It’s very sad. The federal party that once championed the hopes and beliefs of the majority of middle and working class Canadians has now completed its transition to just being the fringe voice of far left revolutionery activists, anti-business obstructionists and environmental extremists.
Not a formula for electoral victory these days ANYWHERE in Canada!
The three generations of former NDP leaders and stalwart party supporters who worked tirelessly to achieve their dream of an NDP federal government saw it all cast aside Sunday … in favour of an extreme radical left ideologue.
The party chose Avi Lewis, broadcaster and film maker as its new leader, replacing Jagmeet Singh, who led the party to disastrous results in the last federal election.
Lewis, 58, is the grandson of former NDP federal leader David Lewis and son of former NDP Ontario leader Stephen Lewis.
Lewis has opposed any new fossil fuel developments or pipelines, would end all subsidies to the energy sector, would somehow prioritise worker rights in the age of artificial intelligence, would introduce a new wealth tax, would cut military spending, advocates proportional representation over the current voting system, and would establish a taxpayer-owned grocery chain.
I personally cannot see how these policies would do anything to increase investment/development/economic growth/jobs/revenues in Canada … or boost the party’s appeal to the working middle class, especially those in the construction, high tech, business or resource sector/unions.
Looks to me like the armchair socialist NDP delegates, who chose Lewis on the very first ballot, totally ignored the LOUD MESSAGE Canadian voters sent the party in the last federal vote.
“They nabbed just 6.3 per cent of the popular vote, their worst result since the NDP’s founding back in 1961. They were reduced to seven seats in the House of Commons, also a record low. They lost official party status – 12 MPs are needed – then lost their leader, Jagmeet Singh, who failed to win his B.C. riding,” the Globe and Mail pointed out.
I believe the selection of Lewis … and the policies he has enunciated … will make things even worse, rendering the federal NDP almost irrelevant to middle class working Canadians.
Tommy Douglas, Ed Broadbent, Jack Layton, even Singh must be weeping in their beer!
In fact, even some current NDP leaders have already raised concerns.
“The positions that you have expressed publicly in this leadership race, and in your prior interactions with the New Democratic Party, are antithetical to the values of a party built with and for working people,” Saskatchewan NDP Opposition Leader Beck lamented un a letter to Lewis.
“Beck, in a letter sent this morning, said (Lewis’s) opposition to fossil fuel development is “ideological and unrealistic” and “would hurt Saskatchewan workers, communities, and industries,” the Toronto Star reported. (Read the full story here: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/ndp-leadership-vote-results-live-updates/article_bd59f61f-1628-4747-8917-4553a1dcaa93.html.)
Alberta NDP Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi is quoted in the same article: “it is clear that the direction of the federal party under this new leader, someone who openly cheered for the defeat of the Alberta NDP government, is not in the interests of Alberta.”
“Albertans deserve federal leaders who understand the importance of Alberta and our essential role in the federation,” Nenshi wrote.
“Former NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said Lewis’s rigid position on fossil fuels will make the NDP unelectable in many remote communities that rely on resource industries as their economic base,” the National Post reported.
“We know that the NDP could win in Vancouver and Toronto. But what would happen to the West of Canada, in Quebec, in East, in North? That’s the challenge for Avi,” NDP Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew told the media.
Just last week, an Angus Reid survey of past NDP voters … get that, past NDP voters … found “fully one-quarter … say the party is irrelevant (24%). More say its best days are in the past (40%).”
Yikes!
And that was before the party chose a radical left extremist for its new leader.
Harv Oberfeld
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The irony with Avi Lewis is that his Leap Manifesto back in 2015 actually hurt the NDP. It reminded many people of the Communist Manifesto and of the many radicals in the party who didn’t agree with Tom Mulcair’s attempts to make the party more moderate. Avi Lewis is full of criticism for Tom Mulcair, but at least he had a seat in parliament and could win in Quebec. That might not be the case today. It will be interesting to see when Avi Lewis attempts to win a seat in the House of Commons.
