The NDP’s media breakthrough

This is a good lesson for communication strategists trying to garner media attention for a client: if you want to make news, either pick a fight or raise lots of money.
NDP leadership contender Rob Ashton, left, recently proved that starting a fight can lead to media coverage after he accused Avi Lewis, right, of undermining provincial NDP governments, Gerry Nicholls writes. The Hill Times photograph by Stuart Benson
Opinion
BY GERRY NICHOLLS
February 23, 2026

OAKVILLE, ONT.—For the most part, the federal New Democratic Party's ongoing leadership race hasn’t made much of a media splash, but it did recently generate some interesting headlines.

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