Battling against Avi Lewis will also help conservative premiers, such as Alberta’s Danielle Smith and Ontario’s Doug Ford. Whether federal or provincial, nothing excites conservative bases more than fighting the hard left.
A truly populist message of policies that would benefit the working class could reshuffle the Canadian political landscape.
Avi Lewis is unlikely to become prime minister any time soon. But the new NDP leader wants to urgently jump-start our transition from oil to green technologies with the new revenues and jobs they promise. Pragmatist-in-chief, Prime Minister Mark Carney, made similar arguments before he became a politician. These are not ‘crazy’ ideas.
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.
The NDP’s ‘one member, one vote’ system raises questions about accountability and whether Lewis voters will ‘stick around’ in the party beyond his leadership, says professor Lori Turnbull.
The NDP leader is pushing for ‘a public network for food, phones, and internet.’ Political dynamics will make it hard to achieve, say politicos, and even those fighting for a more accessible industry wonder if the idea is realistic.
As long as these Pierre Poilievre-driven dynamics remain in place, the NDP seems destined to be squeezed out in two-party Liberal-Conservative contests.
The mocking responses of the Establishment to Avi Lewis’ win belie their divorce from the realities of Canadians not in their socioeconomic class.
The NDP elected Avi Lewis to lead the party through its next chapter on March 29 in Winnipeg.
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.
A dispatch from the third day of the NDP leadership convention in Winnipeg.
At a packed church in downtown Winnipeg, Avi Lewis supporters said they typically steer clear of endorsing politicians, but are showing up for the activist and filmmaker because he’s not a politician.
A battle is brewing with the provincial parties and, thus far, the NDP leadership candidate has shown little interest in compromise or respectful disagreement.
The Liberal’s newest MP appeared at a campaign event for Avi Lewis only days before crossing the floor. There’s a ‘big gap’ between Lewis and the prime minister’s policies, says former MP Matthew Dubé.
NDP leadership candidate Avi Lewis said the party is ‘allowed to have differences on specific issues,’ and facing criticism from Rob Ashton, warned they should avoid ‘doing our opponent’s work.’
Five New Democrats are in the running to be the party’s next leader, but three are securing the most public support: Heather McPherson, Avi Lewis, and Rob Ashton
