NDP national council scheduled to meet Monday night to pick interim leader

The NDP national council is scheduled to meet tonight to pick an interim leader.

Jagmeet Singh announced on election night that he would step down as soon as an interim leader was chosen.

The NDP was reduced to just seven seats in the election on April 28 and no longer holds official party status.

Two party officials say the NDP caucus met twice last week to discuss who will lead the party until a leadership race can be completed.

Singh is among more than a dozen NDP MPs who were defeated in one of the worst election showings the party has had.

Former MP Charlie Angus says the party lost touch with core supporters and focused too much on the personality of the leader.

The Alberta NDP voted overwhelmingly on the weekend in favour of allowing members to opt-out of mandatory membership in the federal party when signing up at the provincial level.

— With files from Catherine Morrison in Ottawa and Lisa Johnson in Edmonton.