{"id":569895,"date":"2026-03-30T03:03:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/569895\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T03:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:03:08","slug":"new-ndp-leader-avi-lewis-faces-a-complex-political-dynamic-in-rebuilding-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/569895\/","title":{"rendered":"New NDP Leader Avi Lewis faces a complex political dynamic in rebuilding party"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Avi Lewis, left, who was proclaimed as the new Leader of the NDP, celebrates with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew at the party convention in Winnipeg on March 29.JOHN WOODS\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre<\/a> said they\u2019re looking forward to working with new NDP<\/a> Leader Avi Lewis, though provincial NDP leaders appeared split on their desire to do the same.<\/p>\n

The responses to Mr. Lewis\u2019s decisive first-ballot victory Sunday highlight the complex political dynamic he faces. <\/p>\n

His rejection of resource development could turn traditional provincial NDP allies into enemies, while at the national level, neither the Liberals nor Conservatives want to alienate New Democratic supporters who came to their respective parties in the past election. <\/p>\n

It will make Mr. Lewis\u2019s effort to rebuild his party a challenging one, said pollster Nik Nanos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at a moment in time where I think for average Canadians, they think the stakes are exceptionally high, just because of what we\u2019re dealing with south of the border,\u201d said Mr. Nanos, the founder of Nanos Research.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoting for a party other than the two front-runners in this environment is a bit of a luxury.\u201d<\/p>\n

NDP elects Avi Lewis as new federal leader<\/a><\/p>\n

In statements Sunday, both Mr. Carney and Mr. Poilievre congratulated the NDP Leader. The Prime Minister said he looked forward to speaking with him on how they can deliver for Canadians, while Mr. Poilievre said he would work with Mr. Lewis to hold the Carney Liberals to account. <\/p>\n

Both of their parties benefited in the April election last year from voters who rejected the NDP. The party lost 17 of its 24 seats and leader Jagmeet Singh resigned. <\/p>\n

It was a stunning reversal of fortunes; in 2011, then-NDP leader Jack Layton led the party to Official Opposition status when he won 103 seats. <\/p>\n

Mr. Nanos said Mr. Lewis has lessons to take from Mr. Layton\u2019s Quebec breakthrough, a province where the NDP is now not a factor at all. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the NDP have been more relevant, they\u2019ve had a regional base,\u201d Mr. Nanos said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis may be the lesson for the NDP: To be relevant, they need a leader that can build a regional base.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell Clark: The NDP ponders a leap with Avi Lewis<\/a><\/p>\n

The federal and provincial wings of the NDP have historically been intertwined, sharing political operations and memberships and that\u2019s helped with regional support.<\/p>\n

But response at the provincial level Sunday was mixed. <\/p>\n

B.C.\u2019s NDP Premier, David Eby congratulated Mr. Lewis but reiterated his province\u2019s plan to boost jobs in mining, resources and tech \u2013 three sectors Mr. Lewis has criticized. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur priority is lifting up working people and growing prosperity,\u201d said Mr. Eby in a statement.<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck revealed that she declined to meet with Mr. Lewis because of his position against resource development. <\/p>\n

And Alberta\u2019s NDP Leader, Naheed Nenshi, said Mr. Lewis\u2019s victory signals that the direction of the federal party is not in the interests of his province. <\/p>\n

Lawrence Martin: The NDP has become a party of puppy dogs<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Lewis told CBC after his win that his door is always open to provincial leaders.<\/p>\n

In Ottawa, the Liberals have in recent years routinely leaned on the NDP to back them on key votes, ensuring that their minority governments could survive. <\/p>\n

But that too could change. <\/p>\n

If the Liberals win all three April by-elections, they\u2019d have 173 seats and clear control of the House of Commons, so they wouldn\u2019t need another party\u2019s support. <\/p>\n

Mr. Lewis doesn\u2019t have a seat in the House and has said he\u2019s not in a hurry to get there. <\/p>\n

Of the seven NDP MPs elected last year, one, Lori Idlout, has since decamped to the Liberals. One of the candidates in the April by-elections for the Liberals is a former NDP MPP from Ontario. <\/p>\n

For their part, the Conservatives used to routinely attack the NDP for working with the Liberals, but those days might be over. <\/p>\n

Conservative strategist Jenni Byrne said there\u2019s no point in doing that.<\/p>\n

Mr. Lewis does not represent a threat to the support that Mr. Poilievre has built inside the labour movement, she said, because the NDP Leader isn\u2019t talking about what matters \u2013 cost of living and affordability \u2212 and he\u2019s also alienating unionized workers in the resource sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom where I sit, I think that the NDP has picked a path, and I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s a path that\u2019s going to sustain them as a party,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Avi Lewis, left, who was proclaimed as the new Leader of the NDP,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44,714],"class_list":["post-569895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}