Earle McCurdy gets overwhelming endorsement to stay on as NDP leader

The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democrats voted 91.6 per cent in favour of keeping Earle McCurdy on as leader at a convention on Saturday.

• Not 'interested in hanging on by my fingernails,' says Earle McCurdy of NDP leadership

McCurdy, who doesn't have a seat in the House of Assembly, had previously indicated he would have stepped down if his support was less than 70 per cent.

The latest CRA poll showed McCurdy's public approval shot up to 22 per cent last month, up from 14 per cent in February.

Plans to hit the road

Following the win, McCurdy told CBC News he hopes to spend the next few months encouraging people in Newfoundland and Labrador to get involved with the party.

"I'm going to be travelling a lot this summer, getting around the province. I would encourage people, when they see me, to come over and introduce themselves and get involved," he said.

"If people really want to change the type of politics we've got, they've got to get involved."

Now with a clear mandate to lead the party, McCurdy said he hopes he can brand the party as the only viable alternative to the PCs and Liberals — who he says put the province in its current fiscal situation.

"People remember that it was the Tories that got us in the mess in the first place, and people also remember the fact that they were bamboozled in the election campaign," he said. 

"They were promised one thing and given something completely different."