{"id":102148,"date":"2026-02-20T08:32:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=102148"},"modified":"2026-02-20T08:32:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:32:35","slug":"ndp-leadership-candidates-pitch-their-rebuilding-plans-to-voters-in-final-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/20\/ndp-leadership-candidates-pitch-their-rebuilding-plans-to-voters-in-final-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"NDP leadership candidates pitch their rebuilding plans to voters in final debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By David Baxter and Nono Shen The NDP leadership candidates began the final official debate with a general acknowledgment they agree on policies, but have different visions for how to achieve their most existential goal \u2014 rebuilding the party. At the close of the debate, each candidate was asked if they are running to rebuild the party or become the prime minister. Four of the five candidates said they are running to rebuild the party, while Ontario organic farmer Tony McQuail was the lone candidate who said he is eyeing the Prime Minister&#8217;s Office. During opening remarks in the Vancouver-area debate, Alberta MP Heather McPherson said the party needs someone who knows how to turn NDP policies and values into electoral wins. She said she has a track record of&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F02%2F20%2Fndp-leadership-candidates-pitch-their-rebuilding-plans-to-voters-in-final-debate%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By David Baxter and Nono Shen The NDP leadership candidates began the final official debate with a general acknowledgment they agree on policies, but have different visions for how to achieve their most existential goal \u2014 rebuilding the party. At the close of the debate, each candidate was asked if they are running to rebuild the party or become the prime minister. Four of the five candidates said they are running to rebuild the party, while Ontario organic farmer Tony McQuail was the lone candidate who said he is eyeing the Prime Minister&#8217;s Office. During opening remarks in the Vancouver-area debate, Alberta MP Heather McPherson said the party needs someone who knows how to turn NDP policies and values into electoral wins. She said she has a track record of... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F02%2F20%2Fndp-leadership-candidates-pitch-their-rebuilding-plans-to-voters-in-final-debate%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NDP leadership candidates pitch their rebuilding plans to voters in final debate - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/20\/ndp-leadership-candidates-pitch-their-rebuilding-plans-to-voters-in-final-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NDP leadership candidates pitch their rebuilding plans to voters in final debate - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By David Baxter and Nono Shen The NDP leadership candidates began the final official debate with a general acknowledgment they agree on policies, but have different visions for how to achieve their most existential goal \u2014 rebuilding the party. At the close of the debate, each candidate was asked if they are running to rebuild the party or become the prime minister. Four of the five candidates said they are running to rebuild the party, while Ontario organic farmer Tony McQuail was the lone candidate who said he is eyeing the Prime Minister&#8217;s Office. During opening remarks in the Vancouver-area debate, Alberta MP Heather McPherson said the party needs someone who knows how to turn NDP policies and values into electoral wins. 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