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Among the winners from Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath’s new official opposition caucus, there’s one whose name wasn’t on a ballot: Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

In good part, Horwath’s gains in this month’s Ontario election were built on Singh’s work during his six years as an Ontario MPP and in his federal leadership campaign.

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And now Horwath’s gains — and similar gains in BC last year — give Singh a clearer path to fulfill a key NDP goal: building a strong political base in the diverse suburbs of Canada’s big cities.

In 2009, as the new Ontario NDP leader, Horwath faced a key problem. It wasn’t just that her NDP had only won 10 seats in the election held two years before. Her party was stuck in a geographic and demographic rut.

Despite a rapidly growing Greater Toronto Area, none of her MPPs represented a suburban riding. Despite increasing population diversity, not one NDP MPP was a person of colour. Horwath’s NDP needed to break out to dare dream of competing for government.