The NDP announced Thursday that leadership contestants will go head to head in a bilingual debate on December 4 and released numbers showing the party added 11,000 new members last month, with the largest growth coming from Quebec and Ontario.
Quebec, where the NDP had only 1,695 members signed in October, increased its membership by 3,863, bringing total cardholders in that province to 5,558 in November.
The party also boosted membership in Ontario by a similar number, 3,497 from October to November to a total of 25,722.
The NDP's membership list was partly unveiled Thursday showing the party had signed-up 11,182 members from October to November to a total of 95,006.
Lists from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan were included in the totals. Federal NDP officials said the New Brunswick wing of the party had refused to disclose its membership numbers.
Territorial numbers would be added later, they said.
The increase in Quebec could be a positive sign for NDP leadership contender Thomas Mulcair, the party's Quebec Lieutenant, who has complained leadership hopefuls from his province are at a disadvantage since it does not have a provincial wing.
Other than in Ontario, however, the provinces with strong provincial parties, such as British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have not managed to sign up significantly more members so far.
B.C. is reported to have 31,456 members in November, a slight increase from October when officials estimated 30,000 members.
Surprisingly, Alberta showed a drop in membership numbers from 9,033 NDP cardholders in October to 8,361 members in November.
Newfoundland and Labrador showed the largest proportional increase from 200 members in October to 1,184 members.
The NDP also released the date of its first leadership debate which will be live-streamed on the Internet and broadcast on CPAC.
The topic of the Dec. 4 debate in Ottawa will be on building an inclusive economy.
The topics of the other five debates have been set but the dates have not been finalized:
January, Halifax - GIVING FAMILIES A BREAK
February, Quebec City - PROVIDING LEADERSHIP ON THE WORLD STAGE
February, Winnipeg - BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL CANADA
March, Montreal - BUILDING A STRONG UNITED CANADA
March, Vancouver - CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AND NEW CANADIANS
The party said the Ottawa debate would take place equally in English and in French but other debates could be language specific.
NDP National Director Chantal Vallerand said all Canadians, not just party members, would be invited to attend the debates and participate.
"We're inviting Canadians to take part in new ways, whether it's asking questions over social media, watching our debates live on the internet, or inviting their friends to be a part of it," she said, in a press release.
There are currently eight registered candidates: Nova Scotia MP Robert Chisholm, B.C. MP Nathan Cullen, Ontario MP Paul Dewar, Quebec MP Thomas Mulcair, Ontario MP Peggy Nash, Quebec MP Romeo Saganash, Nova Scotia businessman Martin Singh and former party president Brian Topp.
Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton has declared her intention to run but has not official registered with the NDP or provided her $15,000 deposit.
The new NDP leader will be selected by a one-member one vote process and will be announced at the conclusion of the party's convention on March 23 and 24, 2012.
"The New Democrat team is fighting hard for Canadian families in Parliament - every single day," Vallerand said. "Now we're getting ready to take the next step. On March 24th, we'll choose the next leader of Canada's New Democrats - and the next Prime Minister of Canada."
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