Lewis steps into shoes of his grandfather, David Lewis, who led the party in the 1970s.
By: Darren Major · CBC News
Newly named NDP leader Avi Lewis promised to bring back the party from the political wilderness after its dismal showing in last year’s federal election.
“The NDP will start winning again because we will become that beacon to the 99 per cent — illuminating the darkening sky of these terrifying times with the energizing light of collectivism,” he said at the convention in Winnipeg on Sunday, after it was announced he had won the months-long leadership contest.
Lewis came out on top of a field of five leadership candidates that included Alberta MP Heather McPherson, union leader Rob Ashton, farmer Tony McQuail and social worker and municipal councillor Tanille Johnston. The new leader invited his fellow candidates on the stage after it was announced that he had won decisively on the first ballot in the ranked-ballot contest, garnering 56 per cent of the votes. All five candidates hugged on stage as the crowd broke out into “NDP!” chants.
The activist and filmmaker steps into a role once held by his grandfather, David Lewis, who led the New Democratic Party from 1971 to 1975. His father, Stephen Lewis, is a former leader of the Ontario NDP. Avi Lewis is now the third Jewish person to lead a federal party — his grandfather was the first.
During his speech on Sunday, Lewis recounted how his father once told him something that was passed down from his grandfather.
“David said, ‘Son, not in my lifetime, but maybe in yours.’ And recently my dad told me the same thing,” Lewis said. “I refuse to tell that to my kid. We cannot wait another generation, we’ve got to start winning now.”
Before getting into documentary filmmaking, Lewis had a broadcasting career with a number of media outlets, including MuchMusic, Citytv and CBC. Lewis was largely viewed as the front-runner going into the convention, having raised more money than his competitors. The new leader galvanized his supporters, holding numerous rallies across the country over the past few months. At a rally in Winnipeg on Thursday, one attendee said he hadn’t felt this excited since Ed Broadbent was leading the party.
The New Democratic Party’s internal elections for the national executive, held Saturday, also signalled that this was Lewis’s race to lose as a slate closely aligned with the new leader swept the top posts.
Niall Ricardo was elected president, former MP Libby Davies is the new vice-president and Keira Gunn won the treasurer post. All were backing Lewis in the leadership campaign, meaning he already has allies at the top level of the party.
Source: cbc.ca/news/politics
Avi Lewis himself is a former CBC host, a professor and a hard-left activist in Canada. He came out swinging with pointed criticisms against Prime Minister Mark Carney and against the war in Iran.
Lewis also called for nationalization and state ownership of many industries in Canada – “food, phone and internet” as well as home-building and construction – to “Trump-proof” the economy.
The modern NDP is very radical and indeed anti-Canadian. As Candice pointed out on X, they didn’t even have a Canadian flag on stage. But they did have a Palestine flag. Wow. Source: mail.google.com/mail
CJPME congratulates Avi Lewis for winning the election to become leader of the NDP. Lewis is a longtime supporter of the Palestine solidarity movement from a socialist, anti-Zionist Jewish tradition.
For the first time, a major federal party will be led by a supporter of the Palestinian-led call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). This is a major step forward for pro-Palestine advocacy at the federal level.
Source: Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
