In the closing days of the NDP leadership race, Avi Lewis’s past activism has resurfaced. But the front-runner’s campaign is standing by his past work and a decade-old vision that’s been both criticized within the New Democrats’ ranks and weaponized by their opponents.
Lewis’s campaign is deflecting criticism after an old video was shared on social media this week of the leadership hopeful and his wife seemingly poking fun at the Alberta NDP.
Critics of Lewis argue he helped contribute to the demise of Rachel Notley’s government when he crashed the 2016 federal New Democrat convention with a controversial policy paper: the Leap Manifesto.
Lewis’s campaign spokesperson Donya Ziaee accuses other campaigns of “manufacturing division” and “dredging up old debates.”
The NDP is criticizing a potential leader for… Checks notes… Being against fossil fuels and global warming??..
This smells like the Bernie Sanders leadership run. They’re going to twist everything to put in a moderate center candidate… I’d be surprised if they keep any seats at all by the end of this.
Avi Lewis is CLEARLY the only viable NDP candidate. Even if you look only at fundraising efforts. He’s DOUBLED the next runner up. The NDP is flat broke, if they pick a leader purely for the ability to raise enough money for a successful electoral campaign and ignore ideology altogether the winner is STILL Avi Lewis.
Ideologically if they pick a candidate who WON’T stand against climate change then there is no future for the NDP in this country. We already have the “pro-fossil fuel” party and the “it would be nice to stop polluting, but we really like oil money” party… If you don’t pick an alternative position that separates you from the others, why would anyone vote for you? The NDP is going to run as “Liberals lite” and be shocked when all the liberals vote Liberal and all the leftists stay home because there is no leftist party anymore.
Maybe the greens will smarten up and become a viab… Sorry I can’t finish that sentence and remain serious about a party with one seat and two leaders.
I agree. As much as I liked Jack Layton as a person his move towards centrist bothered me to no end.
I want the NDP of old … the one that fought for and brought in universal healthcare.
I want a medium-to-far left federal government that gives a shit about everyone, not just the rich cunts who do nothing to help us be better.