Jagmeet Singh resigns as New Democratic Party leader after losing seat in Canadian election

​​​​​​​HAMILTON, Canada

The leader of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP), announced he will step down after his party failed to win enough seats to keep official status in parliament.

"I am disappointed that we could not win more seats," Jagmeet Singh wrote late Monday on X, expressing "hope" for the fate of his party.

"I KNOW that we will always choose hope over fear," he said.

Speaking during an emotional speech in British Columbia, where he also lost his seat, Singh said: "We may lose sometimes, and those losses hurt."

"It's tough, but we are only defeated if we stop fighting," he said. "We're only defeated when we believe those that tell us that we can never dream of a better Canada, a fairer Canada, a more compassionate Canada.."

The NDP, a left-leaning party that supports stronger social programs and workers' rights, needed at least 12 seats to keep official recognition in the House of Commons. Losing the party's official status would mean the party would have fewer resources and less influence in parliament.

Singh, who has served in parliament since 2019, finished third in his district, and said he would remain leader until an interim replacement is chosen.

Canadians headed to ballot boxes Monday and chose the Liberal Party to lead the country with 43.5% of valid votes.

The Liberals, which won 168 of the 343 seats in the House of Commons with the current vote rate, could not exceed the 172 MP limit required for a majority.

The main opposition Conservative Party, which won 41.4% of the vote, received 144 seats with the current share of votes.