NDP tent ‘big enough’ to manage differences, Lewis says as some Prairie leaders add distance after resounding win

The self-described democratic socialist is pledging party unity, but fissures are already apparent as Alberta and Saskatchewan NDP leaders quickly criticized the new leader’s position on fossil fuels.

New NDP Leader Avi Lewis won 56 per cent of the votes in the NDP leadership race, enough to win on the first ballot on March 29.The Hill Times photograph by Matthew Merkel

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BY ELEANOR WAND, MARLO GLASS

March 29, 2026

WINNIPEG—A crowd of tearful supporters joined Avi Lewis as he took the stage as NDP leader for the first time to address the party faithful after a resounding electoral victory at the party’s convention on Sunday morning.

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