My take would be the urgency to have one is overblown. Its not about making contributions to policy for the next election. Between the slowness of the policy and platfrom process, and te slow 'percolation' into and after Convention, the Convention itself even on scedule is in practice too late for concrete effects on what the ONDP presents in the next election
Convention dynamics has more to do with development cycles longer than the next election. There is a strong argument to be made that those 'developmental needs' make delaying not a good idea. But thats a different argument than the one that is mustered that is all about right now.
OK, but, shouldn't there have been a policy convention that did happen in time to effect what the ONDP presents in the next election? Is the ONDP going into this election with a different leader but pretty much everything else the same?