NDP will choose next leader in March after dismal election result

New Democrats will choose their next party leader in March, CBC News and Radio-Canada have learned.

The party's federal council met Thursday to hammer out some of the rules to govern the leadership contest — which will include a $100,000 entry fee, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversations.

The campaign will take place between September and March, sources said. The full guidelines for the race have yet to be finalized and will need to be discussed at another meeting.

The party is holding its national convention in Winnipeg at the end of March, meaning the leadership vote would likely align with that event.

The new leader will face the tough task of rebuilding the party in the wake of its worst electoral showing ever.

The NDP went into April's election with 24 MPs but limped away with only seven. The party lost incumbents in traditional strongholds, such as Hamilton and Windsor, Ont.

Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation on election night after he failed to win his own seat.

The poor result left the NDP with a reduced role in the House of Commons. A party needs 12 seats to be recognized in Parliament. Without party status, the NDP lost certain perks that include being guaranteed a question in the daily question period, participation in committees and funding for the leader's office and research bureau.

The NDP has also been faced with internal challenges since the election.

Veteran MP Don Davies was selected by the party's federal council in May to serve as interim leader. But a trio of MPs wrote a letter to the council blasting the selection process, saying it "failed to uphold democratic and transparent principles."

Then, last week, a group of NDP organizers and former MPs — branding themselves as "Reclaim Canada's NDP" — called on supporters to redirect donations from the central party to local riding associations.

"This election, Canadians showed that the NDP feels out of reach as a viable political option," the group said in a press release.

The group said that by directly funding riding associations, "progressive community organizers can access the resources required to meaningfully and equitably rebuild the NDP without being bureaucratically tangled with the party's management."

The party could face financial difficulty following the spring campaign. Hundreds of NDP candidates failed to reach the 10 per cent vote threshold that would have qualified them for campaign expense rebates.

The party announced earlier this week that it would be launching a "renewal" process led by lawyer and former candidate Emilie Taman.

The party says the review will include consultations with party members, staff, riding associations and volunteers.