I don't think the CPC leader matters that much for who the NDP pick (they need to win back Liberal switchers before they even think about fighting the CPC), but I do think picking after we find out what (if any) electoral reform gets chosen would have been better. I think the latter will have a much more significant effect on the next election.
Looks like we'll both get our wishes: he's sticking around for 24 months, by which time we'll definitely know the next CPC leader (which I think is important, since even if they're not directly competing for a lot of votes, it still plays a big role in setting the terms of the debate -- i.e. they'd respond to Kevin O'Leary a lot differently than they'd respond to Peter Mackay or Lisa Raitt), and we should know what electoral reforms are going to be implemented.
For most of its history, the NDP has been more about moving the Overton Window of Canadian politics leftward than contending for power, and has done that with a fair degree of success. It can still do that.
I'd never heard of the Overton Window concept before now, but...yep. Even if I may not want an NDP government, I still want them pulling things leftward.
Idiot party. The only two people I would care to see become leader are Cullen or Leslie.
Leslie is great, but probably not realistic for all the reasons Sean listed. She's also apparently said she wants to take time off politics for awhile, so she may sit this one out. Same could be said for Paul Dewar, right down to the unilingual part (which is astounding, seeing as his mother was mayor of Ottawa and he grew up here).
I think Cullen would've been the perfect candidate for them to pick in 2012. He'd have carried on Layton's Happy Warrior legacy, and he'd have contrasted with Harper the same way that Trudeau did, only he'd have gotten there a year earlier. He also would've put a lot of pressure on the Liberals to merge as the cooperation candidate. Even if Trudeau was opposed, I think having someone like Cullen as Opposition Leader pushing for the parties to get together to unseat Harper would've gone over pretty well. Now, though? I don't know that his pitch would be as effective against Trudeau. He's a bright guy and a good speaker, but I think he missed his chance.
Looking at their caucus, I'm not sure if they have anyone there who fits. I think Niki Ashton runs for sure, and I know some diehard NDPers who are extremely high on her, though I find her to be an incredibly dull speaker. I think Alexandre Boulerice runs too, though I can't imagine his separatist past will help him much. Beyond them...maybe Daniel Blaikie? He's young and inexperienced, but he's got a good pedigree, he seems to be a decent speaker judging from YouTube, and if they're taking a long view and really want to rebuild the party, he'd be able to stick around for awhile.
Thinking outside the box a little, if they're going to be running on the Leap Manifesto, maybe one of its authors will step up and enter parliamentary politics. Avi Lewis has certainly been all over the news the last few days, and the fact a CBC story talked about him as leader (even if it was for him to say he had no interest at this time) suggests he's at least thought about it. I don't know if he speaks any French (and personally, I find him super-grating), but if they want to go for someone comfortable on TV who has no problem with what's in the Leap Manifesto, he'd be an interesting candidate.