Jagmeet Singh is super duper confident of two things. (OK, probably more than two, but let's keep it neat and tidy for now).
One: He believes not wearing socks with a suit can be stylish.
And two: He is adamant that he will emerge victorious in an upcoming byelection in the B.C. riding of Burnaby South, to the point that he even refuses the "premise" of losing.
The NDP leader will need this conviction — and a whole lot of hard work — if he wants to finally snag a seat in the House of Commons. He'll probably need an act of divine intervention to get other politicians onboard with the whole no-socks thing.
On the latest episode of "Backbenchers," HuffPost Canada's biweekly snapshot of Canadian politics, we speak to the leader from his home in Burnaby, explore the challenges that await him and his party — even if he wins the Feb. 25 byelection battle — and touch on some extremely important topics, like halloumi cheese.
We also take a look at the so-called "leader's courtesy," a political tradition that sees some parties sheathe their swords and refrain from challenging a party leader who is looking to win a seat in a byelection.
Note: this does not work for us simple, non-politician folk. Turns out you can't skip the line at Wendy's while yelling "leader's courtesy! leader's courtesy!"
Watch the episode embedded above.
Want more "Backbenchers?" You can watch previous episodes here.