SURREY, B.C. — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh kicked off his party's caucus meetings in British Columbia by admitting he needs to do a better job of communicating with Canadians and of offering a more generous vision than the Liberals have so far offered.

"There is no question about it. We've got a lot more work to do. I've got a lot more work to do," Singh said Tuesday, when asked by HuffPost Canada to reflect on his personal failings over the year since he became leader last October.

"I've got to do a better job, and our party has to do a better job, of reaching out to understand those problems that people are facing and talking about the solutions."

The NDP is running a distant third in public opinion polls, and the party has experienced dismal fundraising numbers and byelection results since 2015.

Singh's task over the next year, party strategists say, will be to paint the Grits as elitist and out-of-touch — a branding that fits the same frame the Conservatives have zeroed in on — while at the same time listing what the NDP would do better.

Singh got right to that messaging Tuesday, telling reporters Canadians deserve better than the Liberals' commitments on pharmacare, affordable housing, and climate change.

The Grits' pledge to study pharmacare falls short of what people should have, the NDP leader said, which is a universal system that covers everyone and reduces cost.

"Not a system that the finance minister [Bill Morneau] is proposing, which will be a patchwork system of coverage [that will] probably benefit his Bay Street friends and not actually reduce costs for Canadians and not provide coverage to all Canadians."

Morneau is a multimillionaire who, before entering politics, ran a pension and employee benefit management business, Morneau Shepell, that his father had built. He is married to Nancy McCain, whose family is behind the frozen french fry empire McCain Foods Ltd.

Singh carried the message into the caucus room where some 30 New Democrat MPs were gathered to help set the party's fall agenda in the House of Commons.

Listen to Jagmeet Singh's full interview on "Follow-Up":