NDP fallout over B.C. government actions harms federal election chances

RCMP raids at Wet’suwet’en and Fairy Creek, and the silence of the federal party, are resurfacing old divisions among Canada’s New Democrats. Photo courtesy of the star.

By Chen Zhou

Frustration is mounting among left-wing members of Canada’s New Democratic Party, who feel the party has lost its way.

In recent weeks members have publicly quit, others have circulated petitions and some have shared stories of what they perceive to be dirty tricks from a party leadership determined to ostracize them.

While some of these tensions are longstanding, the trigger for this latest confrontation between grassroots activists and members of the party establishment appears to have been the B.C. NDP government’s decision to send heavily armed RCMP officers to arrest Wet’suwet’en land defenders in November. Coming on the heels of the province’s failure to adequately protect old-growth forests at Fairy Creek and elsewhere, and the federal NDP’s ongoing silence on these issues, some long-time members are wondering if the party truly shares their values.

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