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Thomas Mulcair survives NDP confidence vote on his leadership

Just over one year after their leadership convention, New Democrats are still very content with Thomas Mulcair.

On Saturday, at the party's policy convention in Montreal, delegates were asked if they would like commence a new leadership contest: 92.3 per cent of the delegates in attendance said no.

[ Related: Ahead of the Liberal leadership announcement, the NDP look to re-brand ]

92 per cent is an impressive number for Mulcair.

According to Rabble.ca, 98 per cent of the delegates at the NDP 2011 convention rejected the need for a leadership review for then leader Jack Layton.

The Globe and Mail notes that Stephen Harper got 84 per cent approval from delegates in his first leadership confidence vote in 2005.

Some of those voting in favour of the review, might have been reacting to the recent Nanos Research poll which suggests that Justin Trudeau — who is expected to win the Liberal leadership on Sunday — has been rising in the opinion polls to the detriment of Mulcair. The Nanos Research poll released last week, suggests that Trudeau is the most inspiring federal leader followed by prime minister Stephen Harper; only 11.6 per cent of those surveyed thought that Mulcair was connecting with Canadians.

But if not Mulcair as the NDP leader, then who?

[ Related: Thomas Mulcair's so so first year as NDP leader ]

Some of the other dissent to Mulcair's leadership likely comes from the small but very vocal socialist wing of the NDP. The leader's office is trying to push the party to the centre of the political spectrum. One of the hot-topic agenda items at the convention is a resolution that would change the party's constitutional preamble to exclude overt references to 'socialism.'

That vote takes place on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of Reuters)

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