In March 2026, the New Democrats held a national leadership convention in Winnipeg to choose a new leader after the resignation of Jagmeet Singh. Avi Lewis from Toronto was chosen as the leader of the New Democrats. Consequently, Mr. Lewis became the voice of Canada’s most influential progressive movement. The NDP has influenced Canada’s politics since the 1950s by giving a strong voice to progressive Canadians. In addition, Connor John Molinaux, a University of Calgary Master of Arts student, defines the NDP as the social conscience of Canada because the political organization has a true commitment to improving society for the better. Even though the New Democrats never took power at the national level, they formed governments in 6 provinces and in one territory. Avi Lewis easily won the NDP leadership race with 56% of the vote in a preferential voting system. Avi Lewis comes from a family deeply rooted in the NDP movement; Lewis is the grandson of David Lewis, former federal NDP leader in the early 1970s, and he is the son of Stephen Lewis, former Ontario NDP leader and famous diplomat and humanitarian. Avi Lewis is a Canadian filmmaker, journalist, and activist. Above all, Avi Lewis is a true social democrat, but he might be seen by some people as a democratic socialist. As a new leader, Avi Lewis needs to rebuild the New Democratic Party because it lost most of its seats in the last 10 years. The NDP lost its official party status after a defeat in the 2025 federal elections caused by the poor performance of its leader and the revival of the Liberal Party under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
To begin with, Canada’s path to progressive reforms has influenced Canadian politics for more than 60 years. This Party was made by the merger of the Canadian Labour Congress and the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in 1961. The CCF government of Tommy Douglas created the first universal hospitalization insurance in Canada in the 1950s which is considered as the predecessor of Canada’s universal healthcare insurance. Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas was awarded the title of Canada’s Greatest Canadian by CBC in 2004 because of his initiative to create Canada’s first healthcare system in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas fought for his fellow citizens to get access to free medical care; the premier was convinced that Medicare should be free and available to everyone. In 1947, the CCF government adopted Canada’s first Bill of Rights to give rights and freedoms to every Saskatchewanian; this was the first human right legislation in North America which pushed Canada to become a World leader in human rights. In short, the CCF Party, NDP’s predecessor, revolutionized Canadian politics by enabling progressive change in Canada for the better and by showing that there was a political path for progressive and social democratic movements in Canada. Later Tommy Douglas created the New Democratic Party to bring change to Ottawa and he succeeded in establishing democratic socialism in Canadian politics.[1] In 1961, Tommy Douglas and several social democratic supporters founded the New Democratic Party of Canada based on progressive ideas and policies.
As a result, Avi Lewis is going to build his leadership based on NDP’s strong progressive history and culture. Thus, the new leader needs to re-build the NDP with strong social democratic foundations and political history. At the NDP National Convention in Winnipeg, Avi Lewis told supporters that the “NDP is back now”. Avi Lewis will work hard to bring back the NDP as a strong progressive political force in Ottawa. The new leadership will challenge the liberals on their conservative policies despite the fact they ran progressive campaigns in the past. Avi Lewis told members at the NDP convention that he will unite the party. He will fight back the liberals on the Canadian political stage. Avi Lewis wants to get things done in Ottawa; he will work hard to get true results for Canadians. Avi Lewis campaigned seven months throughout the nation to meet Canadians to learn about their needs and aspirations. He told supporters that he favours policies that would make tech giants pay their share of income tax, to make wireless phone providers serve better Canadians, etc. In addition, Lewis envisions a Canada built on fairness and compassion. Lewis criticized the Liberals for spending $500 billion in the arms race within a decade; the NDP leader does not want that Canada becomes a military superpower and he strongly opposes Mark Carney’s military policies. As well, the New Democratic leader intends to protect the public service from liberal cuts. Lewis will fight against the building of pipelines to protect the environment. He will encourage public ownership for food, phones, and Internet. Building more non-market homes to support social housing is at the core of the Lewis housing plan. He sees nation building through public healthcare, education, childcare, etc. If elected as Prime Minister, Lewis will integrate mental healthcare, dental care, eye care, and medicine as part of Canada’s universal public healthcare system. An NDP government will pay for its promises by taxing the banks, oil companies, billionaires, and large corporations. Lewis views the NDP as the Canadian party working for the 99% of the population. During Avi Lewis convention speech, there was a clear new energy in the NDP’s approach while still reminding NDP strong social foundation built by Tommy Douglas and his commitment to helping low-income and middle-class Canadians with social housing, free healthcare, free education, and the need to protect the environment.
Finally, Avi Lewis talked about the kitchen table, the strong social democratic foundation of the NDP, progressive reforms for housing, education, telecommunication, and childcare. The 2026 NDP Convention succeeded to show a revival in the spirit of the NDP and that the NDP is back in the Canadian political stage despite having a limited number of seats in the House of Commons. Avi Lewis would like to bring competition in the grocery, oil, wireless communication, and banking industries. Avi Lewis distrusts big corporations. Lewis advocates that Canada becomes a leader in the protection of the environment. Besides, an NDP government could end free trade deals. He sees the NDP party as the party for the Canadian workers. He will introduce a wealth tax to subsidize his social programs. In sum, Avi Lewis’ leadership will bring back the core social democratic values and dreams to the NDP.
August 20, 2026
References
McKeow Tube. (2014, August 12). Greatest Canadian: Tommy Douglas [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4_v2701GMg
de Bruin, T., & Lovick, L. D. (2024, January 5). Tommy Douglas. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tommy-douglas
New Democratic Party (NDP): History, Structure, & Policies — Provides a high-level overview of the party's regional bases in the West and Ontario.
Boyko, J. (2020, September 8). Saskatchewan Bill of Rights. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/saskatchewan-bill-of-rights
New Democratic Party of Canada. (2026). NDP Convention 2026. https://convention.ndp.ca/
New Democratic Party of Canada. (2026). About Avi Lewis. https://www.ndp.ca/about-avi-lewis
CTV Your Morning. (2026, April 9). How NDP Leader Avi Lewis Will Rebuild the Party | Your Morning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyxEn4rx09s
Lewis, A. (2025, September 19). Why I’m running for NDP leader [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVy99oiYszY
BBC News. (2026, March 29). Avi Lewis elected leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd74q2nqp0o
Desplanques, A. C. (2026, February 24). Québec solidaire est une option «normale et naturelle» pour Alexandre Boulerice. Le Journal de Montréal. https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2026/02/24/alexandre-boulerice--quebec-solidaire-est-une-option-normale-et-naturelle