(Response: When I refer to Lewis as a “loser” I am referring to more than his two election losses: he also has been quoted as dissing Mulcair, but embracing Singh for “advice”. Geez!!! He should check the records: it was Singh, not Mulcair who brought the NDP it’s worst election results in modern history! And then there’s the damage the “Leap” manifesto and its extremist agenda that damaged the party so badly among voters. Clearly the fact delegates chose Lewis indicates they thought the rest were even worse… or, as I suspect, the party has been almost fully taken over by extreme leftists, activists … not the formula for victory in Canada today. Ho)
I recall when I thought Jack Layton might be our next prime minister. I realise he was quite charismatic but have any of the recent people who ran in the NDP race ever take the time to check why he was so popular and try to base their campaigns on some of his platforms that might apply today? Our wants and needs have not changed that much since then. They’ve only become more dire.
I find it so ironic that Eby is now in the same boat as the mad man down south, trying to back pedal his way out of a situation that he created himself.
(Response: Nit only Layton: Broadbent, Mulcair also seemed to have their fingers on the pulse of ordinary middle class Canadians… at least more than Singh and Lewis. Why? Because it was a different party back then: the elitists in the universities, media, environmental extremists First Nations panderers, the CBC/arts community and far left radicals had not yet taken over the party completely as they seem to now have. The emphasis of the federal NDP now is to change the nation, not serve it and I really doubt that philosophy will prove a winner. Ho)
The Federal NDP wallows in it’s own self importance.
‘Damn the votes, full steam ahead!”
They are so far Left it makes the Liberals look like financially responsible bankers.
If the federal NDP want to fight the good fight long after everyone else has left the stadium.
So be it.
Perhaps they’ll finally figure it out when even the Unions want nothing to do with their amateur hour Equality, Green, shrieking.
Lack of money tends to focus even the most stalwart of political buffons.
(Response: It will be really interesting to see how Canada‘s union’s react to the new ideas. Put forward by Lewis. Some of the more radical unions (CUPE/CUPW) might go along … but I suspect the majority will not. Ho)
Naivete: “It’s as if they place their own ideological dream catching ahead of any practicality for the party… kind of a selfish pursuit … or so out of touch with the lives of ordinary voters.”
Do you need to be reminded of Trump and dozens of messiahs elected in recent history. Most of those who choose our leaders are operating with out of touch selfish pursuit.
(Response: Actually, Trump offered something quite different than Lewis ever would: he promised to cut taxes, make tips tax free, lower the price of gas, seal the border, etc. Of course, he failed on most of those… but I can’t envision Lewis even promising those! Ho)
Their convention was more of a comedy show – the type you’d see on CBC posing as drama. If this is what they have to offer to middle class Canadians, then I’d say they certainly missed their mark. They are also the laughing stock of the rest of the world, but they don’t see it that way. So sad, this is not the party of Tommy Douglas, not even close. They should fold into the green party and disappear completely.
(Response: You have to wonder what goes through the mind of delegates to these conventions, when they choose someone they must know deep down, has no hope in hell of ever becoming even official opposition leader, let alone Prime Minister. It’s as if they place their own ideological dream catching ahead of any practicality for the party… kind of a selfish pursuit … or so out of touch with the lives of ordinary voters. Ho)
It was in the cards Avi would win going by the pre vote polls and fundraising, but had anyone in the NDP party voters given thought to his electability, ? judging by the margin he won by if they had it wasn’t a factor in where they put the X.
When he ran federally in 2011 in the West Van – Sea to Sky riding he was 3rd with 26% of the vote, 2025 in Vancouver Centre, 3rd with 12.5 % of the vote. He isn’t in a rush to get a seat in Parliament, so A) will he run if the first opportunity arises, B) wait it out until the right opportunity arises, or C) convince one of the 6 remaining M.P.s to take a dive.? Given his previous poor showings, would he get enough votes to win in A or B, and would the party be taking a big chance with option C losing one more seat, as I’m not convinced what is an NDP seat now wouldn’t go Liberal in a by – election, special or otherwise, despite who was running.
