NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh makes an announcement in Toronto on Sept. 2, 2019.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
The NDP is unveiling a new slogan and campaign ad ahead of a federal election that will be called in the next two weeks.
The party is releasing its “In it for you” slogan Tuesday morning and a video ad that has NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh interacting with groups of people as he makes his pitch to voters.
“People tell me I’m different from the other leaders," he says in the 30-second ad. “And I am. I don’t work for the wealthy and well-connected. I don’t think government should be run for their benefit, like it has for decades.”
Mr. Singh is heading into an election campaign in which his party is well behind the Conservatives and Liberals in fundraising and nominating candidates. The NDP also trails the Greens in numbers of candidates already signed up. The party is the last of the four main parties to release a slogan and campaign ad.
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The Liberal campaign slogan is “Choose forward," while the Conservatives are running on the slogan “It’s time for you to get ahead.” The Green Party has opted for “Not left. Not right. Forward together."
The NDP said the video with Mr. Singh will be part of a national digital and TV ad campaign. It did not say how long it would run. The party says a separate ad specific to Quebec will be released later Tuesday.
“Jagmeet knows what it’s like to struggle and overcome obstacles. He knows whose side he’s on − and how powerful it is to have someone in your corner,” party spokeswoman Mélanie Richer said in an e-mail Monday.
The NDP says that, as of Thursday, it had nominated 178 out of a possible 338 candidates. The Conservatives say that, as of Friday, they had 333 candidates. The Green Party said Monday that it had 287 candidates, and the Liberals say they have nominated 276.
According to the NDP website, the party has no candidates nominated in New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island. Mr. Singh will be making an announcement on Tuesday in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the party has one out of a possible seven candidates nominated.
According to polling from Nanos Research, released Aug. 23, the NDP is trailing the Liberals and Conservatives, who are in a statistical tie across the country. The top two parties in the poll are at 34 points each, while the NDP has 15 points. The margin of error for the survey is plus-or-minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The election will be held Oct. 21, and the last day the campaign can be called is Sept. 15.
Marieke Walsh