Hamilton NDP riding association wants review of Marit Stiles's leadership after party won't let Sarah Jama run

Leaders of the New Democratic Party of Ontario riding association for Hamilton Centre say the party's process to nominate a candidate has been "improper" and they're calling for review of Leader Marit Stiles's leadership.

The NDP's decision to bar Independent member of provincial parliament Sarah Jama from running made the riding association "incredibly upset," president Tom Baker said in a virtual news conference Tuesday. "Many [Ontario NDP] members inspired by Sarah have been shoved aside."

Party leadership has disregarded the riding association and longtime NDP members who support Jama, riding association vice-president David Mivasair said. "I think there could be a leadership review. I think that would be very justified."

Ontario NDP director Kevin Beaulieu did not directly respond to those criticisms. In a statement to CBC Hamilton, he said the nomination process is confidential and applied evenly to all contestants. "In the case of all the applicants in Hamilton Centre, the process was followed," Beaulieu said.

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According to the NDP constitution, party members can vote on whether or not to call for a leadership election at conventions, which are usually held in January, and can be called if two-thirds of riding associations request it. The party postponed this year's regularly scheduled convention, saying it would instead prepare for the general election that is now underway.  

Jama was a well-known housing and disability activist before she won a March 2023 byelection, running as the NDP candidate in Hamilton Centre with 54 per cent of the votes. Party leader Marit Stiles expelled Jama from her caucus in October 2023 following an uproar over comments she made in support of Palestinians after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel earlier that month.

At the time, leader Marit Stiles said Jama had "undertaken a number of unilateral actions that have undermined our collective work and broken the trust of her colleagues."

A year later, the party's executive passed a motion to study "electoral scenarios" in the Hamilton Centre riding that would include nominating Jama as its candidate. Eventually, the party allowed Jama to apply, which she did. On Monday, Jama announced she did not pass the vetting process, saying the reasons she was given were her removal from caucus and her stated intention to run as an Independent if she were denied.

"I was hopeful to rejoin the party," Jama told CBC Hamilton in an interview Tuesday. "I was disappointed."

"I think that democracy looks like everyone in Hamilton Centre being able to select who they want their candidates to be across parties and I think that process didn't happen," she said.

Ontario NDP weighing two approved nominees for Hamilton Centre

As of Tuesday, the party has two candidates approved to contest the nomination in Hamilton centre: Aisha Jahangir and Dr. Robin Lennox, Beaulieu said, describing them as "health care workers with strong roots in the community."

Jahangir is a labour advocate and mental health nurse at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre. Lennox practices family medicine in Hamilton and has advised the city on public health issues, Beaulieu said. "Voters in Hamilton Centre will have a strong New Democrat on the ballot on election day." 

On Tuesday, Mivasair posted on social media site X, saying Jahangir "doesn't live here and has run two failed election campaigns in her own city of Guelph, where she's lived all her life," pointing to a 2021 federal election campaign bio. 

"I have deep roots in Hamilton," Jahangir said in an email to CBC Hamilton. She said she was born in Hamilton and commutes for work, "like so many working people."

"I promise that if I am elected, my family and I will relocate to Hamilton Centre," she said, adding that her work in the jail has shown her the "consequences of inadequate support for people facing challenges."

Mivasair said Lennox is new to the Hamilton Centre NDP.

"I am running for the NDP nomination in the upcoming provincial election in order to continue to advocate for our community at a time when we desperately need a change in governance," Lennox said in a statement to CBC Hamilton, noting her experience as a "front-line physician," who "witnessed the increasing harm," caused by government policies. 

Some NDP politicians voice support for Jama

Baker and Mivasair have said Jama's expulsion and the decision to deny her a chance to contest the nomination have been unpopular amongst many of the riding's most committed NDP supporters. 

"There's no question this splits resources," Baker said, adding it may be harder to mount an NDP campaign given some supporters and volunteers have gone to work for Jama instead,  

On X Tuesday, Ottawa Centre NDP MPP Joel Harden said he is "among New Democrats who wanted to see a path for MPP Jama back into the [Ontario NDP] caucus." On Monday, Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan responded to Jama's announcement about running as an Independent with a post that said "Go @SarahJama_!!!!"