I voted NDP last time – not for the party or leader but for an excellent effective M.P to continue to have a seat in the house. If that M.P. wasn’t on the ballot in any scenario I would probably vote liberal as the world has changed and so has the liberal party.
Although she came a distant second in the leadership race, Heather McPherson would have been the safer choice. The M.P. for Edmonton – Strathcona since 2019 so she has won two Federal elections in Alberta and would have instant street cred in western Canada, wouldn’t be at the end of a ten foot pole with 3 western provincial NDP parties, already safe in Parliament and an instant leader until the next federal election which shouldn’t be for 3 years or so if the Libs get the majority on the 13 April, to me that was the best option for the party.
(Response: Yes, McPherson was a two-time winner: someone who clearly had a better grasp on the challenges ordinary voters face each day; as opposed to Lewis, a two-time loser who comes across (at least to me) like a silver-spoon ideologue elitist. And the fact that he is in no hurry to seek a seat in the House shows me he doesn’t believe he’s much of a winner either! Ho)
The problem with the NDP federally and provincially, is that they read the read leafs wrong; they are following a path to nowhere but politcal disappointment.
As mentioned before, federally, the NDP have been a third party and being a third party they were seen as the conscience of Parliament, advocating for things that the other two party could not do politically.
Those days are long gone.
The party was taken over by a radials, who used the former third party status to demand largely unworkable and radical theories onto the public.
In the end, the NDP have become the irritant of Parliament and remain so.
At a time in government where Canada needs the NDP of old, we now have a radical and out of control party espousing economic gibberish combined with social engineering that would make Trudeau’s nonsense almost look sane.
Like Trump, Lewis will attract the discontented, the disaffected and of course, our old friends the antisemitic.
Canada desperately needs the sane, conservative, conscience back in Parliament advocating for things like regional rail (if one is truly Green, regional rail is a must), social benefits that make sense and getting the country on course with our long fight (ant it will be a long fight) with the USA.
Lewis will do none of this and in the next election, I think the NDP vote may collapse altogether.
As a side note, Eby has, kicking and screaming, listening to those reading the tea leafs and is nor proposing suspending Dripa – too little, too late I am afraid and another shoe is about to fall and that is the NDP’s massive tax grab from seniors, through charging compound interest deferring taxes.
Due to Eby’s and the NDP’s completely asinine housing policy, we will soon see the elderly forced onto the street, living in squalid encampments, with the government taking what little dignity they had and literally squandering it on their politically prestigious planning, which is not working.
My gut feeling is that the NDP will cease to be, in a few years, tossed onto the trash heap of failed politicians who failed to listen to the people.
(Response: Under Lewis, I believe it may even become optimistic to see the NDP looking for third place in Canadian politics. I can actually see the liberals, conservatives, and even the Bloc Québécois doing better than the NDP. And that would be a disaster for the rest of Canada as well as the NDP. Ho)
Thank you Jo for your in depth post. Unfortunately, the answer is still “the NDP sucks”.
As I said earlier, Harvey, I am not going to debate you. Your mind is made up. JO made a good case but failed to remotely move you. But let’s be clear. Your opinion of the current NDP is based on what YOU believe. But not everybody supports “Drill Baby Drill”. Not everybody thinks reconciliation with First Nations means “First Nations are handed the deeds to all lands they’ve claimed from coast to coast to coast! Ho)”. But if that’s what you believe, you have an option. Vote for the other guys. You know the guys who have ruled Canada for 160 years and put ourselves in whatever mess you think we need to get out of.
Lastly, your comment: “Lewis would be a complete disaster… But there’s no need to worry: he’ll never make it even into official opposition, let alone government. Ho)”
Has anybody, even Avi Lewis, set the bar at winning the next election or at worst becoming official opposition. Its entire history, the NDP has been third party at best and often fourth party except for the one outlier election of 2011. In an alternate universe with Jack Layton still alive the 2015 election might have been different but Mulcair was never considered a radical leftist ideologue and look what that got them.
Given world events and Trump, right now Canada seems comfortable with Carney and the Liberals. Even Poilievre doesn’t display the same animosity that he certainly had for Trudeau. The NDP are not going to be a real force after the next election regardless of policy. You could write their entire strategy to make it more palatable to you and they will still do poorly. That’s the reality.
