Tom Mulcair says niqab position was a defining moment of his political career

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says he believes he did the rightthing to stand up to Stephen Harper on the niqabeven though hisposition may well have cost his party some crucial support.

In his first post-election interview with The Canadian Press,Mulcair says maintaining a principled approach on theissue was oneof the defining moments of his political career.

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The issue of face coverings became a thorny issue during thecampaign, with some suggesting it seriously hurt theparty'sstronghold in Quebec, after Harper insisted on a ban on the garmentsat citizenship ceremonies.

The Federal Court of Canada found the Conservative rule unlawfulin February and the Federal Court of Appeal has supported thatdecision.

Mulcair said he continues to think he did the "right thing tostand up to Mr. Harper on those issues."

"I would quote back to him his MPs that were being verydivisive, talking about brown people or talking about Muslim womenwho should get the hell back to where they came from," Mulcairsaid.

And could a different result havebeen achieved? Perhaps.- NDP LeaderTom Mulcairon defendingface coverings at citizenship ceremonies

"I wasn't going to be part of that. I just found itundignified."

Mulcair said he thought it was wrong to divide Canadians onissues of race and religion.

"These were defining moments for me in my political career andin the campaign," Mulcair said. "And could a different result havebeen achieved? Perhaps. But I wasn't going to do something that Ihad never done in my career.

"I'd always been a person who stood up for his convictions."

Mulcair said his team was aware the niqab debate was a "veryemotional issue" that created waves in the campaign.

"That's something that was measured by us," he said. "We knewthat there was a very strong reaction. I was able to understand butI couldn't agree...

"I was also obliged to say that we live in a society whererights are not a popularity contest and the rights, when they're setdown by the courts, have to be respected. It is no longer a questionof what people like or don't like."

Following last Monday's election, Mulcair says he has been busycalling successful and defeated MPs.

"I have such great admiration and strong affection for everysingle person who had been involved in our caucus and Iwant to makesure we keep them close," he said.

Reduced to 3rd party status

The NDP caucus is now made up of 44 MPs, including 16 newmembers. That's down from 95 in the previous Parliament, withhigh-profile MPs such as Paul Dewar, Megan Leslie, Peggy Nash andPeter Stoffer losing their seats to Liberals.

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The NDP leader gave no indication that he has considered steppingdown.

Rather, Mulcair said his party continues to have much to offer,especially as the Liberal government prepares for an upcomingclimate change conference in Paris and plans to move forward onissues such as electoral reform.

"Both Mr. Trudeau and I have said that this one, the 2015election, should be the last one under the old first-past-the-postsystem," Mulcair said. "We should follow through on that. I alsothink that proportional representation is the only real way toachieve that type of change.

"So, I'm looking forward to having that discussion with him tosee whether he wants to follow through. He's going to getour fullcollaboration."

Re-elected MP Peter Julian on the NDP campaign

9 years ago

Duration 7:57

MP Peter Julian discusses the NDP falling from second to third place in this election

Defeating Harper 'consolation' prize

Mulcair also says his main consolation in an election which sawhis party lose its status as official opposition and fall back tothird place is that the NDP helped take down Harper after nineyears in power.

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"The number one priority was to defeat and replace StephenHarper's government," Mulcair said. "I am very satisfied, and itis my main consolation...that we were able to defeat StephenHarper's Conservatives."

Mulcair says he attributes a lot of that success to the work theNDP did in opposition.

"We were able to take him regularly and show his ethicalshortcomings and during the campaign, we were very tough on him,"he said.

"I think, at least we can say for that part of it, I thinkthat was mission accomplished ... it was the keycondition that Ihad set down and we got that job done. He's no longer there."

Mulcair said there was a strong desire for change among theCanadian public and he is optimistic about the role of the
opposition going forward.

"We're just going to make sure that the positive change thatwe've always talked about, when we do have things in common, that itis there," he said.

"And when the government has different points of views from us... that the public is given full information so they canknow whatthey're dealing with."

WATCH: Mulcair concession speech highlights

9 years ago

Duration 2:30

NDP leader gracious despite huge losses