Mike Redmond pondering future as NDP leader

NDP Leader Mike Redmond says he'll likely make a decision about whether to resign by the end of this week.

Redmond represented the party in the Charlottetown-Parkdale byelection on Nov. 27. He not only placed a distant fourth in the vote, ultimately won by the Green Party's Hannah Bell, but the party's share of the vote fell from the 2015 general election.

In 2015, Andrew Watts won 10.9 per cent of the vote, and in the Nov. 27 byelection, Redmond won just 9.3 per cent.

Redmond said the party is very dissatisfied with the results, which came after what he described as a strong campaign in terms of putting people on the ground in the district. He said the party needs to rethink what it's doing.

"We need to re-examine my position, we need to re-examine the message from the party," Redmond said.

"Sometimes I think Islanders aren't ready for a significant change, and I think the message we talked about political patronage is one, whether they want to hear it or not, they need to deal with it, because it's what's holding us back as a province."

Redmond said he currently has a lot on his plate. He has a young family, is studying for a masters degree in global leadership, and runs a farm.

Redmond will meet with the provincial executive of the party this week, and they will all make a decision about the future.

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