If I had any say about the NDP, success in the next election, it would mean getting back into double digits in the popular vote and regaining party status. But even that will be tough right now.
Lewis needs to work at building something different, something bold that resonates with Canadians like a shift away from fossil fuels. Or something with transit or something with affordability. Or something. But give him/the NDP time. Much of our social safety net comes from the NDP pushing their policies. They don’t need to be the government.
I have no idea how all this will play out and viewed by history. But I am pretty sure that a shift away from fossil fuels will be looked back on favourably and future generations will wonder what took us so long.
(Response: the ultimate goal of any party involved in politics should be to form government. Otherwise, it’s just all talk and perhaps a bit of hope that they can influence those who really make the decisions and effect change. And I would not write the NDP off as easily as you do: the NDP as you know, has formed government in a number of provinces and came very close to achieving broad, popular support, even federally when their policies were more realistic, less elitist and fit for only dreamers, revolutionaries and anti American anti-Israel far left radicals. I believe Canada really needs a political party that reflects the interests of the middle and working classes… The people who make up the majority and keep the economy functioning. Too bad that you seem to think that is a total impossibility! Ho)
I don’t like the idea of government-run grocery stores. I assume they would pay their employees more than private ones, so it would be a challenge to keep prices low. If they did, perhaps they would be heavily subsidized by the taxpayer. The result would then be more debt, more spending and more taxes. Another problem could be that they would cause financial hardship for private grocery stores, and maybe they would go out of business.
Another problem with government-run grocery stores is that maybe that’s just the beginning. How can we be sure that won’t lead to government-run supermarkets, airlines, banks and coffee shops? It could simply be the start of bigger government that could create a huge public sector at the expensive of the private one.
It’s interesting that those who propose such solutions often have no experience with creating jobs or expanding the private sector. They think the taxpayer is the source of endless funds. It’s also often the case that they’re very wealthy, so they don’t suffer at all if their ideas are completely detached from reality and don’t work at all.
(Response: Believe it or not, grocery chains actually run on a very small margin of profitability. Apparently, their big bucks/profits come from non-food items that they flog to customers while they are in their stores. I can just imagine a government run grocery chain: unionized, highly paid workers; human resource, LGBT, First Nations staff committees holding meetings ad nauseum to discuss which products should be carried, and which should be banned; and, like at the CBC, probably five workers doing each job that one worker does in the private sector. And likely under Lewis/NDP drug users/shoplifters would just load up their pockets, satchels and coat pockets without fear of ever being charged … financially or criminally! Ho)
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I would not rule out significant support from a struggling population and high youth unemployment with cloudy future.
Cheap food, cheap housing for all, free transportation, expanded health, dental care and free prescriptions all paid by the greedy rich and greedy corporations. And as we have seen recently this formula has been successful in people getting elected. And as we have also seen facts take a backseat to ideology.
(Response: Geez! Even I might vote for a campaign program that offers all that! After all, I’m an old fart who won’t have to worry about how future generations would pay for all of it … and since I’m retired ( I really am!) I wouldn’t have to worry about the lack of investment (both foreign and domestic) that would result as capital flees, businesses shut down and under Lewis, First Nations are handed the deeds to all lands they’ve claimed from coast to coast to coast! Ho)
And for some additional incentive Free post grad education, free child care and guaranteed income. Especially attractive for those worrying about jobs loses due to AI and robotics.
(Response: And while they’re at it, promising pie in the sky since they know they’ll never be elected, how about free cruises for seniors … not just on BC Ferries but in the Caribbean and Mediterranean as well! And Avi, no “inside” cabins either!! Ho)
Free! Free! Free!
NOTHING is “free”.
You pay for it with TAXES.
But, deep down, you know that.
Enjoy paying higher taxes for free free free.
Wow! I completely disagree with this one. While not perfect, Lewis is running on exactly the kind of platform the NDP needs right now – affordability.
