Thomas Mulcair wins federal NDP leadership

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TORONTO, ON. (NEWS1130) – Montreal MP Thomas Mulcair is the new leader of the federal NDP.

He beat Brian Topp with 57.2 per cent support after four rounds of voting.

BC MP Nathan Cullen has been knocked out with 24.6 per cent of the third-round vote. Peggy Nash, who came in fourth in the second ballet with 16.8 per cent support, has also been eliminated from the race.

After the first ballot, Ottawa MP Paul Dewar dropped out of the race immediately after learning of his fifth place position. Last-place finisher Niki Ashton was automatically eliminated while Martin Singh, who finished sixth, also dropped out and threw his support behind Mulcair.

News1130 Parliament Hill reporter Cormac MacSweeney is covering the NDP leadership race live. Follow his updates below:

Mulcair replaces the late Jack Layton as leader of the party and the Official Opposition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Around 130,000 New Democrats were eligible to cast their ballots. More than 40,000 cast their ballots in advance, meaning approximately 90,000 more voted online or on the convention floor.

A touching tribute to Layton took place Friday evening as New Democrats began casting their ballots.

The night was filled with music, touching messages and even clips to show how Jack could take a joke on national television but his family moved everyone to tears.

His daughter Sarah said the late NDP leader just never gave up. “He’d end every visit and every phone call with I love you see you tomorrow. Every one, even the last phone call.”

Jack’s widow Olivia Chow brought the crowd to its feet, giving them a message that New Democrats need to move forward. “All of you are the Layton legacy. Strong, united, looking forward.”

It was also announced that the NDP national headquarters in Ottawa would be known as the Jack Layton Building.

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