Neil Malik
Was Avi Lewis the right choice to lead the NDP?
Was Avi Lewis the right choice to lead the NDP?
@avilewis, X
The Topline
- Avi Lewis won the leadership of the federal NDP at the party’s convention in Winnipeg.
- It was a runaway victory , with Lewis getting 56 per cent of the vote on the first ballot.
- The party is at a historic low , with just six MPs, weak polling and about $13 million in debt.
- Lewis previously ran for MP in the 2021 and 2025 federal elections, losing both times.
- In his victory speech , Lewis vowed “to bring our party back from the wilderness.”
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Switch sides,
back and forth
He brings clarity, for better or worse
The election of Avi Lewis as the NDP’s new leader signifies a new beginning and a new role for the party.
You may not agree with his ideas , but that’s not what this is about. Lewis fills a political void that currently exists in Canada.
Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew, Canada’s most popular premier, told reporters: “I just love Avi. He's just a great person. And we don't have to agree on everything in order to do the big things together. The big things are health care, education. Yeah, we can have debates, heated debates, about any manner of other issues, but the values are there.”
Lewis represents “a brighter future” for the NDP, according to Kathleen Monk, a former NDP strategist. She told CTV’s Question Period the party has been “irrelevant for the past number of months,” and Lewis now has a very strong mandate to unify the party going forward.
She’s not wrong about the mandate. Lewis told CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live he was elected with a “major mandate,” citing “all-time high voter turnout” and the “highest percentage winning total” in the party’s current voting era.
His election rallies were often jam-packed. The $1.2 million his campaign raised is the most ever in an NDP leadership contest.
Lewis brings a far-left, progressive voice that’s missing in Canada at the moment. He wants to end corporate monopolies, establish a national cap on rents, provide free public transit and raise taxes on the richest one per cent of Canadians.
With the Liberals currently riding a wave of popularity, the centre-right opportunity the late Jack Layton seized in 2011 simply doesn’t exist today. In 2026, the opportunity lies on the far left, perfect for a party leader who “works for the many, not the money,” as Lewis said .
Lewis’s biggest challenge isn’t going to be regaining official party status in the House of Commons. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a very big challenge, but that’s too far down the road to worry about right now.
It’s rebranding the NDP from a party chasing Layton’s past to one that owns the far left and keeps the Liberals honest without getting laughed at.
Lewis just might be the right guy for the job.
They didn’t read the room
In his memoir , the late John Horgan, former NDP premier of B.C., describes how political leadership is about bringing people to the table and finding common ground.
So if the federal NDP hopes to regain its relevance as a serious player in Canadian politics, Lewis might want to visit his local library and borrow a copy.
Former cabinet minister James Moore describes Lewis as a “pure ideologue from the progressive left” and characterizes his leadership as “very high risk,” suggesting he may be “not electable to the broader Canadian public.”
Scott Reid, former communications director to prime minister Paul Martin, warned there’s a high risk that Lewis’s “hard left” message will “bury the party” rather than resurrect it.
With that in mind, if Lewis wants to overcome his critics in order to have a shot at winning more seats, he’ll need support from fellow NDP politicians.
He received praise from Manitoba’s premier and congratulations from Ontario’s NDP leader, but otherwise it’s hardly been a warm welcome to the family.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck called Lewis’s position on energy out of touch with their respective provinces. Beck even declined a meeting with the guy.
B.C. NDP Premier David Eby was lukewarm, suggesting his province would “work with anyone and any federal leader who shares our priorities, and stand firm against those who put that progress at risk.”
If the NDP wants to regain party status in the House, voters should have put more strategy into their choice for a new leader, especially by looking at where the party could pull votes from.
Back in 2011, the late Jack Layton successfully won a number of seats in Quebec at a time when the Bloc Québécois were losing steam.
But Lewis isn’t bilingual.
How about pulling votes from the Conservatives?
Near impossible, as long as Lewis continues to promote far-left policies.
The Liberals, meanwhile, are riding a wave of popularity. So as long as Prime Minister Mark Carney is seen as the best option to handle Donald Trump, frightened voters may continue to flock to the Liberals, leaving the NDP still irrelevant.
The task ahead for the NDP was never going to be easy. But by electing Lewis, it feels like the NDP shot itself in the foot while already trying to swim upstream.
