Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh Has Destroyed Jack Layton’s Legacy

Former NDP leader Jack Layton, who had a genuine relationship with a broad cross-section of Canadians, led his party to its largest electoral victory ever in 2011, securing official opposition status. Since then, things have largely gone south.

Looking at today’s New Democrats, Layton’s broad appeal based on sincerity, friendliness, and a pleasant demeanor has been replaced with a more narrow one centered on divisive identity politics.

Jagmeet Singh, who took over the party’s leadership following Tom Mulcair’s ouster at the 2016 national convention, has unfortunately led the NDP down an ideological and electoral dead end.

According to Ryan Painter, a former NDP executive, under Singh’s leadership, the NDP has been all but annihilated in Quebec, losing 15 of its 16 seats, and even in the prairies, the party’s origin.

Under Singh, the NDP has become almost exclusively an urban party, the result of a leader who prioritizes the interests of individuals on university campuses and in white-collar government offices.

While balancing identity politics and the effort to advance progress for all Canadians has always been a challenge within the NDP, Layton understood how to appeal to activists without allowing them to co-opt the party, avoiding the virulently toxic wedge politics that the NDP now embraces.

Layton Fought for the Middle Class

Painter stated that Jack Layton recognized that realistic ideas may benefit middle-class Canadians. Whether it was his push to revitalize the automotive sector by investing billions of dollars in environmentally friendly cars and trucks made in Canada, or his commitment to working with the provinces to strengthen and eventually double the pension system.

Layton saw his job as fighting to build and strengthen the middle class. Not so for Singh, who showed no enthusiasm for a stronger middle class.

Instead, Jagmeet Singh focuses his attention on populist attacks on the “ultra-rich” and large corporations such as grocery chains, frequently targeting Loblaws and its CEO, Galen Weston.

It is important to note that Singh’s brother, Gurratan Singh, former Ontario NDP MPP, works for a firm that lobbies for Loblaws competitor Metro. Painter points out.

Millennials and younger voters are clearly anxious for at least one Canadian leader to acknowledge their growing sense of pessimism. However, Singh’s words of support and understanding concerning cost ring hollow coming from someone who enjoys pricey clothes, Rolex watches, and Versace bags.

A recent Abacus Data poll found that people aged 30-44—the elder millennial cohort, which generally favors the NDP—have all but abandoned the party.

Instead, they largely back Pierre Poilieve and the Conservatives. Why? Simple: Singh is providing nothing tangible for millennial and working-class voters to latch upon.

According to Painter, Singh has squandered Layton’s goodwill and transformed the NDP from the nation’s so-called conscience to the epitome of irrelevance.

Jagmeet Singh is Canada’s most expensive NDP MP

Meanwhile, according to the National Post, Jagmeet Singh has spent more than $500,000 on running his constituency office during the first nine months of 2024.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is now the highest-spending individual member of Parliament in the House of Commons, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre ranking lowest.

The most recent MP spending numbers were issued in late March, and they show that Singh spent $533,533 in his position as MP for Burnaby South for the first three quarters of the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023).

During the same time period, Poilievre claimed $143,201 in costs relating to his work as MP for the Carleton riding, which was nearly one-fourth of Singh’s total.

Poilievre was also one of just a few MPs whose constituency costs did not include any funds for “travel” or “hospitality.”

To be true, Poilievre and Singh have significantly larger annual expenses as party leaders. However, in terms of expenses incurred as individual members of Parliament, Singh charged the most while Poilievre charged the least.

Singh’s seat is 4,000 kilometers west of Parliament Hill, but Poilievre represents an Ottawa suburb, thus it stands to reason that their travel expenses would be vastly different.

Singh’s outrageous expenses

Singh, while being born in Scarborough, Ont., and having previously represented Toronto-area ridings as a member of Ontario’s provincial parliament, chose to run in Burnaby South in the 2019 election and has represented the city near Vancouver since.

In 2023, Singh routinely rated among the top ten MPs in terms of travel expenses.

Between July 1 and September 30, his travel expenses of $65,836.58 were nearly identical to those of Lori Idlout ($66,181.59), a perennial high-spender in parliamentary travel due to the fact that she represents Nunavut.

Singh’s charges for paying salaries to employees working in his offices are roughly twice those of Poilievre. Singh’s salary costs were $63,790.64 in the most recent quarter, compared to Poilievre’s expense of $33,808.68.

In the second quarter (July 1 to September 30), the spread nearly tripled: $94,051.82 to $33,751.19.

Singh would also quadruple Poilievre’s constituency budget for “contracts,” which include incidental office expenses such as rent, advertising, and janitorial services.

Over three months, the NDP leader earned $45,535.99 to Poilievre’s $15,510.25. Poilievre’s whole budget for that period was nearly identical to Singh’s spending on the $4,500/month lease for his Kingsway constituency office.

Poilievre’s advantage over Singh

Of course, it’s a very different scenario when it comes to the expenses that Poilievre and Singh incur as party leaders. Those expenses are counted separately in their capacity as “presiding officers” of the House of Commons.

Approximately two dozen MPs, including the prime minister, speaker, and party whips, are paid budgets in addition to their MP expenses.

In these data, Poilievre has a significant advantage over Singh.

Poilievre’s expenses as “Leader of the Official Opposition” cost taxpayers around $1.1 million in the last three months of 2023, with an additional $35,463 going to the upkeep of Stornoway, Poilievre’s official residence.

The prime minister, the official opposition leader, and the Speaker of the House of Commons all have official residences.

During the same year, Singh’s costs as leader of the “Other Opposition Party” totaled only $330,994.71.

Despite the fact that Poilievre represents a caucus of 118 to Singh’s 24, the Conservative leader’s per-member cost to taxpayers remains lower.
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In terms of prime ministerial expenses, while Justin Trudeau is well-known for his exorbitant travel costs, the most recent numbers show that his Montreal constituency office is also one of the most cost-effective in the country.

In one quarter, Trudeau’s Papineau riding was one of the few offices, along from Carleton, that had no travel or hospitality expenses.

By Geoff Thomas