Government-run grocery stores, allow the federal government to combat the cartel of companies that regularly price-fix to squeeze more money out of the average Canadian. Furthermore, it allows the federal government to subsidize key foods to increase the affordability of living in Canada, while still profiting off of less essential products. Without a need to generate profit for a CEO or stockholders, the government can pass on savings directly to the consumer. This model also provably works – see the US national grocery stores available to those in the military.
Canadians overwhelmingly support a wealth tax (which wouldn’t target the middle class): https://abacusdata.ca/wealth-tax-canada-poll/
Lewis is responding to concerns by the working class about their rights in a time of losing jobs to globalization and apprehension about AI: https://abacusdata.ca/wealth-tax-canada-poll/
Canadians increasingly support proportional representation: https://www.fairvote.ca/polls/
And the climate is an imminent threat that must be immediately addressed. Let me make this clear: we have passed the point of no return. Lewis is seeking to prepare Alberta for the transition to clean energy, which I already consider to be kind, since we are in a global crisis that will kill billions of people, both now and in the future.
Also: you’ve failed to actually argue anything. All you do is bring up the opinions of two actually relevant NDP members (and fail to engage with Lewis’ response to them), explain the tough situation for the party, and insult Lewis. You make no analysis of why Lewis’ policies will fail, but simply assert it – a bad look for a journalist.
We, both as a country and as a world, cannot afford to continue exploiting fossil fuels.
(Response: Get real! When have you ever seen government operate ANY business efficiently or economically … without losing millions??? CBC? No. Canada Post? No! Have you already forgotten how the federal purchase of Transmountain pipeline for $4.5 billion in 2018… Ended up costing the Canadian taxpayers more than $30 billion??? And there is absolutely no way that Lewis‘s plans for the environment won’t cost ordinary taxpayers much more at the pump,as well as in their taxes, and no doubt expand the federal deficit and debt even more than the liberals have.
Lewis would be a complete disaster… But there’s no need to worry: he’ll never make it even into official opposition, let alone government. Ho)
Harvey, I started my previous post wondering if there could be anything other than “the NDP sucks” as comments. Even if I wanted to, it would be pointless for anyone to come on here and try to convince you or the majority of your readers otherwise. I was trying something different. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough so I will try again.
First off, as an NDP supporter, but not a card carrying member, I (and I imagine the vast majority of Canadians) did not follow the NDP leadership campaign. I had heard of Avi Lewis but more as Naomi Klein’s husband then anything else. I saw two CBC interviews, one with the farmer and the other with the social worker whose names now escape me and thought “they’re nice”. I knew Heather McPherson and Rob Ashton were in the race only because I probably saw the names as I scrolled quickly through some article on my news feeds. So I am just catching up now that we have a winner.
But honestly, I am not as steamed up one way or the other as you are. You think Avi Lewis and the NDP are just wildly radical and out of touch. I am not going to argue with you. Your opinion. You might be right. I might not like what they are doing either. But if I cared enough I would have joined the party. If I care enough I will consider what they have to offer when I vote. Maybe they will continue sucking and become so irrelevant that we never hear from them again. C’est la vie.
But let me try again.
I know that as much as you want to praise Tommy Douglas and past NDP policies that fought for the ordinary Canadian, Tommy Douglas was considered a radical in his time. He was a “communist” etc etc. Getting universal health care was not an easy win. Plenty of people opposed it. It is only in retrospect that we respect Tommy Douglas. Maybe one of the NDP’s “dumb” ideas will look good 50 years from now.
Third parties, if they want to be effective, have to offer something other than what the two main parties are offering. In your critique of the Lewis’ platform you say that they are out of touch with working people. I don’t know if that is true or not but suppose it is. Are the Liberals or Conservatives out of touch with working people. If not, then why do you care what the NDP does. Vote for the other guys. But if the Libs and Cons are out of touch as well wouldn’t it be better to aim your criticism at them. You know the ones who actually have the power to implement change.
Does Canada need another party who, for just an example, supports more and more pipelines. What good did it do the NDP under Jagmeet Singh to become Liberal lite. We need a third party that has something different to offer, one that they can push hard enough that the public and then at least one of the main parties can support and implement.
