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When reporters asked him who the president of the country is, unlike his representative, Singh wouldn’t name one. “The people will decide,” he said. A reporter asked how Canada would know that the people have decided and if it would involve another election. “The people will decide,” he said.

It was just the latest twist in the party’s fraught navigation of the issue.

Later in the day, James Smith, an NDP spokesman, said that Singh and Laverdiere are “in lockstep.”

“Both believe Canada’s focus should be that the future of Venezuela is for Venezuelans to decide through fair and free elections. This has always been our focus. The situation on the ground in Venezuela is extremely tense and Canada should be a broker for peace and democracy. We must also ensure the humanitarian aid announced gets to the people on the ground who desperately need it.”

Asked to explain why, then, Singh wouldn’t simply repeat Laverdiere’s statement, party officials would only say, without putting their names to the statement, that the situation is complex, and that the two are in good touch about the issue. One said, “he definitely agrees with her and is glad he has her around to help with issues that are as intricateas this one.”

With support from Canada, the United States and a long list of European and Latin American countries, Guaido is trying to trigger safeguards in the Venezuelan constitution that allow for a challenge of illegitimate leadership, so new elections can take place. Maduro’s rule had seen a devolving humanitarian crisis, the mass displacement of people, rampant hyper-inflation and widespread persecution of his political opposition. With the situation yet unresolved, Canada updated its travel advisories Tuesday to urge Canadians to “avoid non-essential travel” to Venezuela.