HAMILTON—For federal New Democrats, this exercise is not about winning.Oh, there were lots of calls about winning in 2019 as leadership candidates delivered their final pitches here Sunday.First, they have to yet again find relevance. Loftier aspirations will have to wait.As online voting begins in the NDP leadership race Monday, it is useful to recall how far this party has tumbled in five years. When party members gathered in Toronto in March 2012, they believed they had convened to choose a leader who would take the last, final step for the late Jack Layton and form government for the first time in its history.The 2015 defeat stung the faithful. It led to lapsed party memberships. It sapped enthusiasm. It led to a stunning repudiation of leader Tom Mulcair, who was then allowed to hang around too long.And it has led to a party that lost its energy, its fire and, ultimately that relevancy.Read more:The four candidates who would lead the NDPJack Layton led the NDP to a breakthrough, but can any of the four leadership candidates recreate the Orange Wave?Why Jagmeet Singh towers over his NDP rivals: CohnNow, Jagmeet Singh, Charlie Angus, Guy Caron or Niki Ashton must put this party back on the map.Sunday in Hamilton the quartet made their final appeal in a room that only sporadically erupted in anything beyond a mid-afternoon torpor.There is no reliable polling to determine a winner in a race that could be decided as early as Oct. 1 or as late as Oct. 15, depending on the number of ballots needed.But by the metrics available, membership sales and money raised — and more importantly, buzz generated, viral videos and social media use that combines humour with panache — Singh does appear to be a front-runner.The Bramalea-Gore-Malton MPP has already delivered for the party. One can only imagine the lack of coverage and interest there would be for a party that desperately needs some attention had Singh not entered the race.As one senior caucus mem ...
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