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More than just wanting Mulcair to return as leader, they’re hoping for a change in the NDP’s rules, perceiving unfairness in how the leadership review was conducted at the April 2016 convention in Edmonton, where only 48 per cent of the room voted to keep Mulcair on as leader.

Behind the campaign is Dale Jackaman, a private investigator from Richmond, B.C. who was a three-time federal candidate for that riding under former party leader Jack Layton.

He told the Post there was “a lot of anger amongst the membership” after Mulcair lost in Edmonton, and his opinion is “the party just royally screwed up.”

“The membership still consider him to be the man that we want,” Jackaman said. “We all know that he would win (if he ran).

He’s an ethical individual but he’s also a pretty stubborn individual. I think he’s angry. He’s angry at the party

“He’s an ethical individual but he’s also a pretty stubborn individual. I think he’s angry. He’s angry at the party.”

Adding fuel to the fire for Jackaman is a recent Campaign Research poll of 1,457 voters that found Mulcair’s overall approval rate (41 per cent) to be slightly higher than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s (39 per cent) and Rona Ambrose’s (36 per cent).

“It doesn’t seem right to me that a few people in the party make a decision that overturns what all of us decide,” said longtime NDP member Robert Wiseman, who lives in Scarborough, Ont. and supports Jackaman’s campaign. Many party members can’t afford to travel to a convention, he said.

Asked whether he thought Mulcair would’ve won if the vote was open to all New Democrats, he says: “I think overwhelmingly Tom would’ve won.” But rather than rehashing the past, he said, “my whole hope is that enough of us can speak up and change Tom Mulcair’s mind about not running.”