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OTTAWA — “My friends, it’s a new day,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh as he took the stage Monday night after winning a make-or-break byelection in Burnaby South and a seat in the House of Commons.

Singh may well be looking to turn the page on the past year and a half. Since he was elected in October 2017, his leadership has been marked by poor polling, lacklustre fundraising and a steady trickle of caucus members making their way toward the exit.

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But with Monday’s victory, analysts say, Singh has a fresh chance to make a new impression on Canadians, albeit a little later in the game than he’d probably like. “The chatter is over,” B.C. MP Nathan Cullen told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. “Mr. Singh’s ability to lead this caucus into the next election is 100 per cent secured.”

Still, his problems aren’t all behind him: a few of his heavyweight MPs, including Cullen, have yet to say if they’ll run again in the next election, and he faces a major obstacle in Quebec, where the NDP lost Outremont, the riding held by former leader Thomas Mulcair since 2007, to the Liberals in another byelection on Monday.