TORONTO — Fresh-faced, orange-clad supporters brandished placards and cheered their choices Friday as the seven men and women hoping to helm the federal NDP took turns at centre stage, making one final effort to woo party members gathered to choose a new leader.
While nearly 56,000 New Democrats have already voted from the privacy of their own homes, the last-ditch appeals could still sway thousands more who will cast ballots later Friday and throughout the day Saturday to determine the new leader of the Official Opposition.
The race has polarized in the final weeks between Montreal MP Thomas Mulcair and veteran backroom strategist Brian Topp, with their supporters taking repeated shots at one another.
Front-runner Mulcair has made much of his reputation as an orator who knows how to take on political opponents and charge his own troops with powerful stemwinders. Oddly, however, his elaborate and time-consuming floor show Friday left him barely enough time to deliver his speech.
Most of Mulcair’s allotted 20 minutes were used up by a video presentation, endorsements and the Montreal MP’s parade through the crowd, led by an incessant drum band and chanting, cheering supporters. He made it to the podium with just five minutes to spare, speaking so fast he sounded like a tape recorder stuck on fast-forward.
Toronto MP Peggy Nash, facing a similar dilemma, actually wound up being cut off mid-sentence after a speech that was already pressed for time.
Mulcair used what little time he had left to indicate he’s already looking beyond his rival candidates and beyond the leadership race.
“Friends, we’ve run a positive, upbeat campaign, resolutely turned toward the future because my only adversary sits across from me in the House of Commons,” he said.
Topp cast himself as the guardian of traditional social democratic principles, in contrast to Mulcair, whom he’s portrayed as a centrist who would turn the NDP into another Liberal party.
“Hear this well. I’m a proud New Democrat and an unapologetic social democrat,” Topp told the crowd as his own placard-waving supporters cheered wildly at the foot of the stage.
“And if we fight as social democrats, not only will we win, not only will we defeat (Prime Minister) Stephen Harper, but friends, it’ll be worth it.”
He used an introductory endorsement from actress Shirley Douglas, the daughter of NDP founding leader Tommy Douglas, to reinforce his message.
“We got here because of who we are and because of what we believe in,” exhorted Douglas, who spoke from her feet after taking the stage in a wheelchair.
“As New Democrats, we can win. With Brian Topp as our leader, we will win.”
While his rivals used glitzy video introductions narrated by Canadian celebrities and politicians, Nathan Cullen dispensed with the hoopla, opting to go solo on stage and speak without notes — a simple approach consistent with his “little campaign than could” theme.
Cullen, an MP from northern British Columbia, sold himself as the unifying alternative to the perceived front-runners, Mulcair and Topp.
“There are some folks who believe that there are good New Democrats and then there are bad New Democrats,” he told the crowd.
“I fundamentally disagree with this, my friends... In the course of this race, I have defended my friend Tom Mulcair and I have defended my friend Brian Topp from such attacks because this is about family, my friends, and the real fight is not in this room.”
Cullen said the real fight for New Democrats is against Harper’s Conservatives.
Cullen has based his campaign on a proposal to co-operate with Liberals, fielding joint candidates in Tory-held ridings. While Cullen himself has charmed many party members, his controversial idea is widely thought to have held him back.
Cullen used his final speech to assure New Democrats that the idea won’t be implemented without their agreement.
“We will have an open, we will have a respectful, we will have a democratic conversation about co-operation. That is my promise to you here today.”
Nash also positioned herself as the unifying alternative to the front-runners.
“We need someone with the perfect combination of experience, qualifications and personality; I am that leader,” she declared.
“Never, ever underestimate the tenacity and determination of a woman leader.”