Burnaby-New Westminster MP Peter Julian is "keeping the door open" on leadership prospects for the New Democratic Party in the wake of Jack Layton's death.
"There's a grieving period that takes a long time, and that's where everybody is at now," said Julian, when contacted by the NOW on Wednesday. "I'm listening to folks who have approached me. I'm talking with folks quietly and leaving the door open. That's it."
Julian didn't say either way if he'd run for party leader.
"The process of grieving that everybody's going through means that the conversations the folks are having are about Jack. All the conversations are about Jack. Some of the conversations are also about, reluctantly, the next steps we have to take, because we don't have the choice," he said. "Some people have urged me to run for leader, and I've simply said I'm keeping the door open, and I'm listening to people, and I'm taking advice. That's it."
Julian was first elected as MP for Burnaby-New Westminster in 2004 and was part of Layton's first caucus, which has grown from 19 members to 103. Julian went to university in Quebec and speaks French fluently. On Tuesday, Postmedia reported that Julian was considering a run for the party's top job and quoted him as saying: "It's fair to say I'm asking some people I trust for advice, and I'm listening to people who are phoning me."
But Wednesday, Julian said he was "kind of upset at the story."
"It sounds as if somebody had launched a leadership bid. That's not the case in
anybody's case," he said. "It's a story that's going to be very slow moving, no doubt, because there are so many quiet conversations that people are having that are mainly around mourning."
Other possible leadership candidates include Winnipeg MP Pat Martin, NDP president Brian Topp, MP Robert Chisholm from Nova Scotia, and MP Thomas Mulcair of Ontario. Halifax MP Megan Leslie hasn't ruled out running for leader.
On Sept. 9, the NDP will set rules for its leadership race. Of the estimated 86,000 voting NDP members across Canada, close to 30,000 - roughly one-third - live in B.C. The three Prairie provinces have about 10,000 members each, giving the West about two-thirds of the national total. Ontario has just over 22,000 members, while Quebec, the province with the most NDP MPs, has about 1,700 party members.
