NDP's next leader needs more face time to gain back lost ground: analyst
The party announced Marit Stiles, the only candidate in the running, as its next leader
Ontario's Official Opposition leader has a lot of work to do to become familiar with and win over voters, including in Windsor, Ont., if her party wants to beat the Progressive Conservatives' Doug Ford in the next election, says a political science professor.
The New Democrats announced Tuesday that Toronto-area MPP Marit Stiles is set to be the new leader for the party.
As they look to gain back seats lost in June's election, Lydia Miljan, a political science professor at the University of Windsor, says the party's only candidate for the top job is relatively unknown to voters.
"My reaction is, [I] didn't see it coming because there's been really no news about the leadership race. And the thing about leadership races is it brings attention to the party," said Miljan.
"And we don't know anything about the candidate, we don't know anything about the party. So that's actually a missed opportunity."
Stiles represents the downtown Toronto riding of Davenport, and was the only contender to lead the NDP at Queen's Park after a deadline to enter the contest passed at midnight Monday. The NDP still needs to hold a confirmation vote.
The Newfoundland-born MPP was first elected in 2018 and served as the party's education critic. Before that, Stiles was a Toronto public school board trustee and spent two years as president of the federal New Democrats.
Miljan says in comparison to contentious leadership races for Ontario's Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, having only one contender for the NDP's top spot might show a lack of energy or interest within the party.
"If there's a feeling on the street that the Official Opposition really has a chance of forming government, usually a lot more than one person is going to put their name forward because they're like, 'Yeah, I want to be premier,'" said Miljan.
"So it almost suggests that the party itself doesn't believe that they have a chance of overcoming the PCs in the next election, which is quite surprising given the missteps that we've seen over the last few months with the Progressive Conservative government under Doug Ford."
On Tuesday, Stiles told CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive that her party is set on defeating Ford, saying voters are watching his decisions like "paving over the Greenbelt or making changes to our municipal laws." But it's a low voter turnout that has her party concerned.
"I believe the reason for that is that so many people, you know, frankly have been told they can't expect better than what we have right now — that we are being taken for granted for so many years," said Stiles.
She pointed to long hospital wait times, growing classrooms with little support, and people leaving the province due to the high cost of living as major concerns for voters.
"This is not normal and it doesn't need to be this way, and we need to give people a reason to vote and a reason to expect more from their government," she said.
Gaining lost ground
In June's provincial election, the NDP lost seven of its 38 seats, along with its leader after Andrea Horwath stepped down on election night.
The region of Windsor-Essex, Ont., saw two long-time NDP seats lost to the PCs — incumbents and long-serving MPPs Percy Hatfield and Taras Natyshak did not see re-election in 2022, opening a pathway for two new Progressive Conservative faces, Andrew Dowie and Anthony Leardi. The NDP's Lisa Gretzky was re-elected in her riding of Windsor West.
Gretzky says as the only federally or provincially elected female in Windsor, which has only one female sitting councillor, she's excited to continue working with Stiles at the head of the party.
She says Stiles has shown a lot of interest in the local region, and they've had many discussions around local issues like housing, affordability, building Windsor's mega-hospital and ensuring there's staffing for it.
"I think the way people in Windsor are going to get to know her is not just watching what goes on in the legislature but when she comes down to the community and she's trying to engage in those conversations," said Gretzky.
Gretzky says her office has helped Stiles "cold call" constituents, so she can speak with Windsorites directly.
"I know that she's going to continue to do that and I'm very happy to have a leader who is so engaged and really so interested in hearing directly from the people in our community and those across the province," she said.
Stiles said Tuesday the party is "going to have to reach out to every corner of this province" to rebuild support where it was lost in June's election.
Miljan says as someone coming from Toronto, time will tell how Stiles connects with outside-GTA voters.
"It's always a concern for political parties when they have a leader coming from the capital because they have to be able to demonstrate that they understand the uniqueness of southwestern Ontario or the north or the Eastern Townships," said Miljan.
"And so that is a big task ahead for the leader, not only to put her stamp on the party, but then also to introduce herself and to get people to know and like her."
Gretzky said Stiles had planned a visit to Windsor recently, but it was cancelled due to scheduling issues. She says she expects Stiles to visit soon in the coming weeks.
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With files from Lucas Powers, Afternoon Drive