New Democrats hear Leap Manifesto push on eve of convention
OTTAWA — New Democrats and others were presented with an unapologetically radical vision of Canadian politics Thursday, as they sought to tap into the magic that helped create the “insurgent campaigns” of Bernie Sanders in the U.S. and Jeremy Corbyn of Britain.
The vision was presented at an event organized by the same people who brought the Leap Manifesto, a controversial treatise that calls for a dramatic transformation of the Canadian economy — and which has caused deep rifts within the NDP.
While those behind the manifesto have insisted that they are non-partisan, they also readily admitted the decision to hold the event on the eve of the NDP’s biennial convention, which starts in Ottawa on Friday, was no accident.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh opted to skip the Courage to Leap event at the Canadian Museum of Nature.