Canada election: Jagmeet Singh, who used TikTok, Instagram to reach young voters, may emerge as 'kingmaker'

"The New Democratic Party is poised to play kingmaker in a minority parliament after Jagmeet Singh spearheaded a turnaround on the federal campaign trail that may have saved his leadership and pulled his party from the brink of irrelevance," the Toronto Star newspaper reported.

With 24 seats in its kitty, the NDP has lost nearly 50 percent of the seats it had won in 2015. The party, led by Thomas Mulcair, had won 44 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons in 2015.

Despite the drop in seats, Singh in a celebratory speech on October 22 said his party will now be "working hard" to deliver on the "priorities that Canadians have".

"When we get back to Ottawa, every single day we are in Parliament, New Democrats are going to be working to make sure Canadians' lives are better," he was quoted as saying by globalnews.ca.

Singh said his party's elected officials will now head to Ottawa to tackle a number of issues, including taking "real and urgent action" on climate change, making life more affordable for Canadians and making sure the "super wealthy pay their fair share".

Singh, who was himself a prime ministerial contender, said he wants the NDP to play a "constructive" role in the new Parliament, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Addressing supporters at his party headquarters in Burnaby, 40-year-old Singh said, "It is such an amazing honour to be home here in British Columbia with all of you."

The first non-white leader of a federal political party in Canada congratulated Trudeau, 47, on his win and said he spoke to him earlier in the day, the report said.

Singh, a leftist former criminal defence lawyer, said he wants the NDP to play a "constructive and positive role" in the new Parliament.

"The winner of this election is not a leader or a party -- the winners should be Canadians. They want a government that works for them. Not the rich and the powerful," Singh tweeted.

Jagmeet Singh reached out to 'ignored' young voters via social media

Singh had used social media to reach out to young voters during the campaign, who he said "often feel ignored" by decision-makers.

He said young voters have told him they "often feel ignored by political parties and by government decision-makers".

"One of the things I've realised throughout the campaign and throughout my life is that you've got to speak to people where they are. Wherever they are, if you can speak to them and find them and you have a message that can actually make their life better, then use that platform," Singh was quoted by Canadian Press as saying.

Aiming at wooing young voters, Singh recently posted two 15-second video on TikTok, highlighting his campaign's key messages with rap music, which instantly went viral. The videos were collectively viewed over three million times, the report said.

Similarly, he is using Instagram as part of his poll campaign.

"My girl, RiRi, follows me," Singh said, referring to the 31-year-old international pop star Rihanna.

Four years ago, turnout from the youngest cohort of voters was up 12 percent from the 2011 federal election. Many of these new, young voters cast their ballots for Trudeau, and the youth vote was credited with giving the party its majority government, the report said.

However, after winning in a landslide victory in 2015, the 47-year-old Trudeau's image has recently been tainted by allegations of racism after the emergence of old photographs of him in blackface make-up during a school event nearly two decades ago.

(With inputs from PTI)