After leading the New Democratic Party to its worst result in 64 years, Jagmeet Singh announced that he will be resigning as leader. The two-term MP affirmed he had “no regrets” about not calling a winter election despite the party polling at 21 percent.

“Almost eight years ago I was elected leader of this incredible Party, this incredible movement,” Singh told supporters during his concession speech. “I worked really hard to be worthy of this trust.”

Following a disappointing third place finish in Burnaby-Central, Singh announced he would be stepping down as Party leader “as soon as an interim leader can be appointed.” 

His vote tally (9,104) was a far cry from the 2019 and 2021 elections, reported Blacklock’s.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announces that he will step down as party leader.
"I'll be stepping down as party leader as soon as an interim leader can be appointed." pic.twitter.com/nF9zwUNzEe

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 29, 2025

Preliminary returns show only seven seats for New Democrats, a significant drop from their previous 25 and below the 12 needed for official party status.

The New Democrats garnered 1.2 million votes, 6% of the total, and a third of the votes received in the last campaign (3,036,348). 

The Party failed to coalesce behind a united progressive vote, according to Singh.

The Liberals (8,369,206) and Conservatives (7,950,280) were neck and neck as ballots trickled in yesterday.

.@NDP loss is worst in Party's 64-year history, follows @TheJagmeetSingh remarks he had no regrets in opting against winter elxn when #NDP was at 21%: "Is that how you want to be remembered?"  https://t.co/Qv8n3S1J1z #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/72vVueucEI

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) April 29, 2025

Singh earlier said his priority was preventing a Conservative government in Canada. The Tories currently lead or won 144 seats, despite Pierre Poilievre's loss in Carleton.

“There was a genuine question about [the] timing of the election and why, when things looked really good in the polls, I didn’t just pull the plug,” Singh told the Toronto Star. 

“Do you still stand by your decision to not help trigger this election earlier?” asked a reporter. “Yes, absolutely,” replied Singh. 

He claimed that a viable NDP is needed to hold a Mark Carney government accountable, clarifying he did not advocate giving them “all the power." 

The Carney Liberals currently lead or won 168 ridings, four shy of a majority government. It is widely expected that the New Democrats will form another coalition.

New Democrats last December 9 joined Liberals in voting down a confidence motion that would have triggered a winter election. The Party at the time was polling 21 percent. “I made that decision,” said Singh, who criticized the Bloc as useless and the Conservatives as dangerous.

The NDP voted against four Conservative motions after Singh formally ended the 2022 supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals on September 4. The fourth used his own words. 

Citing Singh's criticisms that the Liberals are weak and selfish and undermine unions, a Conservative confidence motion stated the Commons agrees with the NDP leader and has lost confidence in the Prime Minister and government.

A motion to trigger a winter election, supported by the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives, failed 180-152, allowing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to remain in office for 95 more days.

Conveniently, Singh became eligible for his parliamentary pension on February 25. Trudeau, having resigned on January 6, prorogued Parliament the same day, until March 9. Carney then called a snap election on March 23 — three days before another confidence vote was sure to come.

Singh made the argument that a snap election would have jeopardized progress on pharmacare and dental care for low-income Canadians.

In March 2022, New Democrats pledged support for Trudeau in confidence matters through June 2025. In exchange, the Liberals would prioritize pharmacare and dental care in the House of Commons.

“Really, I have no regrets,” Singh told the Star. “I couldn’t control the outcome of the fact that Donald Trump came in and Trudeau resigned. I had no control over those circumstances.”

Liberal challenger Wade Chang secured Burnaby-Central with 21,136 votes (42%), followed by Conservative James Yan with 19,436 votes (39%). 

The NDP leader won the riding in 2019 with 38% of the vote, and made incremental gains in 2021.

Donate to Rebel News

Unlike almost all of our mainstream media competitors, Rebel News doesn’t receive any government funding. We rely on our generous audience to help keep us reporting.

Optional email code

Canadian Dollars U.S. Dollars Australian Dollars British Pounds

Amount

$25

$50

$75

$100

$250

$500

$1,000

$2,500

Other

$

One-time

Monthly

DONATE