Niki Ashton to launch NDP leadership bid
Manitoba MP Niki Ashton is entering the race to replace Tom Mulcair as leader of the NDP.
Ashton is the fourth person, and first woman, to vie for the leadership.
Peter Julian, Charlie Angus and Guy Caron earlier announced their candidacies.
Ashton, 35, will launch her bid at an event at 25OneCommunity, a co-working space for progressive organizations and individuals in downtown Ottawa, beginning at 10:55 a.m. ET, and CBCNews.ca will carry it live.
First elected in the 2008 federal election, Ashton represents the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski.
She was one of seven candidates in the NDP’s 2012 leadership campaign to replace Jack Layton, when Mulcair took the helm.
Jagmeet Singh, deputy leader of the Ontario NDP and an MPP for Brampton, Ont., is also considering a run, as is former Ontario union leader Sid Ryan.
July 3 is the deadline for candidates to get their name on the ballot for the NDP convention and leadership vote in October.
Other NDP leadership contenders, from left, Peter Julian of B.C., Guy Caron of Quebec and Ontario’s Charlie Angus. (Darryl Dyck/Justin Tang/Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)