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Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis is calling for cooperation despite a growing public rift with Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck over fossil fuel policy.<\/p>\n
In an interview with CBC\u2019s Power and Politics on Monday, Lewis emphasized shared priorities, even as Beck has criticized his opposition to new fossil fuel development.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s work together on grocery prices, let\u2019s work together on housing, let\u2019s work together on finishing Tommy Douglas\u2019s dream of head-to-toe public health care,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
At the same time, he made it clear he will not back away from his position on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been consistent on these policies,” he said. “We have a massive mandate from the federal NDP base, so reversing myself would just be weird.”<\/p>\n
Lewis acknowledged differences across the party, saying \u201cthere are going to be some points of friction,\u201d but made reference to a meeting he had with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who told him they didn’t have to agree on everything to accomplish their goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur tent is growing. It\u2019s a good sign that we have healthy democratic debate in our party,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n
Beck, meanwhile, is holding firm, saying she is focused on issues in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on Monday, she declined to expand on her open letter issued on Saturday, in which she criticized Lewis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re focused on the people of this province, on providing choice, an alternative,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n
Her party is \u201claser focused on providing practical solutions that apply here in this province that are going to ensure jobs, affordability, a bright future for people in this province,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Premier Scott Moe, speaking to reporters after question period on Monday, said the provincial and federal NDP have similar goals and share the same mandate. He also criticized Lewis, calling him \u201cone of the more radical left-wing leaders\u201d the party has elected and accusing his policies of threatening Saskatchewan\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat this new NDP leader is bent on doing is actually destroying half of the economy, and then nationalizing the other half,\u201d Moe said.<\/p>\n
‘It’s a smart move on her part,’ expert says<\/p>\n
Observers say the divide reflects deeper political realities in Saskatchewan, and competing ideas about how the NDP should position themselves.<\/p>\n
Raymond Blake, a history professor at the University of Regina, said the split is not surprising in a province where resource industries are central to the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saskatchewan NDP is very much looking to win support in a province where oil and gas all matter and matter greatly,\u201d Blake said. \u201cShe really had very little options other than to distance herself from them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blake said while historically the NDP has represented the “conscience” of a nation, that doesn’t usually translate to success in forming government or being a party-in-waiting. <\/p>\n
“I think Carla Beck probably learned from the last election that it’s the bread and butter issues that get people excited around election time,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s a smart move on her part.”<\/p>\n
WATCH | Will Avi Lewis’ leadership revive or break the NDP?:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775007494_489_default.jpg\")
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Will Avi Lewis’s leadership revive or break the NDP?<\/p>\n
The federal NDP selected Avi Lewis as its new leader on Sunday, drawing immediate criticism from the Alberta and Saskatchewan NDP as they attacked Lewis for past comments and his stance on fossil fuels. Lewis joins Power & Politics to defend his policies and his vision for restoring a caucus reduced to six seats. Plus, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson defends his nationwide progress on housing despite what he calls a ‘challenged’ Ontario market.<\/p>\n
Emily Eaton, a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the U of R, said the provincial party is taking a defensive stance rather than defining its own position.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re sort of anticipating the [Saskatchewan Party] attacks, and trying to say, ‘No, we’re not them,'” Eaton said. “They\u2019re really worried about their image and their reputation.”<\/p>\n
Beck wrote in the open letter that Lewis’s position on fossil fuels was “antithetical to the values of a party built with and for working people,” but Eaton said that framing leans on a long-standing narrative that fossil fuels are essential to Saskatchewan\u2019s economy, which has been reinforced by the Saskatchewan Party and industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NDP provincially has a long history of pushing back against that narrative and saying actually there is another way,\u201d Eaton said. <\/p>\n
Lewis’s campaign tapped into the energy of younger voters focused on affordability and climate action, the provincial NDP has not been able to replicate, Eaton said.<\/p>\n
“We can harness these resources for our own well-being, and here I think they’ve really failed to do so.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":574130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-574129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574129","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=574129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/574130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}