New Leader Avi Lewis Vows to Rebuild the NDP

Avi Lewis promises to take the federal New Democratic Party in a bold new direction, characterized by climate-forward and economic populist policies.

The activist documentarian won the federal NDP leadership race with approximately 56 per cent of the vote, gathering 39,466 out of 70,930 valid votes — nearly double the number of votes of the next candidate, Heather McPherson.

Lewis, often seen as the farthest left of all five candidates, won decisively on a platform that included expanding universal health care, transitioning off fossil fuels, and publicly funded affordability measures such as government-owned grocery stores.

He will replace former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and helm the New Democrats during a historic low for the party.

The party has six MPs and does not hold official party status — a far cry from 2011’s “orange wave” that saw former leader Jack Layton steer the NDP to an all-time high of 103 seats and the official Opposition.

“The NDP will start winning again,” Lewis said in his victory speech Sunday. “This is about all of us coming together to find our place and our power in the thrilling work of building a shared future, a government that works for the many, not the money.”

Now, Lewis will have to rebuild the party, win a seat in government and find ways to pass legislation while the Liberal Party of Canada looms two seats shy of a majority government.

David McGrane, a politics professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said Lewis’s challenges will also include uniting the party and reconciling with provincial New Democrats despite his polarizing climate policies.

“He has a past of being known as more left-wing than any other candidate, and that follows him into the leadership race,” McGrane said. “It's going to be interesting to see how he deals with that. People are going to bring up his past. That's fair game politics.”

Lewis’s decisive victory was announced Sunday at the NDP convention in Winnipeg. He beat Edmonton Strathcona MP McPherson, labour leader Rob Ashton, social worker and Campbell River Coun. Tanille Johnston and organic farmer Tony McQuail.

In his victory speech, Lewis included a call for Canada to recognize Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide and for an end to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

“We need a government that doesn't just talk about Canadian values on the world stage,” he said. “We need one that acts with moral clarity when it matters, when missiles are falling on schools and hospitals.”

Lewis’s victory speech also paid tribute to his grandfather David Lewis, who helped found the NDP and lead its precursor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, and his father Stephen Lewis, who led the Ontario NDP before Brian Mulroney appointed him to be Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations.

The new leader’s platform includes climate policies, progressive taxation, social spending and creating a slate of publicly owned corporations to address affordability.

His policy proposals include a national cap on rents, free public transit and a public builder to construct one million social, co-op, non-profit or supportive homes.

To break up corporate monopolies, Lewis wants to create a new publicly owned grocer, telecom provider and pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Lewis also wants a one per cent wealth tax on the one per cent richest Canadians, and for the government to include optical, dental and mental health care in universal health care.

“Our country needs a vision to guide the path we take, one that makes us safer and more secure, one shaped by values shared by most Canadians, fairness, compassion, equality, international solidarity and love for the natural world,” he said.

He has also proposed a “Green New Deal” for Canada that includes putting heat pumps in every home, investing in free public transit and electric buses and a tariff on fossil fuel exports to the United States.

The University of Saskatchewan’s McGrane said that while Lewis’s victory speech centred on his economic populist messaging, his climate advocacy took a back seat. McGrane said that’s likely because his focus on transitioning away from fossil fuels is a sore spot for some provincial wings of the party.

“He has taken stances that have been interpreted in Saskatchewan and Alberta as being anti-oil or anti-pipeline,” McGrane said. “That possibly endangers the livelihoods of people in Saskatchewan and Alberta, so that's a sore spot.”

In 2016, Lewis spearheaded an effort to have the party adopt the Leap Manifesto, a series of political proposals that would see Canada transition off fossil fuels.

The effort was strongly opposed by the Alberta wing of the party, and former premier Rachel Notley spoke out against the manifesto.

Lewis’s win has already caused discontent in that province. Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi spoke out against the new federal leader on Facebook minutes after Lewis’s victory was announced.

“It is clear that the direction of the federal party under this new leader, someone who openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government, is not in the interests of Alberta,” Nenshi said. “We believe in Alberta and we believe in Canadian energy and the good jobs it creates.”

But some provincial NDP leaders are welcoming Lewis. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew appeared onstage with the new federal leader, and Lewis later met with Kinew to discuss "shared priorities and their plans for working together."

Despite Lewis’s controversial past, he was the clear favourite heading into this weekend, McGrane said.

The new leader fundraised more than double the next candidate. Elections Canada interim campaign returns show he raised $1.2 million from more than 10,400 contributors.

McPherson raised $560,000 from more than 3,800 contributors, while labour leader Rob Ashton raised nearly $360,000 in contributions from more than 2,000 supporters. Johnston raised over $191,000 from more than 1,500 supporters and McQuail raised over $112,000 from more than 800.

Now, Lewis will have to win a seat in the House of Commons. It’s unclear where he plans to run, but he has in the past campaigned on B.C.’s West Coast.

He ran as an NDP candidate in the last two general elections, though he failed to win a seat in either the riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country in 2021 or Vancouver Centre in 2025.

The new leader will also have to step up to the goal of rebuilding the party, interim leader Don Davies said during a speech ahead of the leadership announcement.

“We must commit to one overriding goal to win government in Canada,” Davies said. “Because the people we represent — those who need our help, the voiceless, the forgotten, the abused, those who work hard for a living but never get ahead — are counting on us.”

The 2025 federal election — during which climate and social issues took a back seat to affordability and the looming threat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies and repeated verbal threats to Canada’s sovereignty — was the NDP’s worst election loss in decades.

The party lost 17 of its 25 seats and official party status in that election, and former leader Singh stepped down on election night after losing his riding in Burnaby.

The NDP lost another seat last month when Nunavut MP Lori Idlout crossed the floor, joining the Liberal Party of Canada. Idlout’s decision came after three Conservative MPs — Chris d’Entremont, Michael Ma and Matt Jeneroux — also crossed the floor to join the Liberals.

The NDP came out of the 2025 election with about 6.3 per cent of the vote. But polling near the end of March suggests the party may have gained a couple of points since.

A March 23 Liaison Strategies poll of 1,000 Canadians shows the NDP held the support of about nine per cent of respondents. Meanwhile, a March 24 Nanos Research poll of 1,000 Canadians put party support at 11.5 per cent.

The leadership campaign has also bolstered party members. NDP national director Lucy Watson previously told The Tyee the party currently has about 100,000 members — up from about 60,000 when the leadership race began.

Lewis said in his victory speech he plans to keep up the momentum from his campaign and rebuild the party.

“Canada, mark your calendar,” Lewis said. “The NDP comeback starts now.”