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HAMILTON, ONT. -- How good is 81 per cent?

It's a solid "A minus" at nearby McMaster University. 

But when it comes to leading a federal party, it means about one in five members aren鈥檛 so sure you should keep your job.

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This weekend, 81 per cent of NDP delegates voted against forcing a leadership contest. This gave Jagmeet Singh the lowest level of support for an NDP leader since the 2016 convention, when more than half the delegates voted to remove Thomas Mulcair.

鈥淭o me it was a bit of a surprise,鈥� said Karl Bélanger, president of Traxxion Strategies. 鈥淚 was expecting (Singh) to be more around the 90 per cent mark.鈥�

Bélanger was a top advisor to Mulcair, and doesn鈥檛 think this leadership review will lead to calls for Singh to resign.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 clearly a signal that he probably does have one last shot,鈥� Bélanger said.

That shot is expected to play out sometime before the fall of 2025, as Singh will need to produce a significant increase to the 25 federal seats his party has now.

鈥淣ew Democrats need to elect more NDP members next election,鈥� said Kathleen Monk, a former director of communications to late NDP leader Jack Layton. 鈥淎nd also need to make gains in regions of the country that we are currently locked out of, like the Atlantic and Saskatchewan.鈥�

Since the 2011 鈥淥range Wave鈥� swept across Quebec --- propelling the Layton-led NDP to 103 seats and Official Opposition status --- the New Democrats have seen their hopes to form government decline.

At this convention in Hamilton, there was a video message from Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew, fresh off his win over Progressive Conservative Heather Stephenson.B.C. Premier David Eby and Ontario Official Opposition Leader Marit Stiles also delivered speeches.

As the party hoped to send a message that NDP leaders can challenge and defeat the Conservatives,  Singh has so far been unable to replicate the party鈥檚 provincial success at a federal level.

The NDP leader says 81 per cent is still a strong mandate, but understands there鈥檚 room for improvement. 

鈥淭he message I received Is very typical, something I'm proud of, as a New Democrat, which is always to demand more,鈥� Singh said, promising to use his supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals as leverage to do just that.

GROWING FRUSTRATION OVER PERCEIVED STALLED PROGRESS IN SUPPLY AND CONFIDENCE AGREEMENT

NDP delegates are concerned the Liberals are doing some last-minute cramming, and may not be ready to pass pharmacare legislation before the deals deadline at the end of December.

There is appetite within the party to pressure the Liberals and draw a hard line.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the deal, right? The Liberals said they would do A, B, and C in exchange for our support,鈥� said Robin Steudel, a delegate who travelled from Yukon to attend the convention. 鈥淭he support has been given and so now they need to pony up.鈥�

Steudel believes, like many other delegates, the NDP must push for more concessions.

鈥淵ou write that deal, you come up with that deal, and then you need to keep pushing. The work doesn鈥檛 really stop on the day that the deal gets signed,鈥� the northern delegate said.

The NDP leader confessed his own frustrations to members during the convention.

鈥淲hen we made this choice to strike this agreement, to work together, we knew there would be critics,鈥� said Singh in a pre-recorded video played at the convention, ahead of his speech.

鈥淲e knew that people would be upset that we鈥檙e working together with Primer Minister Trudeau and frankly some days I鈥檓 upset because I don鈥檛 agree with everything the prime minister is doing鈥�.

While it鈥檚 the first federal agreement of its kind between the two parties, it鈥檚 not the first time the NDP has worked alongside a Liberal prime minister.

In 1972, then-NDP leader David Lewis propped up Pierre Elliot Trudeau鈥檚 minority government in exchange for progressive priorities, including the creation of Petro Canada as a Crown corporation.

But when Lewis voted against the 1974 budget triggering an election, it was Pierre Trudeau鈥檚 Liberals who were rewarded with a majority government.

It鈥檚 a concern that some NDP members have with the current deal with Justin Trudeau鈥檚 Liberals.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e not getting the credit for some of these policies and programs,鈥� Bélanger said.

They鈥檙e also on a timeline that most New Democrats find too slow.

鈥淪ingh and the NDP team are doing some challenging stuff, pushing for laws, policies and new programs that are historic but also hard,鈥� said Monk.

鈥淚t is easy for folks to critique, but in many ways, Singh has already exceeded what Jack Layton attempted. New Democrats are actually forcing the governing party to enact programs that in the past.鈥�

鈥淟iberals couldn't even utter, like, GST tax credit and the anti-scab bill,鈥� Monk added.

Monk said she expects Singh and his team will continue to face internal party push-back over the deal.

On Saturday, delegates supported an emergency resolution designed to increase pressure on the Liberals around a national prescription drug program.

鈥淭he NDP will publicly declare that continued confidence and supply is contingent on government legislation that clearly commits to a universal, comprehensive and entirely public pharmacare program,鈥� the document read.

The convention votes are non-binding, therefore Singh and his caucus still get final say on what policy proposals are adopted.

It's a delicate line for the leader to walk, grassroots members fear, as recent polls show the NDP and Liberals being left in the Conservatives鈥� rear view mirror.