Canadians generally like to govern from the centre. Most electoral victories have been precipitated by the winning leader showing balance and moderation. Lewis’ victory was not based on moderation, but on exploding the status quo.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 6, 2026.

OTTAWA—One thing is certain. The new leader of the federal New Democratic Party has the overwhelming support of his party.

Avi Lewis swept to victory on the first ballot last weekend, and, coincidentally, was also the second choice of most voters who backed other candidates.

With more than 71,000 ballots cast, Lewis secured an easy victory announced at the convention in Winnipeg on March 29. That was the easy part.

Translating that into electoral victory is another story.

Provincial New Democratic leaders kept their distance from Lewis.

British Columbia Premier David Eby did not attend the convention. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew gave a speech to the convention on the winnability factor.

That was seen as a slap at Lewis because he has already lost two elections while his closest leadership rival, MP Heather McPherson, is one of only a handful non-Conservative Albertans sitting in the House of Commons. There are three Liberals in Alberta, while the Conservatives hold 33 of the 37 seats.

Kinew did join other supporters on stage with Lewis after his victory was announced, and embraced the new leader.

Following the convention, Kinew said: “I just love Avi … and we don’t have to agree on everything to get big things done.”

Other NDP icons were not as effervescent.

Former Alberta premier Rachel Notley introduced McPherson to the convention with a passionate call for “realistic plans.” She focused on McPherson’s capacity to build bridges, in contrast with others.

Notley did not name Lewis, but the inference was there.

In the moments after Lewis’ victory, current Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi issued a statement making it very clear that his provincial party does not include Lewis.

“It is clear that the direction of the federal party, under this leader, someone who openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government, is not in the interest of Alberta,” Nenshi said.

Before Lewis won the leadership, former national NDP leader Tom Mulcair was equally critical, suggesting a Lewis landslide would create a “huge problem,” particularly his plan to shut down fossil fuel development.

Mulcair also criticized Lewis for his decision not to run in a byelection and get into the House as soon as possible.

Mulcair told CTV News that he has spoken to dozens of NDP supporters who are worried that Lewis’ radical positions on issues would likely cost them even more seats.

With only six members in the House, the NDP currently do not have party status and would lose their only Quebec member if Alexandre Boulerice quits the party to run in the provincial election for Quebec Solidaire, as he’s hinted.

The “winnability” factor did not appear to influence the voters at the convention.

Rob Ashton, the labour-endorsed candidate at the convention, ran a poor fourth, behind Indigenous social worker Tanille Johnston.

That was a shock because most observers thought labour would deliver more than the 5.91 per cent of the votes Ashton secured on the first ballot.

That number should be concerning for the party because past support in ridings across the country has depended on the involvement of labour workers and funding.

If only five per cent are active at the NDP’s national organizational level, it does not augur well for labour influence in a general election.

Canadians generally like to govern from the centre. Most electoral victories have been precipitated by the winning leader showing balance and moderation.

Lewis’ victory was not based on moderation, but on exploding the status quo. His call for an end to all fossil fuel extraction, coupled with the establishment of government-run groceries stores, is not going to sit well with the majority.

He will definitely bleed support from the Green Party, which is already on life support. But McPherson would have cut into Liberal support by attracting voters who see Carney as a more conservative-Liberal.

With Lewis, there is little chance that left-wing Liberals will move to his party. And that is bad news for the Conservatives.

The way Tories win in Ontario is by Liberals bleeding votes to the left. The split secures victory for the right. Probably the most disappointed leader following the Lewis victory was federal Conservative Pierre Poilievre.

On a sombre but serendipitous note, Lewis’ father, former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis, lived to see his son’s victory. The 88-year-old elder Lewis passed away less than 48 hours after the win was announced.

Avi Lewis is a third-generation NDP leader, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, federal leader David Lewis.

Lewis told the convention his grandfather predicted an NDP prime minister in the next generation, and his father the same. Lewis vowed that, with his victory, his own son will not have to wait.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Improving the lives of Canadians didn’t reward the NDP, but instead benefitted the Liberals. New Democrats have a lot of thinking ahead of them.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on September 8, 2025.

The New Democratic Party officially launched the call for its new leader last week.

The result will be announced in Winnipeg at the party’s national convention March 29, 2026.

Thus far, there are a few names floating around as potential candidates. One is current Edmonton MP Heather McPherson, and another is recent federal candidate Avi Lewis. Party activist Yves Engler has made it known that he plans to run.

Lewis has a solid political name in New Democratic circles as the son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis, and the grandson of federal leader David Lewis.

He is also married to Naomi Klein, an author and influencer in her own right. Klein and Lewis co-authored the “Leap Manifesto,” in 2015, proposing major changes to fight climate change, income inequality, racism and colonialism.

The NDP declined to endorse the manifesto at a national convention, punting the issue to local associations.

Lewis subsequently ran in two federal elections in different British Columbia seats. He came third in both races.

The situation facing the New Democrats is quite different today than it was a decade ago. At that point, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair had a shot at forming the government until he ended up going too far to the right and costing the party the 2015 election.

In the last Parliament, leader Jagmeet Singh tied his fortunes to building better social policy for the county, including the establishment of national dental care and a move toward more universal pharmacare.

His push for social equity actually ended up benefitting the Liberals, with their record achievements convincing some NDP voters to switch to the Liberals to prevent the election of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Liberals benefitted from the NDP’s work on social policy, and it cost the New Democrats dearly—electorally and financially.

The party’s election results earlier this year were deemed “an unmitigated disaster” by long-serving former New Democrat MP Charlie Angus.

The party lost official status—being reduced to seven seats—and the number of ridings that garnered 10 per cent of the vote has been reported to be fewer than 50 out of 343.

That means that at least 293 ridings will not be eligible for any refund of some of their spending based on a formula set out by the Canada Elections Act.

Not only will the party be looking for new ways to raise money, it will not benefit from the riding rebate that keeps many local organizations alive when their party is not in government.

Money will be an issue in the leadership campaign, and not only because the party is in financial trouble.

The NDP historically receives support from unions across the country. But during the last election campaign, that relationship seemed to be frayed, with the Conservatives managing to secure some support from LiUNA, representing construction labourers, Canada’s Building Trades, and the Ontario wing of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council.

Those unions are not as close to the New Democrats as the public sector unions, but there will be an internal debate on whether the party should move away from its dependence on union support.

While the New Democrats carry on an internal debate, with candidates required to enlist at least 500 supporters from five regions of the country in order to run, other parties will also be following the race closely.

The Conservatives need the New Democrats to get stronger in order to cut into the Liberal vote. And Liberals need to be careful that if they move too far to the right under Prime Minister Mark Carney, their left flank could be exposed to poaching from the NDP.

The prime minister is currently making the right moves on big projects, and getting lots of support from the business community.

But, at the end of the day, he needs support from the “elbows up” crowd: ordinary Canadians who love their country and believe that we are all in this together.

Those Canadians would be more likely to shift over to the New Democrats if they feel the Liberals are getting too cozy with big business. Their move to the left could put the Conservatives in government by splitting the centre-left vote in tight riding fights.

For the Tories to win, they need the New Democrats to be stronger, so expect much positive spin about the NDP from the Conservatives.

Liberals need to keep the NDP weak. The sad story for Singh is that he aligned with the government on public policy that ended up enhancing Canada’s social policy underpinnings.

Improving the lives of Canadians didn’t reward him. Instead, it benefitted the Liberals.

New Democrats have a lot of thinking ahead of them.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.