The NDP didn't do well in the three byelections on April 13.
Serena Purdy got 19 per cent of the vote in University-Rosedale, while Fatima Shaban in Scarborough Southwest got only six per cent. Maxime Beaudoin got a mere 0.5 per cent in Terrebonne, Que.
Despite knowing she had lost, Shaban said in an interview with Humber Et Cetera after the votes were counted on election night, she'll remain visible in the community.
“We are going to keep fighting,” she said.
“We are going to keep serving the community," Shaban said. "It’s not just about tonight’s results, it’s not about the votes, it’s not about the percentage. It’s all about the people we spoke to and the people we connected with. This campaign is definitely everything and even more than we have hoped for.”
Turnout was low, with roughly a third of voters casting ballots in the two Toronto ridings and half of the voters casting their ballots in Terrebonne, Quebec.
Although these results were largely expected, it is another setback for the NDP. The party will now have to gain seats differently.
The party has six federal seats, and doesn't have party status in the House of Commons.
"Well, it is what it is," Shaban said of Prime Minister Mark Carney's majority government. "You know, the most important thing is that we have tried to reach out to people that haven't been heard before.
"We have given voice to people that didn't feel seen," she said.
Shaban, a local activist, said the NDP are going to keep fighting.
"We are going to keep serving the community," she said. "And we are here to hold the government accountable. So, they will be here, continue to hear from us."
Shaban says she's hopeful about the future of the party.
"Yes, absolutely. Yes, we have gotten people involved who had never been involved in politics, never been involved with the NDP," she said. "And to have them on board, we have, you know, I think we have planted the seeds of victory for the future."
