N.B. NDP banking on Mulcair to boost party's future

The newly minted federal opposition leader is expected to bring some star power to this weekend’s NDP convention in Saint John.

Tom Mulcair will join 130 delegates as they decide what direction to take the party in the future.

Dominic Cardy is the provincial NDP leader.

"A lot of it’s stuff we’ve been talking about for the last couple of years that I think would have previously been seen as revolutionary for the NDP," he said.

"We’re talking about the importance of business, making sure we’ve got a strong private sector generating the wealth that we need to support strong social programs."

Jim Stanley, who is co-chair of the convention, is hoping the popularity of the federal party will spark an orange wave on a provincial level.

"When you look at the federal experience, that’s also possible in New Brunswick.  I think what we’ve got to do is we have, as a party, the responsibility – and you’ll see some of that over the next few days – of defining who we are, where we’re going, and what New Brunswickers can expect from us," he said.

The provincial NDP has a long way to go. The party hasn’t won a seat since 2003. 

But it did receive 10 per cent of the vote in the last election.

This is Mulcair’s first visit to a provincial convention since becoming leader.