In Ontario, the party even disappears from the card. Historically, the NPD had always managed to have at least elected a federal deputy in Ontario since its foundation in 1961.
Of course, multiple reasons explain this Bérézina for the Orange Party: the strategic vote of part of the left -wing voters in favor of Mark Carney, the party’s inability to keep its electorate from popular and union circles, seduced by the speeches of Pierre Hairyvre, or the wear of Jagmeet Singh, in his third election, definitively more at ease in large urban centers.
But there are other voters than Mr. Singh never knew how to convince: Francophones. In Quebec, the fact that Alexandre Boulerice is, as in 2021, the only one elected among the 78 seats offered in the province says a lot. In a minority context, northern Ontario, with a stronger French-speaking component, has ostensibly turned their backs on the neo-democratic chief, even though the party continues to keep its achievements at the provincial level.
It would be an exaggeration to conclude that Mr. Singh was sanctioned above all for his lack of connection with the Francophonie. But it must be admitted that in seven and a half years at the head of the Orange party, the elected representative of British Columbia has not made all the efforts that are entitled to expect from a federal leader aspiring to govern Canada.
François Choquette, former spokesperson for the party in terms of official languages, and candidate (ultimately defeated) for this election, explained it best at the microphone of Stéphane Chouinard during the Balado d’Onfr: “We must expand our electoral platform more”. A complete confession of failure, while Mr. Carney promised 12 % of French -speaking immigration in a minority context, and Mr. Hairyvre, finding his Fransaskoises roots, targeted to boost French -speaking immersion programs.
The leader of the new Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, is addressed to his supporters, accompanied by his wife Gurkiran Kaur, at the headquarters of his campaign, the evening of the elections in Burnaby, British Columbia, April 28, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/Archives The Canadian Press)
-In reality, the DNA of official languages has never been in the program driven by Mr. Singh. Under his mandate, the party favored the post-national concept, giving pride of place to identities, and abandoned the idea of linguistic duality. Unlike his two main competitors, Mr. Singh very often abandoned French on social media during the campaign.
We are far from the NPD which, once, went up to the barricades – first with Yvon Godin, then François Choquette – to demand, without success, the bilingualism of the nine judges of the Supreme Court. Or the one who, under the leadership of the deputy Alexandrine Latendresse, had made a law adopted in 2013 imposing that certain high public functions be occupied by people capable of expressing expressing and understanding the two official languages of Canada, without resorting to interpretation.
This is also where the rub for Mr. Singh. In recent years, the chief has not been able to count on the presence of faithful soldiers devoted to the defense of official languages, his representation in a chamber crumbling in each election since the famous “orange wave” of the 2011 federal election.
It will now be up to the NPD to get up to ensure better representation. Regardless of everyone’s convictions, it is not good news for the official language file that the third federal political force loses its party status. Good democratic health and emergencies related to the Francophonie deserve a better diversity of opinions.
The NPD will probably have no choice, in its updateto see official languages as an asset, not as an obligation. Understanding Mr. Singh’s bitter failure is also recognizing this lack.
Sébastien Pierroz is a journalist and producer for the TFO ONFR franchise.
