Dominic Cardy urged to run in Saint John East byelection

There is a campaign inside the New Democratic Party to convince outgoing leader Dominic Cardy to revoke his resignation and run in the upcoming byelection in Saint John East.

Cardy announced his resignation on election night after he failed to win his Fredericton West-Hanwell seat and his party, once again, was shut out of the Legislative Assembly.

On his Facebook page Friday, Cardy said the decision was all about family, but he may be convinced to change his mind.

"I tried to bring a message of fiscal discipline and social progress to the debate. Did it work? Well, we did get a record number of votes," he wrote.

"We gained attention for a serious campaign run by serious people. But we didn’t win any seats, and that’s one of two reasons I announced my plan to step down, on election night. The second was a commitment to my wife, Margot, that after working as a volunteer since 2010 I would put my family first."

Cardy had planned to resign at a NDP convention later this month but that meeting of party members has now been postponed until January.

He asked followers to weigh in on whether he should stay as NDP leader.

"Before I make any decisions I need to keep listening, to my party, to my wife, and to people in Saint John East. I’ll make this decision the same way I try to make every decision: I’ll listen, I’ll think, and then I’ll get going," he wrote.

Party members are looking to Saint John East, where Liberal Gary Keating, who won the seat by nine votes, suddenly resigned this week.

Kelly Lamrock, a high-profile NDP member, said he's not alone in wanting Cardy on the ballot.

"We've already got a majority of people who ran in the last election and soon I think we'll have an overwhelming majority of riding presidents, riding executives, former candidates saying, `We want Dominic to run in Saint John East and finish the work we started,'” Lamrock said on Friday.

“The hockey game went into overtime in a way no one could have predicted, and we want our captain back on the ice."

Premier Brian Gallant said he will likely call a byelection this fall. The Elections Act requires a byelection in the next six months.

The Tories have already demand Gallant call an immediate byelection.

Cardy’s NDP saw its share of the popular vote increase to 12.98 per cent from 10.3 per cent in 2010.

This would be Cardy’s third attempt to win a seat in the legislature in more than two years.

Cardy finished third in the Rothesay byelection in 2012. The NDP leader finished second in Fredericton West-Hanwell on Sept. 22.

Saint John has been willing to elect NDP members in the past. Former leader Elizabeth Weir held the riding of Saint John Harbour from 1991 to 2005.

Peter Trites won the riding of East Saint John in a 1984 byelection.

In last month’s election, the NDP placed third behind the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives in the closest race in the province.