Article content

OTTAWA — The tribulations endured by Jagmeet Singh since becoming NDP leader could be considered misfortune when viewed in isolation. But the frequency of their recurrence is starting to make it look like carelessness.

The ejection of Erin Weir from the NDP caucus Thursday over harassment allegations is just the latest distraction from the leader’s prime directive — to win back the one million voters who backed the NDP in 2011 but defected to the Liberals four years later. Around half of all left-of-centre voters still support Justin Trudeau, and that is unlikely to change unless Singh can live up to the early hype as “Justin’s worst nightmare.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or John Ivison: Left-of-centre Liberals leave Singh's NDP struggling for relevance Back to video

There are few signs of rejuvenation — the NDP’s support has flatlined. An average of all public polls has them lagging badly at around 15 per cent — where they were when Singh was elected in October. In fund-raising terms — a useful metric of voter commitment — the NDP corralled less than half of the Liberal total, from half the number of donors, in the first quarter of this year.