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OTTAWA - (Web posted June 5, 2002 @ 1:15 p.m.)
- Alexa McDonough is retiring from her job as leader of the NDP to help
"kick start the next phase" of the party's future, but she still plans
on keeping her seat in Parliament.
"An important attribute of
leadership is knowing when to pass the torch," McDonough said on Wednesday
in an obvious reference to the unofficial leadership race that exists within the
federal Liberal Party.
 McDonough,
57, has led the party since 1995, and has helped the NDP establish a national
presence in Atlantic Canada, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia.
The party received a much-needed boost when
it won Windsor-West in last month's by-election, and they now hold 14 seats in
the House of Commons.
Still, that's a far cry from the 43 seats
the NDP held in the House under former leader Ed Broadbent in 1988.
Asked what a new leader could bring to the
party, McDonough was candid in her reply.
"A whole lot more members I hope,"
she said.
The task of establishing the party policies
that could help deliver more New Democrats into Parliament began after a party
convention last November and the establishment of a revitalization
committee.
Now in the wake of McDonough's departure the
party is hoping a new leader will help achieve that goal.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien and the
leaders of Canada's three other opposition parties also paid tribute to
McDonough's commitment to public service in the House.
"I would like to congratulate her for
the job she has done," the prime minister said. "The leader of the NDP
has made a tremendous contribution to her party and to this place."
The immediate frontrunners to replace
McDonough include MPs Bill Blaikie, Lorne Nystrom and Svend Robinson, and
Toronto City Councillor Jack Layton.
McDonough will continuing serving as leader
until her replacement is chosen at the party's leadership convention. The
party's officers are expected to meet on Thursday to begin organizing that
process.
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