Federal New Democrats are bracing for a lengthy recovery after suffering historic losses in the 2025 election, veteran MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East) said as the party prepares to choose a new leader Sunday.“We will be rebuilding,” Kwan told reporters. “Yes, it is going to be a hard road. I’m not going to pretend that it’s going to be a cakewalk. It is not going to be a cakewalk.”The NDP currently holds just six seats in the House of Commons, its smallest caucus ever. Kwan said the Liberals would like nothing more than to see the party vanish, but she insisted New Democrats remain determined to hold the government accountable.“Liberals would wish for nothing but for us to disappear into the ether,” she said. “But I’ll tell you, New Democrats are fighters. We are here to act, and we will be coming back to the House of Commons with new leadership.”Only one of the five candidates vying for the leadership — MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona) — currently holds a seat in Parliament. Other contenders include Vancouver activist Avi Lewis, International Longshore and Warehouse Union President Robert Ashton, Campbell River City Councillor Tanille Johnston, and Colborne, Ont. farmer Tony McQuail..Ex-MP Charlie Angus (Timmins–James Bay, Ont.) told reporters last June that rebuilding the party could take years. “This is going to be a rough four years,” he said, describing the 2025 election as “an unmitigated disaster for the New Democratic Party.”The party elected only one MP east of Winnipeg, Alexander Boulerice (Rosemont–La Petite Patrie, Que.).Angus said the party had lost touch with voters by becoming overly leader-focused and data-driven, prioritizing social media presence over grassroots organization. “We became a party that was very focused on TikTok likes,” he said. “Data are very important, but to be a social democratic movement you need to go back to reinvigorating the riding associations.”He urged the new leader to focus less on big ideas and more on restoring the party’s connection with Canadians. “We have got boxes of big ideas as New Democrats going back to the 1960s we are still waiting to enact. What we need is to make a party again that people feel like they belong to.”
