NDP descends on St. John's for national caucus meetings

The NDP’s 100 MPs will be in Newfoundland and Labrador this week for national caucus meetings, and to till political ground that has suddenly turned fertile for the party.

"I think Newfoundland and Labrador, in many respects, is looking more and more like a breakthrough province for us," British Columbia MP Peter Julian, the national caucus chair, told CBC News.

Provincially, the party garnered nearly 25 per cent of the popular vote in the 2011 election, winning five seats and narrowly missing out on official Opposition status.

A poll released this summer put the NDP in first place in the province for the first time.

And the party doubled its number of MPs in Newfoundland and Labrador in the last federal election.

The New Democrats have never held their national caucus meeting in the province.

While those will be held in St. John’s, some New Democrat MPs will then take their show on the road, fanning out to public events in all seven federal ridings.

"Taking the party to the next level — to really gain the confidence of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians — we need to make sure we’re present right across the province," Julian said.

Provincial NDP Leader Lorraine Michael says hosting the federal caucus meetings will aid the credibility of the party locally, and reinforce its message.

"It’s certainly means a lot for us, because we have very strong links between our provincial and federal sections in the NDP," Michael said.

'I think Newfoundland and Labrador, in many respects, is looking more and more like a breakthrough province for us.' —NDP national caucus chair Peter Julian

"I think it’s what makes us stand out from the other parties in the country, really."

Fall strategy

Federal Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair and his caucus will use the meetings to map out strategy for this fall’s session of Parliament.

Mulcair won the party leadership in March.

The NDP vaulted to Official Opposition status in Ottawa after picking up 59 of Quebec’s 75 seats in the last federal election.

But Julian says the party knows it needs to grow out of that newfound power base into other parts of the country to have any hope of taking the next step.

"For us to form government in 2015 in the next federal election, we’ll need to have considerable support in Atlantic Canada," he said.

The next provincial election is also three years away.