Politics·PODCAST

The Pollcast: The race for the NDP leadership is on

The first debate for the NDP leadership has kicked off the race to replace Tom Mulcair. Host Éric Grenier is joined by NDP insiders Sally Housser and Robin MacLachlan to break it down.

Host Éric Grenier is joined by NDP insiders Sally Housser and Robin MacLachlan

Guy Caron, left, Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton and Peter Julian react to the audience as they arrive on stage for the first debate of the federal NDP leadership race, in Ottawa on Sunday, March 12, 2017. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

The CBC Pollcast, hosted by CBC poll analyst Éric Grenier, explores the world of electoral politics, political polls and the trends they reveal.


The four candidates for the NDP leadership debated for the first time on Sunday. The event kicked off a race that has been dormant for nearly a year. It won't come to a conclusion until October, when New Democrats decide who should replace Tom Mulcair as their leader.

The debate was a collegial affair. But did it provide any clues as to how this campaign might play out for the next seven months?

Unlike the Conservative leadership race, which has 14 candidates in the running, so far the NDP has a more manageable group to showcase: MPs Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton, Guy Caron and Peter Julian.

But that group may grow soon.

To help navigate the NDP leadership campaign, Pollcast host Éric Grenier is joined again by NDP insiders Sally Housser of Navigator and Robin MacLachlan of Summa Strategies.

Listen to the full discussion above — or subscribe to the CBC Pollcast and listen to past episodes.

Past episodes with Robin MacLachlan and Sally Housser on the NDP leadership race:

Follow Éric Grenier, Sally Housser and Robin MacLachlan on Twitter.