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Five NDP leadership candidates pitched their ideas for how to rebuild their party during what was a fairly agreeable final debate — but some points of contention appeared around relations with provincial wings.
Whoever takes reins will face the difficult task of rebuilding the party after the last election, when the NDP saw only seven members elected to the House of Commons.
A majority of the candidates were blunt in their assessment of where the party is when asked if they were running to be prime minister or to rebuild the party.
Four of the contestants — Alberta MP Heather McPherson, activist and filmmaker Avi Lewis, union leader Rob Ashton and social worker Tanille Johnston — said they were focused on rebuilding. Only farmer Tony McQuail said he would focus his efforts on becoming prime minister.
Throughout the roughly 90-minute debate on Thursday, the candidates often agreed with each other on a number of policies, including electoral reform, workers’ rights and climate change.
In the final NDP leadership debate on Thursday night, moderator Hannah Thibedeau pressed the candidates to state their primary goal for leadership: become Canada’s next prime minister or rebuild the New Democratic Party. All but one candidate said their objective is to rebuild. (Video credit: NDP)
The spiciest moment came during a discussion about how the federal NDP can work with its provincial branches.
Ashton suggested that Lewis “destroyed” the re-election chances for the Alberta NDP under former premier Rachel Notley by fronting the Leap Manifesto to the federal party — a policy document that proposed to shift Canada to renewable energy by 2050.
Ashton said he was glad to learn that Lewis was engaging with provincial party leader Naheed Nenshi after he, Lewis, said earlier in the debate that he’s had good conversations with Nenshi.
“I’m glad to see that he knows that he’s got to talk to the provinces and have a good relationship with them,” Ashton said. “I’m really happy to see that he’s grown and become a stronger New Democrat.”
Lewis, whose platform promises a “new green deal” and to get Canada off fossil fuels, was one of three candidates — as well as Ashton and McPherson — who have spoken with Nenshi in recent weeks.
At the NDP leadership debate, moderator Hannah Thibedeau asked Avi Lewis about calling himself an ‘outsider’ despite strong family ties to the party, Heather McPherson about campaigning against the Liberals after working with them under Jagmeet Singh, and Rob Ashton about his use of AI earlier in the campaign. (Video credit: NDP)
Nenshi — who is aiming to unseat the governing United Conservative Party — characterized the conversations with the three candidates as “blunt,” saying the party can’t “get caught up in ideological battles.”
Lewis said during the debate that he may disagree with Nenshi on fossil fuels, but that they agree in other areas.
Nenshi “needs to be the next premier of Alberta,” Lewis said.
McPherson, the only NDP MP from Alberta, said the provincial and federal wings need to focus more on what unites than divides them.
She pointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on a potential oil pipeline to the B.C. coast as something that’s dividing the party and the country. That proposal is facing some resistance in B.C. which is governed by the provincial NDP.
“I can tell you what doesn’t help — an MOU by Mark Carney and Danielle Smith that pits British Columbians against Albertans, that pits people against each other during a national sovereignty crisis,” she said.
“What we need to do is work on those things that as New Democrats that we believe in, those values that will move us forward and not be a burden to the provincial parties.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war was a key concern for the NDP leadership candidates at their final debate on Thursday night. Moderator Hannah Thibedeau kicked off the questioning by asking if Trump threatened more tariffs, would the candidates retaliate immediately or negotiate quietly? (Video credit: NDP)
The opening topic of the debate focused on how Canada can work with the U.S. during President Donald Trump’s second term.
The candidates generally said Canada should focus on building its economy at home or diversify trade markets to avoid reliance on the U.S. But Johnston scored the first quip of the night when she said Trump “would get my answering machine” if he ever called.
Johnston, a city councillor in Campbell River, B.C., and member of WeWaiKai First Nation, came off as comfortable and confident throughout the debate.
Ashton relied heavily on his notes, though he scored some chuckles when talking about how Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has gobbled up some of the NDP’s base by appealing to union workers.
“Poilievre is strutting around and pretending to be a worker — well, he’s about as much as a worker as I am a flower girl,” he said. “Poilievre is pretty slick as snot.”
The debate in New Westminster, B.C. was the second after the party’s November debate in Montreal. Although that was billed as a French-language event ,much of it was in English since most of the candidates are not fluently bilingual.
The candidates were given a chance Thursday to show if their French has improved. One section of the debate was conducted in French, with a question from a Quebec NDP member.
Each responded for roughly a minute, and were given the option of reverting to English after that initial response. Only McPherson and Lewis continued in French, though all agreed about the importance of the language and the need for the party to rebuild in Quebec.
Johnston said she was committed to learning French and “wholeheartedly” understands the desire to hold on to one’s mother tongue, referencing her push to reclaim her Indigenous language.
All candidates committed to becoming fully bilingual, except McQuail who said that, at age 74, he doubted he could become fully bilingual in his lifetime.
Protesters — including rejected candidate Yves Engler — upset with the debate topics showed up at the event location chanting “no democratic party” but did not enter the debate stage.
Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced he would be stepping down after the last election, when he failed to hold his own seat. Vancouver MP Don Davies has been serving as interim leader since May.
New Democrats will elect a new leader at their party convention at the end of March.
Source: cbc
