Avi Lewis has been elected as leader of the National New Democratic Party.
Lewis, a filmmaker and former journalist, campaigned on principles that have energized the global left, including affordability, public ownership, work empowerment, climate action, ending fossil fuel infrastructure approvals and building public housing units. He does not currently have a seat in Parliament and has stated that he is no rush to secure one; instead he is prioritizing the rebuilding of the Federal NDP Party, which currently holds only six seats in the House of Commons.
Lewis comes from an impressive line of progressive political leaders. His grandfather, David Lewis, was one of the founding members of the New Democrats and its leader in the 1970s. His father, Stephen Lewis, led the party in Ontario. His great-grandfather, Moishe Lewis, was an outspoken member of the socialist Jewish Labour Bund in Eastern Europe and immigrated to Canada in 1921.
He hopes to rebuild a party that suffered its worst losses in history during the 2025 federal election.
Lewis is a self-described anti-Zionist.
“When Israel commits a genocide in Gaza, we call it by its name, and we do everything in our power to bring it to an end,” Lewis said in his acceptance speech on March 29.
In a debate with other candidates in January, he described himself as an “anti-Zionist Jewish person” seeking to “unlearn and unpack the Zionist myths that most Canadian Jews were brought up with.”
Lewis is married to Naomi Klein, a prominent author and critic of Israel.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) along with other advocacy groups acknowledges that the war in the Middle East is a tragedy but it refutes the allegation that Israel is committing genocide.
Its material states “Genocide is an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Ethnic cleansing is the purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
CIJA continues: “Israel’s wars have been of self-defense, in accordance with international law. Furthermore, during wars or other military operations, Israel does not target civilians and targets military assets (armed combatants, rocket launchers, terrorist headquarters, and other such infrastructure). That any Palestinian civilians are killed during these operations is a tragedy, but, as the intent is not to kill civilians but to target terrorism, it by no measure constitutes genocide or ethnic cleansing.”
CIJA said it acknowledged Lewis’ victory “with a deep sense of sadness.”
“This weekend’s convention was a stark reminder of how far the party has drifted from its roots as the voice of Canada’s working class and trade union movement. Canadian Jews helped build that movement. Today, many are made to feel they no longer belong in it.
“At a time when antisemitism has reached a crisis, the NDP has become a hostile place for the vast majority of Jewish Canadians who want to fight for progressive values. 94 per cent of Jewish Canadians support the existence of the State of Israel yet have been pushed out.
“Avi Lewis is himself Jewish, and we respect his family’s history in this party. But Jewish identity is not a shield against accountability. When a leader declares that Zionism is inseparable from ethnic cleansing, he is not engaging in legitimate policy critique. He is telling Jewish Canadians that a core part of their identity is illegitimate. That is exclusion.
“On the eve of this convention, rabbis from across our community issued a clear call. They warned that Jewish members feel increasingly alienated, that antizionism is being used as a cover for antisemitism, and that NDP spaces are becoming unsafe for Jewish and all Canadians with mainstream views.
“We have said before and repeat now that criticism of Israeli government policy is legitimate. But there is a line between criticism and the systematic delegitimization of Jewish identity. That line has been crossed repeatedly. Today, it was crossed again, without ambiguity.
“We will hold Avi Lewis, as we hold every public leader, accountable. But we will not pretend today is anything other than what it is. A painful rupture, decades in the making, with dangerous implications for our community and all Canadians.”
Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi was also quick to distance the Federal NDPs from the Alberta NDPs. He reminded Albertans that they are “not aligned” and that membership in the Federal Party is not required by the Alberta party. The energy policy of the Federal Party in no way reflects that of the Provincial Party, emphasized Nenshi.