Vancouver NDP Convention -

Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 178
(June 22, 2011)

Last weekend's New Democratic Party convention in Vancouver proved to be a telling assembly of a still shaken, if not "shocked" group of NDP supporters - the new political reality for the NDP has become so obvious, all a result of the May 2 election - the NDP moved from Canada's third or fourth ranked political party with 36 seats in the 308 seat House of Commons, to become the Official Opposition with 103 seats and that alone has to be the monumental shock to anybody that is the least bit interested in Canadian politics, including NDP leader Jack Layton.  From my perspective, the new status afforded the NDP by the Canadian electorate has set a stage for possible dramatic changes in the country's political landscape - to me the questions have become clear:  Can Jack Layton and the "new" New Democrat Members of Parliament stand up to Prime Minister Harper's well oiled Conservative machine and can the New Democratic Party organize itself within the next year or two to become a true, viable alternative?  The NDP's Vancouver convention was the first real opportunity to see Jack Layton and the "new" New Democratic Party perform and for me the results were somewhat disappointing - the convention delegates couldn't even decide on how to deal with the word "socialist" in the preamble to the party's constitution and that means the NDP principles (all that they stand for) will be vigorously debated within the party organization for years to come.  There is also an undefined strategy to draw in disappointed Liberals to the "big orange tent" - in my view this vague, absorption strategy will not result in any merger of the two left leaning parties and actually could be destructive to both - to deal with any thoughts about such thoughts the Liberals sent former Prime Minister Dion to quash any such thoughts, at least that's my thought.  All in all, if I were to summarize the party's performance in Vancouver on the weekend, the convention fell flat but Jack Layton does has four years to get his party moving and develop a brand that is truly attractive to Canadians - so we will just have to wait and see and yes, it gives Mr. Layton some time, he's earned it.