway, who is serving as the interim leader following the resignation of Jagmeet Singh. The next permanent leader will be decided by the upcoming 2026 New Democratic Party leadership election.

History

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The New Democratic Party was founded in 1961 following the merger of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress. Prior to the merger, the CCF had three leaders from its founding in 1932 until the 1961 merger, with J. S. Woodsworth serving as the CCF's first leader.[1] Following Woodsworth's death in 1942, he was replaced by M. J. Coldwell, who led the party to their best electoral performance in 1945 by winning 28 seats.

Coldwell ended up losing his seat in the 1958 election leading to a party leadership crisis. Hazen Argue, the CCF member of Parliament for Assiniboia, was named the parliamentary leader due to Coldwell's absence from the House of Commons, however he continously persuaded Coldwell to officially step down as leader. At the time, the CCF executives were in the process of transitioning their party into a new party with closer ties to organized labour, and wanted Tommy Douglas to become the party leader. This merger was something Argue opposed, and fearing that Argue's leadership would derail the merger, party president David Lewis tried to prevent Argue from initiating a leadership challenge during the 1960 CCF convention. This attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, and Coldwell resigned on August 10, 1960. The CCF caucus elected Argue as the new leader on the following day.

Despite the leadership crisis, the merger talks continued, and eventually culminated in the New Democratic Party founding convention in the summer of 1961. During the convention, the NDP was formally established on August 3, 1961. On the same day, Argue and Douglas ran against each other for the party leadership, with Douglas winning a landslide victory to become the first leader of the NDP. Argue left the party for the Liberals shortly afterwards.

The NDP's most successful leader was Jack Layton, who served as leader from 2004 to 2011, and led the NDP to a 103 seat result in the 2011 Canadian federal election. The NDP won the second-most seats in the House of Commons, and Layton became the first leader of the NDP to serve as the leader of the Official Opposition. However, his tenure as opposition leader was very short lived, as he died from cancer a few months later.

In the 2017 New Democratic Party leadership election, the party elected Jagmeet Singh, making him the first visible minority to lead a major Canadian federal political party.[2] Singh, who was a member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament at the time, resigned his provincial seat and was first elected to the House of Commons on February 25, 2019 for the riding of Burnaby South.

List of leaders

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Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (1932–1961)
No. Portrait Leader Tenure Riding(s) Prime Minister(s) while leader
Took office Left office Time in office
1 J. S. Woodsworth
(1874–1942) 		August 1, 1932 March 21, 1942 9 years, 232 days Winnipeg North Centre (1921–1925)
Winnipeg Centre (1925–1942) 		Bennett (1930–1935)
Conservative
King (1935–1948)
Liberal
2 M. J. Coldwell
(1878–1974) 		July 29, 1942 August 10, 1960 18 years, 12 days Rosetown—Biggar
St. Laurent (1948–1957)
Liberal
Diefenbaker (1957–1963)
PC
3 Hazen Argue
(1921–1991) 		August 11, 1960 August 2, 1961 356 days Wood Mountain (1945–1949)
Assiniboia (1949–1963)
New Democratic Party (1961–present)
No. Portrait Leader Tenure Riding(s) Prime Minister(s) while leader
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Tommy Douglas
(1904–1986) 		August 3, 1961 April 24, 1971 9 years, 264 days Weyburn (SK: 1944–1961)[n 1]
Burnaby—Coquitlam (1962–1968)
Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands (1969–1979) 		Diefenbaker (1957–1963)
PC
Pearson (1963–1968)
Liberal
P. Trudeau (1968–1979)
Liberal
2 David Lewis
(1909–1981) 		April 24, 1971 July 7, 1975 4 years, 74 days York South
3 Ed Broadbent
(1936–2024) 		July 7, 1975 December 5, 1989 14 years, 151 days Oshawa–Whitby (1968–1979)
Oshawa (1979–1990)
Clark (1979–1980)
PC
P. Trudeau (1980–1984)
Liberal
Turner (1984)
Liberal
Mulroney (1984–1993)
PC
4 Audrey McLaughlin
(b. 1936) 		December 5, 1989 October 14, 1995 5 years, 313 days Yukon
Campbell (1993)
PC
Chrétien (1993–2003)
Liberal
5 Alexa McDonough
(1944–2022) 		October 14, 1995 January 25, 2003 7 years, 103 days Halifax Fairview (NS: 1993–1996)[n 1]
Halifax (1997–2008)
6 Jack Layton
(1950–2011) 		January 25, 2003 August 22, 2011[n 2] 8 years, 209 days Toronto–Danforth
Martin (2003–2006)
Liberal
Harper (2006–2015)
Conservative
— Nycole Turmel
(interim leader)
(b. 1942) 		August 22, 2011[n 3] March 24, 2012 215 days Hull—Aylmer
7 Tom Mulcair
(b. 1954) 		March 24, 2012 October 1, 2017 5 years, 191 days Outremont
J. Trudeau (2015–2025)
Liberal
8 Jagmeet Singh
(b. 1979) 		October 1, 2017 May 5, 2025 7 years, 216 days Bramalea—Gore—Malton (ON: 2011–2017)[n 1]
Burnaby South (2019–2025)
Carney (2025–present)
Liberal
— Don Davies
(interim leader)
(b. 1963) 		May 5, 2025 incumbent 104 days Vancouver Kingsway
  1. ^ a b c Held a seat in a provincial legislature while serving as the federal NDP leader.
  2. ^ On July 28, 2011, Layton took a leave of absence until his death, with Nycole Turmel serving as acting leader.[3]
  3. ^ Turmel had been serving as acting leader of the party since July 28, 2011.[4]
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Deputy leaders

