OTTAWA — Thomas Mulcair made his question period debut as NDP leader Monday after a standing ovation from his caucus and compliments from his defeated opponents.
The newly minted Opposition leader showed his scrappy side as he took on the Conservatives for the first time from his new seat in the House of Commons.
He said the government has failed miserably at getting the country back to work and demanded action in Thursday’s budget.
“Since the Conservatives came to power, Canada has lost hundreds of thousands of good jobs in the manufacturing sector,” Mulcair said.
Heritage Minister James Moore retorted that 600,000 jobs have been created under the Tory watch.
“We will continue to move in that direction in the next budget,” Moore said.
Mulcair wasn’t buying that.
“They are leaving the largest environmental, economic and social debt in our history for future generations,” he said.
“They are emptying the manufacturing sector and destabilizing the balanced economy that had been created since the Second World War.”
Mulcair’s party greeted him warmly in his first Commons appearance since he came out on top in a seven-person race for the leadership at the party’s weekend convention in Toronto.
His four MP opponents spoke briefly about the need for unity.
Toronto MP Peggy Nash urged the party to “unite behind our leader and future prime minister.”
Olivia Chow, widow of former leader Jack Layton, remained pointedly neutral during the campaign, but she dropped that attitude on Monday to praise Mulcair.
“We can be proud to say that New Democrats across Canada elected a strong and experienced leader to lead Canada’s New Democrats to form the next government in 2015,” she said.
“I am proud to have a leader who worked alongside Jack Layton to unite Quebecers and Canadians together, a leader who shares our values ... a leader who will hold the Conservatives to account and fight for everyday Canadians.”