Singh seeks to hold Prairie seats as election day nears

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is spending some of the final days of the federal election campaign in Prairie cities where he’s hoping to hang on to seats that could be under threat.

Singh was campaigning Thursday in Winnipeg — where the party holds two seats — a day after visiting Edmonton, home to two other NDP MPs.

Winnipeg polling firm Probe Research reported Thursday that the NDP has been trailing the Liberals and Conservatives in Winnipeg since February — but a recent recovery in their popularity could see them hold both seats in the city as well as a third seat in northern Manitoba.

“With the NDP at risk of losing many seats elsewhere, retaining a Manitoba beachhead could be very important as the party seeks to rebuild following a difficult campaign,” says the polling firm’s analysis.

Singh sought to strike a positive tone Thursday, saying New Democrats have pushed for real change at the federal level. He cited the new dental care program and the completion of a pharmacare agreement with Manitoba in February which will see Ottawa pay for diabetes medication and contraceptives.

“These three New Democrats delivered far more than all the Conservative MPs in this province combined,” Singh told reporters.

On a two-day campaign stop in Edmonton on Tuesday, Singh joined former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley to argue that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government offers a preview of the sort of divisive, American-style politics the federal Conservatives would bring to Ottawa.

Singh focused again on the U.S. on Thursday, saying health care, environmental regulations, labour and treaty rights must be kept off the table when new trade talks begin with Washington.

He said the NDP will fight to protect these interests when trade negotiations between the new government and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration begin shortly after the election on Monday.

Singh’s late campaign message to Canadians is a call for more New Democrats in the House of Commons to pressure a Mark Carney-led Liberal government on progressive priorities.

The NDP leader has said Ottawa works best when one party doesn’t hold all the power.

The Singh campaign is expected to return to Toronto Thursday evening, with four days remaining until the election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025. 

Dylan Robertson and David Baxter, The Canadian Press