NDP caucus chair says he wants to focus on helping the party re-brand itself in the wake of last year's devastating election loss

NDP Caucus Chair Charlie Angus isn’t ruling out leaping into the federal leadership race.

But like other potential candidates in the party, he’s in no hurry to make anything official.

Angus, the MP for Timmins-James Bay, spent much of Friday on a campaign-style tour of Thunder Bay and said he’s flattered to hear his name mentioned among the contenders, but for now plans to stay focused on helping the NDP polish the tarnish off its brand.

“I am passionate about the future of our party. Despite what happened in the last election we are in a very good position, with a government that’s made a lot of promises based on our platform, to push them, to hold them to account,” Angus said.

“For me, right now I’m really focused on making sure our caucus gets into Parliament this fall and stays working to a plan.”

Still, he is feeling pressure to put his name into a race that five months in hasn’t attracted any serious contenders.

“A lot of people are phoning me, but we shall see,” he said.

“I think people want to know who is running, yes or no, but I don’t really think it’s the time for me to be giving a position either way. I’m staying focused on what I’m doing and I move at the pace I move because I want to be effective. Stay tuned.”

The 53-year-old Angus, first elected in 2004, acknowledged the NDP has work to do across the country and in Northern Ontario, where he said last year the party thought it had firm control over at least six seats that ultimately fell into Liberal hands in the waning days of the election campaign.

There are a number of lessons to be learned from the 2015 vote.

Last August, Leader Thomas Mulcair appeared ready to assume the prime ministerial reins, leading the polls and setting the stage for an historic first ever NDP government.

But the party stumbled down the stretch, falling victim to Trudeaumania and a disdain on the part of the electorate for then prime minister Stephen Harper.

“There was a bit of a political tsunami as people shifted to the Liberal campaign and a whole whack of people jumped on board, in areas where we normally would have won,” Angus said, admitting Trudeau did run a great campaign and the NDP made tactical errors along the way.

“I think Justin managed to capture more of the sense that people wanted some transformational change and I think we were just a little too careful. We didn’t want to mess things up and I think that cost us.”

Angus, who helped stop a potential coup seeking to oust Mulcair from staying on as leader through next year’s convention, said he expect the first candidates to put their names forth in October or November.

Other leadership candidates, according to the Globe and Mail, include Quebec’s Alexandre Boulerice, 2012 candidates Niki Ashton and Nathan Cullen, Halifax’s Megan Leslie and Toronto’s Avi Lewis.



