NB NDP Leader Resigns Amid Unhappiness With Fed Party Position On Syria

From October last year

New Brunswick NDP leader’s proposal for a bigger Canadian role in Syria reflects a division running through the party over how to achieve peace

http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/new-brunswick-ndp-leader-argues-f...

Five years after Libya’s dictator Moammar Gadhafi was deposed in a popular revolution, the country remains trapped in a spiral of deteriorating security, economic crisis, and political deadlock. Trust in the nation’s weak government institutions has fallen to an all-time low as political elites, unable to agree on even a governmental structure, deploy armed militias to control territory and economic assets. An additional challenge comes from ISIS and other violent extremists exploiting the situation to expand operations in Libya. Still, civil society organizations remain active and committed to laying the foundation for a unity government capable of rebuilding the state. Meanwhile, a new, internationally recognized Government of National Accord—the product of a two-year, United Nations-led process—continues its struggle to establish legitimacy and a measure of control beyond the capital.

January 1, 2017

Fellow New Brunswickers,

When I ran for leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party I challenged my party to become genuinely progressive. To break the network of patronage and bailouts that has undermined our province. To make our province fair, free, and wealthy.

The NDP we built since 2011 attracted lifetime New Democrats, reform-minded Liberals and Conservatives, and others who had never been inspired to run for office. We spoke hard truths: Wasteful government spending threatens the poor and social programs we need just as much as reckless tax cuts. Giving handouts to companies while cutting education is not economic development, it’s social vandalism. We need a strong government, not a big government.

We worked across party lines and got NDP authored bills passed into law – a Canadian first for a party with no seats. With a team of young volunteers and dedicated staff we cleaned up a party massively in debt, chronically disorganized, and deeply undemocratic in its operations. Today the NDP is debt free, the most organized provincial party, and runs according to clear rules.

I am so proud of the work my team accomplished. We ran a team of outstanding candidates and ran on a platform widely acknowledged as the best in 2014. We won more votes than any NDP campaign in New Brunswick’s history. We earned equal billing with the Liberals and PCs. We spooked the Liberals to the point they ran ads against us: I’ll take that as a compliment! We did it all on a shoestring budget, showing we were serious about being good stewards of people’s money. But we could not break the two-party cycle.

Since the disappointment of 2014 I have been honoured to win a leadership review at convention and votes of confidence at Provincial Council meetings. However, some New Democrats unfortunately believe change and openness have had their time. They want to return to an old NDP of true believers, ideological litmus tests and moral victories.

Some of these people, with support from certain leaders of the province’s largest public sector union, have tried to bend and break the rules, abusing new members and trying to undermine the democratic will of the party. They have served notice that, no matter how many votes they lose, they will continue to organize. Not to win elections, but to fight endless internal battles.

As leader, this leaves me with a difficult choice: Reward bad behaviour and adopt a protest platform or marshal the team to win yet another vote. The first choice was never an option. I will not be part of offering our province another set of bad, discredited, ideas. The second choice would exact a toll on party volunteers and staff who have been subjected, from 2011, to unacceptable abuse.

Today I have the resources to win a leadership fight, as I have won every fight before, or to win an electoral breakthrough. I cannot do both.

Today the NDP faces a rerun of 2014. Limited time and energy is being wasted on infighting before the election. That contributed to our loss in 2014 as it will in 2018. Those same destructive forces continue their sterile battle, ignoring the will of the party they claim to champion, using language from the 1930s and policies from the 1970s. There is nothing progressive about this behaviour.

The NDP is a one-stop shop. When you join the provincial NDP you join the federal NDP, whether you like it or not. Recently the federal NDP abandoned its proud history of internationalism, declaring itself a pacifist party. In a world where liberal democratic values are under threat from religious and political extremism and Canada confronts challenges from aggressive authoritarian regimes pacifism is a dangerous, extreme, and immoral position. The federal NDP’s statement that the conflict in Syria is “not our fight” goes against everything I believe: we live on a small planet with a responsibility to look after each other.

I cannot lead a party where a tiny minority of well-connected members refuse to accept the democratic will of the membership. I cannot continue as a member of a party that has abandoned internationalism. Therefore, after a Christmas of reflection with family and friends, I am resigning as leader and as a member of the New Brunswick NDP, effective January 1, 2017.

I grew up in New Brunswick. I love this province. Being leader of this party, having the chance to meet people in every corner of the province, to share their struggles and successes, has been the best experience of my life. We have the people we need to succeed; we still need a political vehicle to drive us where we need to go. I had hoped the NDP was that vehicle and, alongside many talented and caring people, I did my best to build it.

I have always been clear that parties are less important than ideas. I am stepping away from the NDP but I remain a New Brunswicker who loves this province. I look forward to fighting for my team’s ideals in new ways. Thank you to the team who worked alongside me. Thank you to the tens of thousands of New Brunswickers who voted for our vision of a better province.

We did our best. Thank you for the chance to serve,

Dominic Cardy
– 30 –

Reading his statement it's clear that he's a super Blairite.

However, some New Democrats unfortunately believe change and openness have had their time. They want to return to an old NDP of true believers, ideological litmus tests and moral victories.

Some of these people, with support from certain leaders of the province’s largest public sector union, have tried to bend and break the rules, abusing new members and trying to undermine the democratic will of the party. They have served notice that, no matter how many votes they lose, they will continue to organize.