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Further information: Deputy leader
NDP deputy leader Term start Term end Riding(s) NDP leader Notes
Bill Blaikie August 1, 2004 October 14, 2008 Elmwood—Transcona Jack Layton
Tom Mulcair September 27, 2007 October 12, 2011 Outremont Jack Layton
Nycole Turmel
Libby Davies September 27, 2007 October 18, 2015 Vancouver East Jack Layton
Nycole Turmel
Tom Mulcair
Megan Leslie April 19, 2012 October 18, 2015 Halifax Tom Mulcair
David Christopherson April 19, 2012 March 11, 2019 Hamilton Centre Tom Mulcair
Jagmeet Singh
Sheri Benson March 14, 2019 October 20, 2019 Saskatoon West Jagmeet Singh
Alexandre Boulerice March 14, 2019 incumbent Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie Jagmeet Singh
Don Davies

Federal caucus leadership positions

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House Leaders

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Further information: House Leader
NDP house leader[5] Term start Term end Riding(s) Notes
Stanley Knowles September 1962 September 3, 1984 Winnipeg North Centre
Ian Deans September 4, 1984 September 3, 1986 Hamilton Mountain Acting NDP house leader from 1981 to 1984
Nelson Riis September 5, 1986 January 11, 1994 Kamloops—Shuswap (1980–1988)
Kamloops (1988–2000)
Len Taylor January 12, 1994 January 10, 1996 The Battlefords—Meadow Lake
Bill Blaikie January 11, 1996 February 5, 2003 Winnipeg—Transcona
Libby Davies February 6, 2003 May 25, 2011 Vancouver East
Tom Mulcair May 26, 2011 October 12, 2011 Outremont Opposition House Leader
Joe Comartin October 13, 2011 April 14, 2012 Windsor—Tecumseh
Nathan Cullen April 19, 2012 March 19, 2014 Skeena—Bulkley Valley
Peter Julian
(1 of 3) 		March 20, 2014 October 18, 2016 Burnaby—New Westminster (2004–2015)
New Westminster—Burnaby (2015–2025) 		Opposition House Leader
(March 20, 2014 to October 20, 2015)
Murray Rankin October 19, 2016 October 23, 2017 Victoria
Peter Julian
(2 of 3) 		October 24, 2017 January 24, 2018 New Westminster—Burnaby
Ruth Ellen Brosseau January 25, 2018 March 13, 2019 Berthier—Maskinongé
Peter Julian
(3 of 3) 		March 14, 2019 April 28, 2025 New Westminster—Burnaby

Party whips

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See also: Party whip (Canada)
NDP party whips[6] Term start Term end Riding(s) Notes
Stanley Knowles 1962 December 1972 Winnipeg North Centre
William George Knight January 3, 1973 1974 Assiniboia
Lorne Edmund Nystrom June 1974 1981 Yorkton—Melville
Neil Young October 1981 October 28, 1984 Beaches
Victor Fredrich Althouse October 29, 1984 September 4, 1986 Humboldt—Lake Centre
Rodney Edward Murphy September 5, 1986 January 21, 1990 Churchill
Iain Angus January 22, 1990 October 24, 1993 Thunder Bay—Atikokan
Christopher Axworthy September 6, 1994 January 10, 1996 Saskatoon—Clark's Crossing
John Solomon January 11, 1996 January 30, 2000 Regina—Lumsden (1993–1997)
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre (1997–2000)
Yvon Godin February 1, 2000 May 25, 2011 Acadie—Bathurst Chief Opposition Whip
(May 2–25, 2011)
Chris Charlton May 26, 2011 April 18, 2012 Hamilton Mountain Chief Opposition Whip
Nycole Turmel April 19, 2012 November 11, 2015 Hull—Aylmer Chief Opposition Whip
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet November 12, 2015 March 13, 2019 Hochelaga
Ruth Ellen Brosseau March 14, 2019 October 20, 2019 Berthier—Maskinongé
Rachel Blaney November 26, 2019 April 4, 2024 North Island—Powell River
Heather McPherson April 5, 2024 April 28, 2025 Edmonton Strathcona

Party executive positions

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Presidents

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "James Shaver Woodsworth". The Canadian Encyclopedia. February 14, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  2. ^ Austen, Ian (October 1, 2017). "Sikh Becomes Canada's First Nonwhite Political Party Leader". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "Jack Layton to take leave after new cancer found". CBC News. July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Meagan (July 27, 2011). "NDP caucus backs Turmel as interim leader". CBC News. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  5. ^ "Party House Leaders". Library of Parliament. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  6. ^ "Whips". Library of Parliament. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  7. ^ "Moderate elected president; Watkins joins executive", The Globe and Mail, Nov 1, 1969
  8. ^ "New Democrats grit teeth over MP's outbursts", Montreal Gazette, June 17, 1999
  9. ^ Connor, Kevin (April 15, 2011). "Sun News talking the talk". Toronto Sun. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  10. ^ "Anne McGrath elected NDP President" (Press release). New Democratic Party. September 10, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  11. ^ Galloway, Gloria (2009-08-15). "Folksy Dexter plays the hero". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
  12. ^ Smith, Joanna (2011-06-19). "Heated debate as New Democrats defer motion to drop socialist from constitution". The Toronto Star. Toronto. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  13. ^ Bryden, Joan (March 26, 2012). "NDP hunts for source of cyber-attack on electronic voting system". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 31, 2012.