Avi Lewis and the NDP have a huge problem to get out of the ditch they are in. What seat does Avi Lewis hope to win? Is Don Davies seat safe? Change is slow. Lewis has to find a voice/ideas that resonate with Canadians. If he fails, the NDP will be irrelevant. But let’s just see what he can do before we stomp on any graves.
(Response: I’m not “steamed up”; I’m sad. As someone who has voted NDP in the past, I believe Canada needs a federal party that really represents the middle class and the hard working class population of the country. The NDP used to do that in my opinion. Not any more. In recent years, instead, I believe it has become the party of the extreme far left: more supportive of environmental policies that would really hurt the middle class if adopted; supportive of policies that would pander even more than the liberals and the provincial NDP to first Nations, giving away too many property rights that so many other Canadians have worked so hard, hard hard to achieve; adopting taxation policies that would scare away… chase away… business investments that create much needed jobs; and, turn their backs even more on Israel, the only country in the entire Middle East that gives women equal rights, recognizes gay rights has a strong vibrant union movement and active democracy … to support instead radical Islamic/Palestinian movements that treat their own people like shit and would annihilate the Jewish state if they could. That’s today’s NDP… Just watch and listen to Lewis … and the policies he advocates, and you’ll soon learn why I am so sad to see what has happened to that party! Ho)
Fed NDP aspiring to be like BCNDP?
(Response: well, they both seem to have lost touch with the majority of ordinary voter; pandering instead to special interest groups, and minorities at the cost of the working middle classes. And that, I believe will eventually be both’s undoubg. Ho)
Avi Lewis has shown a complete lack of respect for former leader Tom Mulcair. I understand that the former leader is more to the right, but the fact is he won more seats than Jagmeet Singh did. In 2015, the NDP was at one time in first place according to polls, but the Liberals adopted policies that were more to the left and convinced Canadians to choose them to defeat the Conservatives.
Avi Lewis doesn’t represent working-class Canadians. His opposition to fossil fuels and desire to increase the size of government isn’t the solution. One of his first priorities should be to win a seat in the House of Commons, but he says he’s in no rush. The Conservatives need a strong NDP, but I doubt Avi Lewis is the person to make the NDP the party it once was.
(Response: Lewis‘s beliefs and policies reflect his silver spoon background: his grandfather David Lewis lived off the taxpayers for many years; his father Stephen Lewis also lived off the taxpayers for many years; and now Lewis seems to believe that the taxpayers are just an endless source of money to introduce and adopt radical left wing policies that will do nothing to create jobs, do nothing to make things better for the middle and working classes; and do nothing to help seniors. Just look at what he proposes and if you are an armchair socialist earning a huge university or professional or top government bureaucrat’s salary, you might vote for them. But I really doubt that any working Canadians… Especially union members… Will vote for that kind of an economic strategy. And if the party becomes totally irrelevant, the NDP members and delegates who chose Lewis as their new leader will only be able to blame themselves. Ho)
I just shake my head.
Sons and daughters of former politcans, especially party leaders make for very poor politicians, god knows Trudeau the Younger was the prime example.
The NDP has become a party of nothing but “soap box” politics. They stand for nothing except giving away the country to first nations and creating “Kangaroo Courts” (Human rights Tribunal) to deal with those who they deem unpleasant.
The NDP “have learned nothing, and forgotten nothing” and remain a fringe anarchist party with no moral values what so ever.
I am a 70 year old lefty who did not vote for the provincial NDP in the last provincial election because I believed Eby and the NDP was unfit for office. (To be fair I thought the same with Rustad’s lot as well)
The NDP federally is the same, no real program, no real direction, no real anything, an anachronism, out of touch and out of date.
The blind faith of the current followers of the NDP so remind me of the MAGA crowd down south.
