Tom Mulcair Turns on the NDP: Declares Third Parties Obsolete in High-Stakes Election

Tom Mulcair has done what few former party leaders dare to do—he’s told voters not to support the party he once led. In blunt terms, he called third parties irrelevant in the current political climate, urging Canadians to rally behind the Liberals in a looming showdown with the Conservatives. It’s a remarkable statement not just for its substance but for its timing, as the election narrative sharpens into a two-party race between Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

Mulcair’s comments weren’t subtle. He didn’t hide behind vague appeals to strategic voting or talk about ranked ballots. He essentially indicated the NDP are a liability and warned that a split progressive vote would usher in a government that would damage Canada’s economy and global standing. His words were heavy with drama and light on self-awareness, especially given that he never led the NDP past the historic gains made under Jack Layton. The party’s status as Official Opposition was Layton’s legacy, not his.

The real question is why Mulcair is coming out with this rhetoric now. It’s not as if Canada hasn’t faced polarized elections before. It’s not the first time the left has feared a Conservative win, nor is it the first time the vote-splitting argument has surfaced. It’s also not new for critics to claim the Conservatives would bring in American-style policies, despite Canada having its own traditions, institutions, and limits. The claim that the right will “take your guns” may work in U.S. campaigns, but in Canada, where the laws are already strict and far more balanced, it’s lost much of its sting—especially when the Liberals have proposed legislation that would have restricted responsible owners, including rural hunters and Indigenous trappers.

What’s changed isn’t the threat level—it’s the tone of politics and the erosion of faith in traditional party identities. Mulcair’s outburst isn’t just about concern over a Conservative surge; it’s about a Liberal-NDP era that has become increasingly untenable. Over the last decade, under Trudeau and now Carney, the Liberal government moved further to the left than many expected—on spending, climate policy, and social issues. For many centrists, that shift has been alienating. For Mulcair, a leader with a more moderate tilt, it’s likely felt like a repudiation of the path he once tried to steer.

Add to that his long-standing tension with Jagmeet Singh, his successor as NDP leader. There’s no love lost between the two. Singh’s embrace of bold rhetoric and progressive purity stands in stark contrast to Mulcair’s pragmatism. Singh tethered the NDP to the Liberals in a confidence-and-supply agreement, which delivered modest wins but also tied the party’s fortunes to a government many voters see as fatigued. To Mulcair, that might not just be strategic failure—it’s political self-sabotage.

Ultimately, Mulcair’s remarks are less about saving the country from a conservative wave and more about venting frustration at what his former party has become. It’s not just disillusionment—it’s a warning that the old alliances no longer work. His intervention underscores a deep rift on the Canadian left: one that isn’t about ideology so much as identity and direction.

And in making his position so clear, Mulcair hasn’t just distanced himself from the NDP—he’s declared the party irrelevant. Whether that verdict sticks is up to voters. But one thing is clear: this election isn’t just a fight between left and right. It’s a reckoning for a fractured political culture where even party elders are walking away.