Who Is Avi Lewis, The NDP’s New Federal Leader?
(Photo: The Canadian Press)
Avi Lewis is the new federal leader of the NDP. The 58-year-old filmmaker and climate activist won the NDP’s top job—vacant since Jagmeet Singh stepped down last year—on Sunday at the party’s convention in Winnipeg.
Lewis secured the win with 56 percent of the vote.
In his victory speech, Lewis told Canadians to mark his words: “The NDP comeback starts now.” He went on to outline his vision for the party’s direction going forward and took aim at those, like massive grocery chains monopolies, that are making the cost-of-living crisis worse for Canadians.
“The wealth of this country is being hoovered up by a corporate elite who are extracting it from you every day…we cannot let it stand,” he told the crowd.
Politics is in his blood—and so is Heated Rivalry
The former MuchMusic host and CBC broadcaster comes from a political family and has deep connections in climate activism and other progressive causes. His grandfather, David Lewis, led the NDP in the early 1970s, and his father, Stephen Lewis, led the Ontario NDP from 1971 to 1978. He’s married to award-winning author Naomi Klein (Shock Doctrine, This Changes Everything). His mom, Michele Landsberg, is an award-winning journalist (and a former Chatelaine columnist). And his sister, Jenny Lewis, is a casting director who is perhaps best known for casting the Crave series the world can’t shut up about, Heated Rivalry.
Challenges ahead
The challenges facing the new leader of Canada’s progressive party are not small, however. After the last federal election in April 2025, NDP representation in Parliament dropped to only seven MPs in Parliament, leading to its loss of official party status. (The party now holds just six seats, after MP Lori Idlout crossed the floor to join the Liberal caucus earlier this month.) At the same time, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Liberal Party is experiencing high levels of popularity—a boost that’s largely courtesy of the intense levels of antipathy Canadians feel for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Related Stories
Lewis is also facing internal opposition for his commitment to addressing climate change and his critique of Canada’s continued fossil fuel investment in the face of its connection to increasing harms to the planet. Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and Saskatchewan's Carla Beck took Lewis to task for these stances and disavowed his leadership.
In a post on X, Nenshi wrote: “...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.”
Prior to its catastrophic collapse in 2025, the NDP accounted for about one-third of Canadians’ voting preferences federally. But the death of the party may be exaggerated, too; according to a recent Angus Reid poll, 67 percent of NDP voters believe the party still has relevance.
“We can have nice things,” Lewis reminded his audience on Sunday night.
The very best of Chatelaine straight to your inbox.
Flannery Dean is a writer based in Hamilton, Ont. She’s written for The Narwhal, the Globe and Mail and The Guardian.
