Singh beats out Angus for NDP Leadership

The vote didn’t go exactly as planned for Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus.

It was projected to be a close vote for the NDP Leadership race. However, it was anything but as former Ontario MPP Jagmeet Singh captured a first-ballot victory Sunday afternoon.

Singh took 53.8 per cent of the vote—or 35,266 votes—with Angus coming in second with 12,705 votes.

Niki Ashton came third with 11,374 votes and Guy Caron in fourth with 6,164 tallies.

Singh says he plans to fight for the issues New Democrats care about, such as income inequality, climate change and electoral reform.

He also says he plans to resign his seat in the Ontario legislature immediately.

Singh faces a number of challenges moving ahead and will start meeting with caucus members Monday.

The NDP is looking to rebound after dropping to third-party status with just 44 of the 338 seats in the House of Commons.

And since Singh doesn’t own one of those seats in the House, he must choose an interim leader.

Could Angus be the one to take on that role? Only time will tell.

(With files from The Canadian Press)