Avi Lewis was elected Sunday as the new leader of the federal NDP, after a nearly seven-month race that unfolded at a time of turbulence for the party.
The 58-year-old activist, documentary filmmaker and former television host was announced as the winner of a five-candidate contest at the New Democratic Party convention in Winnipeg.
He won on the first ballot, with 56 per cent of the votes, moving the party farther left on the strength of a progressive platform that included an emphasis on higher wealth taxes and green energy.
But his win drew immediate backlash from NDP leaders in Saskatchewan and Alberta, who said they do not support him because of his calls to impose levies on oil and gas pipelines.
One prominent Jewish group, meanwhile, accused Mr. Lewis of harbouring anti-Israel sentiments that its members believe are harmful to the Jewish community.
The NDP, which has struggled for years with declining support, suffered a historic defeat in last year’s election. It won just seven seats and 6.3 per cent of the vote under then-leader Jagmeet Singh, who resigned after losing his own riding.
Earlier this month, the party lost one of those seats when Nunavut MP Lori Idlout crossed over to the Liberals.
The NDP remains far from achieving official status in the House of Commons, which requires 12 seats.
In his first speech as leader, Mr. Lewis, who does not hold a seat in Parliament, sought to revive hopes for the NDP, pledging to bring it back to what he referred to as the party’s glory days.
“Canada, mark your calendar: The NDP comeback starts now,” Mr. Lewis said to a roomful of cheers.
“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 collective struggle.”
Mr. Lewis added in French that he is also ready to take on the political scene in Quebec, where he hopes to reinvigorate support for the party.
As he promised to strive for a government that “works for the many, not the money,” he stood along with 80 campaign organizers; his wife, best-selling author Naomi Klein; and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
A Palestinian flag was waving behind him as he spoke, with some supporters holding “Renters Over Landlord Profits” and “Green New Deal” signs.
Mr. Lewis focused much of his leadership campaign on a message about providing access to safe abortion, gender-affirming care, free transit, publicly owned grocery stores and tuition-free education.
He also said he wants to place more taxes on big corporations and high-income earners, and has plans for a green energy deal that would create a million jobs by investing 2 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product in the fight against the effects of climate change.
He said he would like to see an export tax to be placed on oil and gas shipped to the United States.
Mr. Lewis has been vocal about his support for a Palestinian state and repeated his calls on Sunday for Canada to describe the war in Gaza as a “genocide,” which he blames on Israel. (Israel has rejected allegations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.)
“We need a government that acts with moral clarity,” he told the crowd clad in the party’s signature orange.
“Oil companies are expecting a new windfall in the tens of billions. Grocery baron Galen Weston alone is worth $20-billion. It is time, far past time, to properly tax the corporations and billionaires that have been riding a tidal wave of profits.”
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Mr. Lewis does not represent the interests of his province. In a separate statement, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck agreed.
Ms. Beck said Mr. Lewis’s position on oil and gas is “ideological and unrealistic,” arguing that it would negatively affect workers and industry in her province. Mr. Nenshi, meanwhile, said Albertans deserve federal leaders who better understand his province’s role in Canada.
“Our focus is not on what the federal NDP says or does,” Mr. Nenshi said.
But Mr. Kinew said the Manitoba government supports Mr. Lewis. “I just love Avi,” he told reporters. “We don’t have to agree on everything in order to do the big things together.”
British Columbia’s NDP Premier, David Eby, said in a statement: “We will work with anyone and any federal leader who shares our priorities, and stand firm against those who put that progress at risk.”
Mr. Lewis received 39,734 of 70,930 valid votes cast, with rival Alberta MP Heather McPherson in second place, getting 20,899 votes.
Mr. Lewis, the son of former Ontario NDP leader Stephen Lewis and the grandson of onetime federal NDP leader David Lewis, also defeated social worker Tanille Johnston, union leader Rob Ashton and organic farmer Tony McQuail.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs issued a public letter to criticize Sunday’s result.
“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,” said CIJA executives Rachel Chertkoff and Richard Marceau.
“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.”
Ms. Chertkoff said her family members had previously run for the NDP but would not recognize the party it is today.
Don Davies, who had become interim leader after Mr. Singh’s resignation, said the New Democrats have spent a long time talking to Canadians about how to rebuild the party.
He said the NDP needs to be strengthened because many voters are looking for an alternative to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals, whom he argued have adopted a Conservative Party slant in recent months.
“There is something I’d like to clear up arising from my speech at the press-gallery dinner,” Mr. Davies said Sunday. “I erroneously said, when Prime Minister Carney played hockey, that he was a goalie. I was mistaken. He’s clearly a right-winger.”
In a short social-media post, Mr. Carney congratulated Mr. Lewis. “I will always take a collaborative approach to how we build a stronger Canada,” he wrote.