OTTAWA—Rumblings of discontent in the NDP caucus have been replaced by statements of support for Jagmeet Singh, after the party leader’s swift change of heart over punishing a veteran parliamentarian who broke ranks on a vote in the House of Commons last week.

In the face of public criticism from members of his caucus, Singh announced Tuesday night that he would reinstate Hamilton MP David Christopherson to his role as deputy chair of the powerful procedure and House affairs committee. The move quashed a decision Singh made just days earlier to dump Christopherson from the position as punishment for voting against his party on a Conservative motion — defeated by a majority of Liberals and New Democrats — regarding a controversial change to applications for summer jobs funding.

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Following the about-face by Singh, MPs played down any suggestion of disunity in the NDP fold. Christopherson himself said in a statement that, after speaking with Singh in recent days, he has “complete trust in his leadership.”

Other MPs expressed similar sentiments when pressed by reporters outside the House of Commons. Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay), who ran second against Singh in last year’s leadership race and spoke out against the decision to punish Christopherson, said the speed with which Singh reversed the move “reassured people” in caucus.

“I think things could have been handled better, and these are certainly learning experiences for us as we move forward,” Angus said.

“We need to build a stronger relationship working with the leader’s team and caucus, and I think out of this I’m certainly confident that that’s going to happen.”

It is the second week in a row that conversation around the NDP has been dominated by questions about caucus’s faith in Singh’s decisions. MPs held an unscheduled meeting March 19 to discuss how Singh reacted to reports that he attended rallies where people expressed support for Sikh separatism in India, venerated a militant leader there, and in one case discussed the legitimacy of political violence as a means of resistance.

Two days later, in front of a collection of applauding MPs, Singh categorically denounced all forms of violence and said he won’t attend any more rallies if he knows someone will advocate violence as a political tool. The party leader had said in a previous interview with the Star that, while he opposed terrorism, questions of violence against oppression in the Sikh context were too complex to be answered in a “simplistic manner.”

Then this week, Angus told the Globe and Mail that Singh’s decision to punish Christopherson for breaking rank on the summer program vote showed “a lack of respect.” Quebec MP Romeo Saganash told the paper he agrees with Angus and called the decision “unfortunate.”

Alexandre Boulerice, a New Democrat MP from Quebec, said Wednesday that it’s normal to have to adapt as a new leader in Ottawa, and praised Singh for being open to feedback from the more experienced members of his caucus. Singh, who jumped into federal politics from the Ontario legislature when he won the NDP leadership last October, has chosen to tour the country and spend much of his time away from Parliament Hill instead of rushing to win a seat to sit in the Commons.

Boulerice said that, while it’s good to meet people around the country, it’s also good for the party if their leader is in Ottawa.

“Maybe we need a more balanced approach about that, because he needs to spend some time with us, and he needs to spend some time with you guys,” Boulerice told reporters.

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The party’s caucus chair, Quebec MP Matthew Dubé, disagreed. He said Singh can communicate with members of his caucus even when he’s on the road, and that the resolution of the situation with Christopherson is evidence of that.

“What we should recognize is that a disagreement is not division or dissidence in the heart of caucus,” Dubé said in French. “There’s always room for improvement … . Now we’re ready to concentrate on some real issues.”

Singh, who was in British Columbia, sent a fundraising email to supporters Wednesday afternoon. Before thanking partisans for messages of support in recent days, he wrote, “I’ll be honest with you — these past few weeks haven’t been the easiest,” and asked for donations to close out the first quarter of 2018.

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