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VANCOUVER — Federal NDP leadership hopefuls lined up Sunday to take shots at rival Jagmeet Singh during the eighth and final debate in the campaign to replace outgoing Leader Tom Mulcair.

Singh, an Ontario legislator, is the only one of the four candidates who is not a federal politician, and he bore the brunt of the attacks in what was otherwise a relatively congenial faceoff between rivals whose campaigns overlap more than they diverge.

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Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, who appeared by live feed because of flying restrictions related to her pregnancy, questioned Singh’s dedication to the federal NDP because of his unwillingness to commit to running for a seat in Parliament if he loses the leadership race.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

“I will be winning, and once I win, I will run federally,” Singh said, prompting some cheers from the audience. “I’m absolutely running federally. No question about it.”

Ashton’s responded with a reminder: “I want to acknowledge that it’s up to the members to decide who is going to win this race.”