OTTAWA—The NDP’s Quebec caucus is backing Thomas Mulcair in what is expected to be a difficult vote on his continued leadership next month, the Star has learned.

A letter penned by NDP Quebec caucus chair Robert Aubin and Quebec lieutenant Alexandre Boulerice states that Mulcair has done the necessary work to “bring people together” and “bounce back.”

“It is not surprising that people are bitter,” the copy of the letter, obtained by the Star, reads.

“However, just like a professional hockey team that has lost the Stanley Cup final, we must thoroughly analyze the causes of the defeat, review our strategies, remobilize, remotivate ourselves — not part ways with the coach that got us there.”

That particular analogy has been used many times by Mulcair himself, who will face the NDP membership in Edmonton next month in a bid to hold onto his job.

The letter from sitting MPs comes one week after three of their defeated colleagues signed on to a letter calling for “renewal.”

The Star reported on Tuesday that a group of 37 Quebec-based NDP activists, including defeated MPs Jamie Nicholls, Hélène LeBlanc, and Élaine Michaud, publicly griped that the party has “lost its way.”

While not mentioning Mulcair directly, the activists called for a “new direction” after a disastrous election campaign that saw the party return from government-in-waiting to third place.

Caucus appears to be circling the wagons around their leader. Last week, veteran British Columbia MP Peter Julian penned an op-ed for the Vancouver-based alternative news outlet the Tyee, saying he supports Mulcair’s continued leadership. Mulcair is also said to have the support of the crop of rookie MPs who managed to get elected in 2015. Nathan Cullen, a former leadership rival, also supports Mulcair.

Questions about his support in caucus resurfaced last week after former leadership hopeful Nikki Ashton refused to directly answer if she supported Mulcair. Charlie Angus, the well-liked chair of the NDP caucus, later told reporters in Timmins-James Bay that Mulcair’s fate is up to the membership to decide in Edmonton.

Romeo Saganash, one of the signatories to the letter of support and himself a former leadership hopeful, said Mulcair has proven himself as a leader in the House of Commons.

But in an interview Sunday, Saganash said he understands the frustrations vented after last October’s defeat.

“That always happens to any party (after a loss) anyway. I think it’s a matter of us debating among ourselves if we’re going in the right direction,” Saganash said.

“My objective and my focus as a member of this parliament is the future. Are we going in the right direction? I think so.”

Publicly aligned against Mulcair are the members of the McGill and Concordia university NDP organizations, Sid Ryan, a former labour leader, and a few local riding leaders. No serious contender has emerged as a viable alternative, despite encouragement for former and current MPs to put their vision forward.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

A Forum poll published in Friday’s Star suggested that support for Mulcair among NDP partisans declined to 67 per cent, just shy of the 70-per-cent bar party president Rebecca Blaikie has set for Mulcair’s continued leadership.

The NDP convention is scheduled for April 8 to 10.

Read more about: