The electoral dust has barely settled after Canada’s 2025 federal election, but already the New Democratic Party has begun its formal campaign post-mortem, appointing former federal prosecutor Emilie Taman to lead a comprehensive review of what went right – and what didn’t – during the party’s recent election effort.
“We need to be honest with ourselves,” NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told supporters at a crowded Ottawa community centre yesterday. “There were moments of real connection with Canadians, and there were missed opportunities. Emilie brings the perfect combination of party loyalty and critical thinking to help us understand both.”
The appointment comes after an election that saw the NDP maintain its current seat count but fall short of the breakthrough many party insiders had hoped for, particularly in key urban ridings across Ontario and British Columbia where polling had suggested potential gains.
Taman, who herself ran as an NDP candidate in Ottawa Centre in 2019, brings a unique perspective to the review process. With experience both as a candidate and as a grassroots organizer, she understands the gap between campaign strategy and on-the-ground execution.
“What voters tell us at the doors isn’t always what political strategists in Ottawa are focused on,” Taman explained during the announcement. “My job is to find where those disconnects happened and how we can bridge them before the next election cycle.”
The review will examine everything from platform development to digital outreach strategies, with particular attention to the party’s messaging around healthcare and housing affordability – two issues that featured prominently in NDP campaign materials but failed to translate into the expected voter support.
Recent Angus Reid polling data showed that while 64% of Canadians ranked healthcare as their top concern, only 28% identified the NDP as the party best positioned to address the issue – despite the party’s longstanding advocacy for pharmacare and dental care programs.
John Courtney, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan, suggests the review faces an uphill battle. “The NDP has been caught in this perpetual cycle of being the conscience of Parliament without breaking through to governance. They’ve effectively pushed the Liberals left on many issues, but then struggle to differentiate themselves when election time comes.”
The review will include consultations with candidates, campaign staff, and volunteers across the country. Singh emphasized that riding-level feedback would be central to the process, noting that “what works in downtown Toronto doesn’t necessarily connect in Prince George or Trois-Rivières.”
Party insiders, speaking on background, point to several factors that likely contributed to the party’s performance, including the perennial challenge of strategic voting and fundraising disparities that saw the NDP outspent by both the Conservatives and Liberals in key battleground ridings.
According to Elections Canada financial returns, the average NDP candidate had roughly 60% of the campaign budget of their Liberal counterparts in contested urban ridings – a gap that translated into fewer lawn signs, less digital advertising, and reduced direct voter contact.
“You can have the best platform in the world,” said Robin MacLachlan, a former NDP staffer and current political strategist, “but if voters don’t hear about it because you can’t afford the same advertising reach as your opponents, you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back.”
The review will also examine the party’s relationship with labour unions, traditionally the backbone of NDP support but increasingly complicated as union membership continues to decline across Canada. Statistics Canada reports that union density fell to 29% in 2024, down from 37% two decades earlier.
Singh has given Taman a six-month timeline to complete the review, with recommendations expected before the party’s policy convention next spring. The findings will influence not just campaign tactics but potentially the party’s broader strategic direction heading into the next election.
“This isn’t just about looking backward,” Taman insisted. “It’s about understanding what Canadians need from us now, and how we can better represent working people, Indigenous communities, young voters worried about climate change, and families struggling with the cost of living.”
For the NDP, which has governed federally only in Canadians’ imagination despite coming close in 2011 under Jack Layton’s leadership, these periodic reviews have become something of a tradition – though party veterans hope this one might finally crack the code to electoral success.
As one longtime party volunteer from Winnipeg put it while leaving yesterday’s announcement: “We’re always talking about building bridges to government. Maybe this time we’ll actually figure out where to put the first plank.”
