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Huge questions loom for the party, including whether the NDP should reorient itself as a leftist movement that can influence the government, rather than hope to win government itself at the federal level. Some New Democrats also say the culture of the party needs to change so that it is less beholden to a central group around the leader, and more accountable to its grassroots members.  

Under Singh’s third election as leader, the party dropped 18 seats to win just seven ridings on Monday, a result that means it failed to receive the extra resources and parliamentary privileges that come with having at least 12 seats in the House of Commons. 

“It’ll be a battle for the soul of the party, and it’s long overdue,” a longtime NDP source told the Star on the condition they not be named.

Matthew Green, the former Hamilton Centre MP who lost to Liberal Aslam Rana on Monday, told the Star his priority is to rebuild the federal NDP as a “working class” party with greater democratic accountability, and that he intends to run to win back his former seat in the next federal election.

In recent years, the NDP has been trying to “recapture the ghost of Jack Layton,” Green said, arguing it was too focused on trying to supplant the Liberals instead of proudly acting as the left-wing “conscience of the country.” 

Green did not rule out running for leadership himself, but said he would like the party to consider a “strong woman” to replace Singh and contrast with Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. 

“I’m willing to support the right person with the right values,” Green said.

“This is in no way a funeral. It’s a temporary setback.” 

There are at least two women whose names have been floated in NDP circles as potential leadership candidates; Edmonton-Strathcona MP Heather McPherson and Winnipeg Centre’s Leah Gazan, both of whom were first elected in 2019 and won re-election on Monday.

Both McPherson and Gazan told the Star on Wednesday that it was too soon after the election to focus on leadership questions and said their priorities right now are their constituencies. 

Gazan said the party needs to now enter a period of reflection and have some “tough discussions” about what comes next for the NDP.

Part of that work, Gazan said, includes having conversations with grassroots members about what they’re looking for in a potential leader and where the party goes from here.

“That’s why I’m looking to (reach) out to membership, figuring out where folks are at, figuring out how we want to honour our movement, to keep building our movement and how to fight for it. I think those are the kind of discussions we’ll have in the upcoming days,” Gazan said. 

“My father was a CCFer,” Gazan added, referring to the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation, a former social democratic party that became a founding member of the federal NDP.

“I grew up in this beautiful, grassroots movement ... I’m looking forward to continuing to build our movement.”

McPherson, who told the Hill Times last year that the next NDP leader should be a woman, told the Star that leadership races are a time for “party renewals.”

“We need to have a leader that will come forward that can play a meaningful role on the world stage, but also recognize what is happening in communities across this country,” the Edmonton MP said.

McPherson, who spearheaded foreign affairs issues for the NDP, also said the next leader must be able to “resonate” with different communities.

That should be someone who “can speak to rural Canadians, because we are seeing a divide in rural and urban Canadians” and someone who can reach across party lines, McPherson said.

Yet another name that has surfaced among NDP supporters is Avi Lewis, a filmmaker and activist who failed in his second run for a seat on Monday when he was defeated by longtime Liberal incumbent Hedy Fry in Vancouver Centre. 

When reached for comment, Lewis also told the Star that not enough time had passed since election day to make any decisions, as the party was still grappling with charting a path forward after its election showing.