(Response: The choice of Avi Lewis, as leader exposes the reality that the current membership/delegates of the NDP don’t even dream of becoming Official Opposition, let alone have any chance of forming government anymore. In fact, unlike previous NDP policies aimed at improving social, safety, nets, bringing in dental care, or improving working conditions/wages/job protections, it’s clear by choosing Lewis they just want to make waves, take extreme positions and push environmental policies that they know will never become government policy. They have clearly abandoned the working and middle classes, in favor of pleasing the intellectual elites and armchair socialists living in their ivory towers. Ho)
Well, if they have voted themselves into irrelevancy, is there any point in discussing this?
Other than “the NDP sucks” what else is there to say?
Ok, you twisted my arm. Here goes. Just a reminder: I have been voting since 1974 and all but twice I have voted NDP federally. Those two times were in the 1990s when the NDP was at their other all time low. It didn’t do me any good as the Liberal candidate I supported lost to the Alliance/Reform candidate both times. But, the times the NDP candidates that did win – Jim Fulton, Nathan Cullen and Taylor Bachrach (who was defeated this past election) – served my riding well as an opposition member.
I have never expected the NDP to win. I honestly don’t care. I expect the Liberals or the Conservatives to win. Wasn’t it Avi Lewis’ grandfather, David, that referred to the Liberals and Conservatives as tweedledum and tweedledee way back when?
For me the value of a third party is to present ideas that maybe the main stream parties are not ready for or not willing to push for. The Greens were great when their main concern was the environment. Push those ideas during elections. If one or two get elected push those ideas. But don’t pretend you can do more eg form government.
The NDP were great when they pushed for workers’ rights or health care or pensions and other social safety nets. We are better off because of those NDP policies.
So what now. Avi Lewis has some ideas that he wants to push. eg A green transition or AI worker rights or whatever. Push those ideas. See what resonates with the population. But at this stage there is no way that the NDP has a hope in hell of winning any federal election soon. So if they want to remain relevant they have to be pushing for something while not looking like they are disrupters. They can oppose pipelines but they have to be positive (“hey this is a better idea”) rather than just being opponents. They have to seen as a party with ideas that are worth implementing even if they are implemented by the Liberals or Conservatives some time down the road.
Tommy Douglas and Ed Broadbent and to a lesser extent David Lewis and Jack Layton are remembered as positive figures in Canadian politics as much as if not more so than the Prime Ministers who beat them in elections.
That’s the challenge that Avi Lewis faces. Can he do it? I guess we will find out.
(Response: I don’t think you realized it, but you pointed out the EXACT problem the federal NDP has with choosing Lewis, when you wrote: “The NDP were great when they pushed for workers’ rights or health care or pensions and other social safety nets. We are better off because of those NDP policies.” Yes, that’s when the NDP WERE great… championing middle class issues/values/beliefs for workers/unions WITHIN the capitalistic system. That’s not what/who the NDP has become under Singh and now Lewis … armchair socialist elitist revolutionaries more interested in opposing/blocking resource developments, prohibiting any more pipelines and thus stopping the export of any more oil and gas, severe increases in environmental controls/restrictions, expanding government to include operating grocery stores (what a money loser that would be!!) and pandering even more than the Liberals to First Nations demands/shakedowns. Not the NDP I see as ever having even the hope of becoming Official Opposition, let alone government. Ho)
Welcome back Harvey.
The labour union group in the NDP has lost out to the 1% who whine incessantly about oil & the environment. This unholy union of labour & environmental protestors is a true dichotomy of epic proportions.
The only source of fresh NDP votes is the few disaffected green voters, spoils go to Carney.
The fact they learned nothing from Singh’s errors is as stunning as it is suicidal in politics, today’s NDP, as electable as a case of covid & ebola!
(Response: I agree: in choosing an extremist like Lewis, the NDP seems to have learned NOTHING from their disastrous rejection by Canadian voters in the last election. Going back to my early working days in Saskatchewan, I voted NDP when I felt it represented working Canadians and strove to make our lives better (health care, lower taxes, better social programs). Now, if Lewis’ ideological/environmental/social goals were ever adopted, I’m convinced both business and personal taxes would soar, gas would cost even more, business investment (especially foreign-based) would evaporate, resulting in huge increases in unemployment… a total economic disaster… like BC under Eby!!! 😁 Ho)