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Davies, who’s been an NDP MP since 2008, told the Star the party’s remaining seven MPs will “punch far above” their weight in the minority Parliament, in a week when signs emerged of dissatisfaction from key players inside the party.

“I think the entire structure needs to be examined, absolutely, and I think the approach that we’ve always adopted, which is a top-down approach, needs to be completely revamped,” Vancouver MP-elect Jenny Kwan told the Star Friday, although she ruled out joining Mark Carney’s Liberals, who are just three seats shy of a majority in Parliament.

“If we continue on down the path of basically engaging in the same manner in which we have been, we’re not going to be successful in rebuilding the party,” Kwan added, declining to share more details.

Davies was named the party’s interim leader by the NDP’s federal council on Monday. The party said its seven MPs were “consulted” prior to council’s vote, and Davies said Friday he had the support of a “majority” of caucus.

However, one MP and potential leadership contender publicly raised concerns about his selection. “Great finding out through the news … Go ‘team’ NDP,” Winnipeg’s Leah Gazan wrote in a post on X. Rachel Blaney, a former NDP MP who did not seek re-election, responded that it was “not unexpected.”

Gazan didn’t respond to the Star when asked for more context about her post. 

Asked if she was consulted about Davies’ selection as interim leader, Kwan declined to comment.

Meanwhile, New Democrat MP Lori Idlout has not definitively ruled out crossing the floor to join the Liberals, although a senior Grit told the Star on Friday that there are currently no serious prospects for any opposition MP to cross the floor.

In an interview with CBC North last week, Idlout said she would have to consider joining the Liberals if enough constituents in Nunavut demanded it, but said it would be “very difficult,” because of the Liberal government’s broken promises.

In an interview with Nunatsiaq News this week, Idlout criticized the Liberals’ record, including recent changes to a food vouchers program for Inuit families, but did not definitively rule out crossing the floor. She did not respond to the Star’s request for comment.

Davies said his caucus colleagues are “committed New Democrats, and I have every confidence they’ll remain so.”

He said differences of opinion in the party are normal and will not hinder its work in Parliament, where NDP MPs are expected to push for affordable housing, protection and expansion of public health care, including mental health supports, and creating good jobs. The party does not yet have specific policy requests for the government’s first budget, he said.

Gord Johns, another of the seven NDP MPs, said New Democrats need to rise above the finger-pointing and get to work on behalf of their constituents.

“There can’t be distractions, and it can’t be delayed because of, you know, internal issues,” Johns, who ruled out crossing the floor to the Liberals, told the Star. “We’ve got work to do. People are counting on us.”

As far as rebuilding goes, Davies said “we have a financial challenge to address, pull our sleeves up and address that. We need to have a thorough and open election review, as well as a really effective grassroots revisioning process.”

That road ahead will not be easy.

Because it failed to elect 12 MPs, the NDP is not a “recognized party” in Parliament and is expected to miss out on funding for House of Commons operations, including a budget for its leader and for research.

The party is hoping the threshold for official party status can be lowered. However, that would require a decision by the House’s Board of Internal Economy, which includes representatives of the Liberals, Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois, the latter of which the NDP declined to grant official party status following the 2015 election. (Neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives responded to requests for comment).

“I have no doubt that our success is going to continue, however, it is going to even be more challenging,” Johns said. “I think we’ll realize that when we return to Parliament, for sure.”

Outside Parliament, the party will also receive minimal aid from Elections Canada rebates after 298 of its 342 candidates received less than 10 per cent of the popular vote in their races, as the party’s national share of the vote dropped from around 18 per cent to just over six per cent.

The vast majority of New Democratic Party staff are no longer employed by the party, including senior party officials like campaign director Jennifer Howard and former leader Jagmeet Singh’s principal secretary Anne McGrath.

“We’re in bad shape,” said one active New Democrat source, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about party matters. “It’s f—-ing frustrating.”

With files from Alex Ballingall