Ontario NDP Convention: Andrea Horwath Survives Leadership Review In Hamilton

Posted: 04/13/2012 4:00 am Updated: 04/14/2012 11:34 am

TORONTO - Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has easily survived a leadership review at the party's convention in Hamilton.

Over three-quarters of the 800 delegates voted to support Horwath in the leadership review, which is automatic after an election.

Horwath was approved by 76.4 per cent of delegates.

NDP house leader Gilles Bisson says New Democrats are thrilled with Horwath's leadership after they increased their seat count last October in their best election showing in decades.

Horwath's leadership is also being tested by union leaders and delegates who deferred a resolution seeking approval of her handling of budget negotiations with the minority Liberal government.

Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan says the Liberals' are attempting to destroy the collective bargaining process by threatening to impose a wage freeze on the public sector.

Ryan says Horwath should call Premier Dalton McGuinty's bluff and refuse to compromise on the legislated wage freeze.

He says if that triggers another election, it'll be on McGuinty's head, not Horwath's.

The Conservatives have vowed to vote against the budget, so the Liberals need NDP support or the minority government will be defeated, triggering an election.

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  • Little-Known Mulcair Facts

    Here are some facts you may not have known about NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair. (CP)

  • 10. He Used To Be A Liberal

    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mulcair" target="_hplink">Mulcair was Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks</a> in Jean Charest's Liberal government in Quebec. He served in the role from 2003-2006. (CP)

  • 8. He's French (Kind Of)

    Mulcair married Catherine Pinhas in 1976. She was born in France to a Turkish family of Sephardic Jewish descent. <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1158289--thomas-mulcair-s-wife-catherine-a-psychologist-and-political-confidante?bn=1" target="_hplink">Mulcair has French citizenship through his marriage</a>, as do the couple's two sons. (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)

  • 7. They Used To Be Friends

    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mulcair" target="_hplink">Mulcair left Charest's Liberal government in Quebec </a>after he was offered the position of Minister of Government Services in 2006, an apparent demotion from Minister of the Environment. Mulcair has said his ouster was related to his opposition to a government plan to transfer land in the Mont Orford provincial park to condo developers. (CP)

  • 6. Ancestor Was Premier Of Quebec

    Mulcair's great-great-grandfather on his mother's side was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_Mercier" target="_hplink">Honoré Mercier, the ninth premier of Quebec</a>. (Public Domain/Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)

  • 5. First!

    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mulcair" target="_hplink">Mulcair was the first New Democrat to win a riding in Quebec during a federal election</a>. He held the riding of Outremont during the 2008 election after first winning the seat in a 2007 by-election. Phil Edmonston was the first New Democrat to win a seat in Quebec, but his win came in a 1990 by-election. Robert Toupin was the very first to bring a Quebec seat to the NDP, but he did it in 1986 by crossing the floor. (Alamy)

  • 4. He's Half Irish.

    <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mulcair" target="_hplink">Mulcair's father Harry Donnelly Mulcair was Irish-Canadian</a> and his mother Jeanne French-Canadian. His father spoke to him in English and his mother in French -- explaining his fluency in both official languages. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

  • 3. He Votes In France

    Muclair has voted in past French elections, but says that now that he is leader of the Official Opposition <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1157191" target="_hplink">he will not take part in the upcoming French presidential vote</a>. (Thinkstock)

  • 2. Young Love At First Sight

    <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1158289--thomas-mulcair-s-wife-catherine-a-psychologist-and-political-confidante?bn=1" target="_hplink">Mulcair met his future wife at a wedding when they were both teenagers</a>. Catherine was visiting from France. They married two years later when they were both 21. (CP)

  • 1. Mr. Angry

    <a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/16/thomas-mulcair-is-mr-angry/" target="_hplink">Mulcair was given the moniker in a Maclean's headline</a>, but the new leader of the NDP has long been known for his short fuse. In 2005, he was fined $95,000 for defamatory comments he made about former PQ minister Yves Duhaime on TV. The comments included French vulgarity and an accusation that alleged influence peddling would land Duhaime in prison.

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TORONTO - Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has easily survived a leadership review at the party's convention in Hamilton.Over three-quarters of the 800 delegates voted to support Horwath in the leade...
TORONTO - Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has easily survived a leadership review at the party's convention in Hamilton.Over three-quarters of the 800 delegates voted to support Horwath in the leade...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
piceaglauca
The picture says it all....
10:48 PM on 04/13/2012
Moving more towards the centre will lose the taste of Bob Rae. While their there they need a strategy to get McGuinty's budget more in line.