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In a country where such a large proportion of the population has recent roots elsewhere, Singh owns a place in history and in the hearts of those Canadians who want no job to be out of reach for their children. His very presence in that role is inspiring to so many.

He is being squeezed by a resurgent Green Party that has managed to convince many Canadians, disappointed by Justin Trudeau’s failure on climate change, that they are the best choice to hold a future government’s feet to the fire.

Opportunities on the left abound but some openings have been squandered. Singh’s support for a natural gas pipeline project during his B.C. by-election, while helpful to the NDP government there, struck a dissonant chord with many environmentally-conscious voters.

Justin Trudeau has failed to deliver on key progressive promises. In fact, the more a promise was likely to upset the established order, the less likely it was to be carried out. His deception on democratic reform and continued subsidies to the oil sector are among the most glaring.

Those Liberal failures are Singh’s openings. Sources tell me that he is buckling down and preparing hard for the debates. He’ll be able to use them to speak to the hopes and aspirations of Canadians.

The Liberals will try to dust off promises like pharmacare. But after four years of inaction, other than another report, they lack credibility.

That type of universal social program is in the NDP’S DNA and Singh can point to the other broken promises to tell Canadians not to trust the Liberals because they will not get it done.