Avi Lewis must occupy the wide space on the centre-left that the Carney government has opened as it has shifted rightward in adopting key planks of the Conservative platform, writes Paul Moist. Photo courtesy Avi Lewis/Facebook.

“Avi Lewis is not afraid to ask and tackle the tough questions we face collectively. He has both the moral courage and the policy credentials that have the potential to add substance to the NDP. The party must embrace the opportunity that his candidacy represents.”

I wrote those words in these pages six years ago, as Lewis embarked upon the first of two unsuccessful bids for election to Parliament in both 2021 and last year.

He recently triumphed after a gruelling seven-month campaign, emerging as the first-ballot victor and the new leader of the federal NDP.

Full confession: I supported his bid for election in 2021 and marked my ballot in support of him as the new NDP leader. The stakes in 2026 are arguably much higher than they were five years ago, and the party starts from a diminished position, holding only six seats after suffering the worst electoral result in its 65-year history in the April 2025 general election.

The recent leadership campaign spoke volumes about the current state of the party. For the first time ever, the NDP was unable to attract experienced politicians. Only one candidate, Heather McPherson, was a sitting MP, and she has about six years’ experience. A poll on the eve of the convention revealed that almost half of over 1,000 respondents who had supported the NDP in recent elections did not recognize any of the candidates.

The leadership campaign did see membership almost double to about 100,000, but it did not garner much national attention in a political environment dominated by US tariffs and an uncertain economic future for our country.

As the campaign drew to a close, it was evident that Lewis had out-organized the rest. He raised $1.4 million—roughly equal to the combined total of all other candidates—and more than doubled his closest competitor, Heather McPherson, who raised $700,000.

It was also very clear in the final months of the campaign that this was, in fact, a two-person race. This was borne out in the voting results, with Lewis receiving 56 percent of the 71,000 total votes cast, compared to McPherson’s 29 percent. The other three candidates collectively received less than 15 percent of the vote.

Before turning to where Lewis might take the party forward, it is imperative to take a frank look at where the........

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