True, but the NDP has also never gone into an election as the official opposition and "government in waiting" so they may start to attract a whole new category of potential star candidates.
They have in some provinces though. The "best candidates" I can think of are various artists or writers or minor actors. But, I can't think of any athletes.
I just thought of an example. Emery Barnes was longtime NDP member of the BC legislature and was speaker of the house in the 90s. He was born in New Orleans, then played football for the BC Lions before going into politics.
Score. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you see it) His daughter Constance just lost the nomination in Van-False Creek for the NDP. she has a mixed bag and i think that hurt her chances, but she lost a very close race.
Anyway... "famous" doesn't always equal "star" candidates in terms of their quality. The NDP has very notable supporters and you saw many of them come out during the leadership races but many know they might not have the a) desire for power b) what it takes to be an MP/MPP/MLA.
Oh Laurier LaPierre was an NDP candidate... even though he ended up being a Liberal senator, he still ran as a NDPer in 68. So thats a "famous" guy i think
many of the names listed probably wouldn't run (Vaughan, Layton are still very city oriented and Vaughan might run got mayor too)... i didn't think Polley lived in TS. There are other less known figures who could run too like Karen Sun (ran against mike Layton for council).
I think Big Names are good to pull out in competitive ridings and TS (for now, arguably so) is generally an NDP riding.