NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is finally acknowledging the shortcomings of her recent campaign after the New Democrats’ two surviving Toronto MPPs publicly criticized the party’s strategy.

After weeks of downplaying the defeat at the hands of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals on June 12, which saw the New Democrats lose the balance of power in a minority legislature, Horwath on Tuesday conceded “the result of this election campaign was bittersweet.”

“We lost some seats in Toronto, which is very concerning to us. All three of those MPPs were good and it’s troubling that all three lost their seats,” she told reporters at Queen’s Park.

The Liberals won Trinity-Spadina, Beaches-East York, and Davenport, costing NDP MPPs Rosario Marchese, Michael Prue, and Jonah Schein their jobs. However, the party won in Oshawa, Sudbury and Windsor to maintain its 21 seats in the 107-member legislature.

Horwath, who has since parted ways with some key strategists, faced questions about the NDP’s Toronto game plan after an interview MPP Cheri DiNovo did with journalist Desmond Cole published Monday on Torontoist.

On Tuesday, DiNovo said she was “not interested in talking” when approached by the Star.

But she had plenty to say to Torontoist.

“It was a debacle from the beginning, from day one,” DiNovo said of a campaign that lacked a detailed platform and sputtered from the get-go even though Horwath triggered the election.

“When I would hear at the door, ‘We love you, but . . . ’ I knew we were in trouble. I pretty much ran against my party in terms of platform,” she told the website.

“Many of our supporters — who voted Liberal — saw more progress in the Liberal budget than they saw in our platform. That was a core mistake. It’s important for our voters in Toronto to know that we did not see that campaign as a success.”

DiNovo questioned the NDP campaign’s populist strategy that focused more on tax cuts and finding efficiencies than on social justice issues.

“I understand that we were trying to appeal to Conservative voters outside of Toronto, but we can’t ever give up our core values and principles.”

MPP Peter Tabuns (Toronto Danforth) echoed DiNovo’s sentiments.

“I would say that the party’s got a lot of reflecting to do on what happened in that campaign,” Tabuns told reporters on Tuesday.

“We had a very difficult time in Toronto. I don’t think our message was one that was crafted for Toronto. We need to have a message here that makes sense here in Toronto,” he said, noting the party’s transit plan didn’t get much attention.

“People were very concerned that they didn’t hear a Toronto voice. They didn’t hear a strong message on transit. We put out a message on transit, we didn’t get coverage on it.”

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But unlike some NDP loyalists, who have been complaining about the press, Tabuns emphasized it wasn’t the media’s fault the party did not win.

Asked if he thought Horwath, who faces a leadership review in November, should be replaced, he said: “This is up to the leader and to the party as a whole.”

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