Key battleground for NDP in next session of Parliament? Income inequality

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh kicked off two days of strategy sessions with members of his caucus on Wednesday with a message: New Democrats are ready to fight the growing gap between Canada's rich and poor.

The question, which NDP MPs will wrestle with behind closed doors, is how the party can convince Canadians that it has a better solution to addressing income inequality than the Liberals, who have also emphasized the issue.

The answer could well define how the NDP does in next year's election, which is already looming large for federal parties despite being more than 20 months away.

Singh provided a snapshot of his thinking in an opening address to NDP MPs, who were originally slated to meet in Saguenay, Que., before a winter-storm warning forced the party to relocate the gathering to Ottawa.

The new NDP leader, who took the party's reins in October, cited two studies, including one by respected civil society group Oxfam, that indicated the wealthiest individuals in Canada and around the world were getting richer.

At the same time, he singled out the rising costs of childcare, housing, cellular phones, the Internet and prescription drugs as areas where average Canadians are feeling the pinch.

"Meanwhile, big corporations move to punish workers who just want to make a living wage," Singh said in an apparent reference to the response by some companies to Ontario's recent minimum-wage increase.

"And unfair trade deals are putting the interests of the few over the interests of the many. Canadians are being told the economy is doing great, but they're not feeling the benefits."

The reference to trade deals coincided with the latest round of NAFTA talks in Montreal, and the surprise news Tuesday that Canada and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region had struck a deal on a revised Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Singh also sent a warning to Canada's "super-rich": Don't get too comfortable.

"New Democrats aren't worried that making the life of the super-rich a little bit more difficult, we're not worried about doing that, because we know the rest of Canadians have been struggling for far too long," he said.

"Our job is simple: we must listen to Canadians, and then work hard to find real solutions to the problems they are experiencing. This is the time to tackle imbalances and injustices in the economic system."

Speaking to reporters after Singh's address, NDP trade critic Tracey Ramsey called on the Liberal government to release the text of the new TPP deal and explain its back-up plan if the NAFTA talks fail.

Ramsey expressed concern about the TPP's potential impact on Canada's automotive and dairy sectors, but said that without actually seeing the text, it was impossible to say whether the NDP would support or oppose it.

"What is TPP?" she said. "At this point, I can't say that without getting my eyes on the agreement."