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By Kristy Kirkup

OTTAWA — NDP leadership hopeful Niki Ashton says she is expecting twins in early November, shortly after her party selects a successor to Tom Mulcair.

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Ashton said Wednesday she is looking at a three-month leave available to her as an MP, but plans to remain in Ottawa should she become the party’s new leader.

She also has yet to determine whether an interim leader in the House of Commons would be needed during that period.

Ashton said she believes much media attention has been paid to her pregnancy, but she hopes Canadians will also hear about her policy positions.

“I would recognize there is a uniqueness to it, but … it also reflects a bias that often comes up with covering women in politics — an immense amount of attention on one’s personal life, appearances rather than the substance,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

“In the work that we’ve done across the country, the events we’ve hosted, there are many, many good wishes and also sharing of advice on pregnancy,” she said, adding conversations swiftly move into how to get the NDP on track to “fighting the issues that matter.”