Advertisement 1
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
'In elections, results matter,' said Matthew Green, seated in his Hamilton campaign office
Author of the article:
By Stephanie Taylor
Published Apr 24, 2025
Last updated 22hours ago
5 minute read
Join the conversation
Article content
HAMILTON, ONT. — An incumbent New Democrat says he hopes his party will begin the process of “soul searching” from within about “who we are” once the federal election ends.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
- Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.
- Unlimited online access to National Post.
- National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES
Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.
- Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.
- Unlimited online access to National Post.
- National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
- Enjoy additional articles per month
- Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
or
View more offers
Article content
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
NDP incumbent says party needs 'soul searching' after election Back to video
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Article content
“In elections, results matter,” said Matthew Green, seated in his Hamilton campaign office.
Article content
“At a time when we could have been capturing the public’s attention about what a more caring, compelling future of the country was, we didn’t.”
Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The incumbent for Hamilton Centre said he’s not interested in assigning blame, and projects confidence that the New Democrats, which went into the campaign with 24 seats, will retain enough seats for party status, despite public opinion polls suggesting otherwise.
Article content
First Reading
Your guide to the world of Canadian politics. (Subscriber exclusive on Saturdays)
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
Article content
Those same surveys show Liberal Leader Mark Carney could be headed for a majority — a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a party that had spent the past 18-months trailing the Conservatives, dragged down by the unpopularity of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Article content
Carney’s arrival, which coincided with U.S. President Trump launching a trade war with Canada and aspiring to annex the country, has led to a Liberal resurgence, including across NDP-held ridings like Green’s in Hamilton Centre.
Article content
With mere days to go until the election on Monday, Green sat down for a wide-ranging interview with National Post about his own re-election bid, as well as what the day after the election may bring for New Democrats.
Article content
“What I’m hoping for is, you know, some soul searching within our party about who we are,” Green said.
Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
For him, that means NDP members getting down to the work of defining the party’s values, principles and identity, separate from the question of who leads them.
Article content
Read More
- In a two-horse race, the smaller parties face a 'catastrophic' election fate
- From cannolis to a collapsing NDP: Inside Poilievre's GTA battle as election day nears
Advertisement embed-more-topic
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Jagmeet Singh has been at the helm since 2017. This race marks his third federal election.
Article content
His first, in 2019, saw the party lose 15 seats.
Article content
Green said he supports Singh and knows him to be a man of integrity, which he said he demonstrated throughout the campaign. The “spark” he showed during last week’s English and French-language debates also earned him some respect, Green added.
Article content
At the same time, he said his message to New Democrats has been to stop waiting for some “superhero” to come and save them.
Article content
While the Conservatives poured millions into targeting Singh for entering into a supply-and-confidence agreement to prop up the minority Liberals, Green described staying in that deal as an “ethical decision,” both to prevent Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre from winning what then looked to be a super-majority by not triggering an election, as well as delivering national dental care, which the Liberals agreed to introduce as part of the New Democrats’ terms.
Advertisement 1
This advertisement has not loaded yet.
Trending
- CanadaBettors strongly back Conservative win, despite a Liberal polling lead
- Federal ElectionWhy Trudeau's exit was the worst thing that ever happened to Pierre Poilievre
- CanadaToronto Pearson: Police reveal what led to fatal shooting of 30-year-old at the airport
- CanadaLoblaw lists grocery items that can see a price hike in Canada
- CanadaOntario must pay for surgery to give trans resident both penis and vagina: appeal court
Advertisement 2
Advertisement
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
But getting this message across to voters is “impossible,” he said. “People don’t get it.”
Article content
Asked what risk New Democrats run, should they fail to do the inner work he believes is required post-election, Green paused for a moment.
Article content
“It feels like a funny question, given where we’re at now,” he said. “I’m not sure how much worse things can get for us in the moment, right?”
Article content
Green, who grew up in Hamilton, was first elected to the solidly NDP riding back in 2019. It has been orange since 2004, reflecting the city’s deep roots within the labour movement and steel manufacturing, earning it the reputation of a gritty city marked with factories, embodied by the nickname “Steeltown.”
Article content
But Hamilton is changing. More people from Toronto now call the city home, pushed out of the provincial capital by skyrocketing home prices, which are on the rise in Hamilton, too.
Article content
The risk of not pivoting and soul-searching would, in my estimation, be absolutely the beginning to the end of the party
Article content
Building back the NDP’s connection to the working class is a must, said Green.
Article content
“The risk of not pivoting and soul-searching would, in my estimation, be absolutely the beginning to the end of the party. We cannot continue on this path, recognizing where we’re at right now,” he said.
Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“So no matter what happens on the 28th, we need to rebuild a membership-driven, internally democratic, grassroots coalition, labour-centred party for the working class in order to recapture people who we’ve lost to right-wing populism or to political estrangement, or the absolute despair of having to vote, hold their nose and vote Liberal, one more time.”
Article content
The latter is Green’s biggest challenge at the moment.
Article content
Polling aggregator 338canada.com suggests he is locked in a near dead-heat against Liberal rival Aslam Rana, who became the party’s candidate back in February.
Article content
Rana’s campaign declined an interview request.
Article content
Strategic voting has long been a problem for New Democrats, who are preparing to watch as their supporters and other progressives migrate to the Liberals in order to keep the Conservatives out.
Article content
Green blames the Liberals for stoking fear about wasting left-leaning votes, and he is not necessarily wrong.
Article content
Carney is spending his final days campaigning by asking voters who have supported other parties in the past to rally behind the Liberals, to deliver what he calls a “strong mandate” needed to face Trump.
Article content
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Back in his campaign office, Green talks to a group of about 15 volunteers about to go door knocking. He walks them through what to say if voters want to talk about strategic voting.
Article content
It’s a conversation, he acknowledges afterwards, that he is having more often than he would like.
Article content
Green’s advice to volunteers is to tell voters that strategic voting only matters in races where Conservative support is strong, which is not the case in Hamilton Centre.
Article content
“We’re going to win this on the ground game,” he tells the group. He says their job today is to find supporters and speak to those who are still undecided.
Article content
He reminds them that it is a local campaign and to take their time at the doors.
Article content
For one young man assembled in the office, he sees another reason to hope.
Article content
“People believe in the Leafs. They can believe in us.”
Article content
National Post
staylor@postmedia.com
Article content
Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.
Article content
This advertisement has not loaded yet.
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Create an AccountSign in
Join the Conversation
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.
