From Layton To Singh

An incisive analysis of the federal NDP since 2000, examining the ongoing, unresolved tension between the party’s idealistic grassroots base and centrist bureaucracy at its core. On the surface the story of the federal NDP in the 21st century can be told as a story of its leaders — the optimism of the Jack Layton era; the disappointment of Tom Mulcair, the energizing popularity of Jagmeet Singh with young voters. But the real story is the ongoing internal power and ideological conflict between social democrats and Orange liberals. Author Matt Fodor describes how, over 20 years, centrists gradually consolidated their power, turning the party to the right. He highlights how the tensions have played out as activists drawn to socialist ideals contend with card-carrying party members chasing political power. The NDP’s low point came with the disastrous 2015 election when Trudeau’s Liberals outflanked the NDP on the left. Matt Fodor describes the impact on the party of Jagmeet Singh’s leadership, from its rocky first days to the campaigns of 2019 and 2021 and the role the party has played in minority Parliaments. He offers an account of the changes that would allow the federal party to hew more closely to the ideals and beliefs of its members. Fodor bases his narrative on sources including party insiders and defectors alike.

CD-ROM in pocket attached to inside front cover of volume 1.

The only book written by Jack Layton (1950-2011) on his political life and vision, this is the former NDP leader's passionate call to action and will inspire all Canadians to embrace a better future. On August 22, 2011, Jack Layton, Official Opposition Leader, died as he lived, with dignity, bestowing to his country a message of hope. Canada was in mourning and within hours of his death, tens of thousands of Canadians -- from NDP supporters to political opponents -- paid tribute to the man and his legacy through public vigils, memorials, and expressions of grief. Originally published in 2006, Speaking Out Louder represents Layton's "blueprint for Canada" Highly acclaimed and powerfully written, this book captures Jack Layton's political vision and exemplifies the optimism that marked his life's work. In it he shares personal stories and fascinating, behind-the-scenes details of his career in national politics and talks about the big issues (poverty, AIDS and healthcare, childcare, housing, education) and the ideas that work for Canadians.

This book explores the 2019 Canadian Federal Election through a political marketing framework. Justin Trudeau’s leadership appeal, coupled with the differentiation of Canadian politics from American politics over recent elections, has contributed to a spike in interest for politics in the Canadian context. This collection provides in-depth quantitative and qualitative research of different aspects of this election, including the attempted re-branding of the Conservative Party under Andrew Scheer, the marketing of the NDP with the selection of the first visible minority party leader in Canadian history, the political marketing of the Bloc Québécois, Green Party, and People’s Party and, foremost perhaps, the brand maintenance of Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada. The book also looks at campaign marketing, and considers how the parties in this election utilized market intelligence, consumer data and vote targeting, and wedge issues during the campaign.

From the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party—Jagmeet Singh—comes a personal and heartfelt story about family and overcoming adversity. In October 2017, Jagmeet Singh was elected as the first visible minority to lead a major federal political party in Canada. The historic milestone was celebrated across the nation. About a month earlier, in the lead up to his election, Jagmeet held community meet-and-greets across Canada. At one such event, a disruptive heckler in the crowd hurled accusations at him. Jagmeet responded by calmly calling for all Canadians to act with “love and courage” in the face of hate. That response immediately went viral, and people across the country began asking, “Who is Jagmeet Singh? And why ‘love and courage’?” This personal and heartfelt memoir is Jagmeet’s answer to that question. In it, we are invited to walk with him through childhood to adulthood as he learns powerful, moving, and sometimes traumatic lessons about hardship, addiction, and the impact of not belonging. We meet his strong family, including his mother, who teaches him that “we are all one; we are all connected,” a valuable lesson that has shaped who he is today. This story is not a political memoir. This is a story of family, love, and courage, and how strengthening the connection between us all is the way to building a better world.

The Canadian federal election of 2019 is extensively analyzed in this collaborative volume edited by Jon Pammett and Christopher Dornan. Bringing together leading political scientists and media scholars, the book examines the strategies, successes, and failures of each of Canada's major political parties, with special attention given to the pressing question of climate change. In Canadian elections, the context of the campaign is vital. Here, contributors consider in detail the way public opinion polls were reported leading up to the election, how traditional media portrayed events, why the electorate waited to make up their minds, and the means by which social media dealt with fears of a disinformation wave. The book uses data to identify the important factors in determining the voting behaviour of Canadians in 2019 and the ways these factors combined to produce a minority Liberal government. The Canadian Federal Election of 2019 is the essential resource for every interested political observer wanting to dissect the last election and required reading to prepare for the next one.

The New NDP is the definitive account of the evolution of the New Democratic Party’s political marketing strategy in the early twenty-first century. In 2011, the federal NDP achieved its greatest electoral success – becoming the official opposition. The moderation of its ideology and modernization of its campaign structures brought the party closer than ever to governing. But by 2015, it had fallen back to the third-party spot. Were moderation and modernization the right choices after all? This incisive book provides lessons for progressive parties on how to win elections in the age of the internet, big data, and social media.