New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP)

The New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) is a social-democratic federal party founded on 3 August 1961 from the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Canadian Labour Congress. Tommy Douglas was its first leader. It matters in this record because of its leader from 2017 to 2025, Jagmeet Singh, and because it has taken up recognition of the 1984 killings of Sikhs as a genocide.

Leaders in order: Tommy Douglas (1961 to 1971), David Lewis (1971 to 1975), Ed Broadbent (1975 to 1989), Audrey McLaughlin (1989 to 1995), Alexa McDonough (1995 to 2003), Jack Layton (2003 to 2011), Nycole Turmel (interim, 2011 to 2012), Tom Mulcair (2012 to 2017), Jagmeet Singh (2017 to 2025), Don Davies (interim, 2025 to 2026) and Avi Lewis (2026).

Key moments on 1984:

• 2013: while an Ontario MPP, Singh was denied a visa to India. Newslaundry says the then government refused him and ties it to his opposition to the Congress party over 1984.
• June 2016: as deputy leader of the Ontario NDP, Singh introduced a private member's motion to recognise 1984 as genocide. The Ontario NDP says the Liberal government opposed it.
• 6 April 2017: the Ontario legislature passed a similar motion by Liberal MPP Harinder Malhi, with the Ontario NDP's support.
• 1 October 2017: Singh won the federal leadership on the first ballot, becoming the first visible minority leader of a major national party in Canada, according to Newslaundry.
• June 2024: Asia Samachar reported that the NDP would seek official recognition of the 1984 Sikh Genocide in Parliament in November, the 40th anniversary month, and had launched a petition citing the Nanavati Commission report and Indian court observations. The sources opened for this page do not report how that effort ended.

Where it stands: In the 2025 federal election the NDP won 7 of 343 seats on 6.29 per cent of the vote and lost official party status. Singh lost his seat in Burnaby Central and announced he would resign. Don Davies became interim leader, and Avi Lewis won the leadership election on the first ballot on 29 March 2026.