Tom Mulcair slammed by Montreal riding president ahead of leadership vote

The head of an NDPriding association in Montreal isspeaking out againstTom Mulcair ahead of the party'sAprilleadership vote.

Alain Charbonneau, who became president of theLasalleVille-mardVerdun riding association last week, is planning tovote against Mulcair in the review, saying last year's election loss was "devastating" for the party.

"We lost so much," he told CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

"He was hired, basically voted in as leader because he was supposed to be the one who couldwin. That was his mission. He failed."

In the 2015 election,the NDP was reduced to third-party status with only44 seats across the countryand 16 seats in Quebec as JustinTrudeau'sLiberals swept to power.

• Campaign message fell flat, NDP's election post-mortem finds
• Mulcair stresses need to regroup tocore principles
• NDP leader wants another chance to lead party to power

At the party's biennial convention starting onApril 8, NDP members will gather in Edmonton where they'll be asked to vote yes or no onwhether they support the leader.

Mulcairhassaidhewill ask New Democrats to give him another chance.Earlier this month, he penned an open letter outlining a series of changes aimed at improving the party's showing in theelection.

"I agree with the overarching assessment that our campaign came up short," he said.

"As leader, I take full responsibility for these shortcomings. I could have done a better job."

Party president Rebecca Blaikie says Mulcair should require support from 70 per cent of delegates to stay on as leader. So far, there hasn't been much public clamouring for him to step aside.

For his part, Charbonneau attributes the NDP's poor showing in the election to Mulcair's failure to connect with voters.

"I'm not saying he's bad for the party or a bad parliamentarian. He's an excellent parliamentarian," said Charbonneau.

"He's just not a good salesperson."

A full report on the party's electoral result is expected to be released in March, just ahead of the party's April convention.